Quote:
Originally Posted by spence
This isn’t really true. Fear of being killed or raped by a gang because of your social group certainly could qualify.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device
|
What does an asylum seeker have to prove?
Those seeking asylum must prove that that they are escaping their homeland because of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.[9] The Immigration and Nationality Act explicitly provides these five bases for granting asylum,[10] having been heavily influenced by the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees.
Though the first three bases are self-explanatory, persecution due to political opinion and membership in a social group are less clear. Persecution based on political opinion means that the asylum seeker holds political views that his homeland’s government doesn’t tolerate. An asylum seeker must provide evidence that his expressed political views have opposed those of his government. He can achieve this by providing evidence of speaking publicly in opposition to the government, publishing opposition literature, taking part in political activities on an opposing side, or joining an opposition political party.
Persecution due to membership in a social group is even more difficult to define and prove. Judges and asylum officers analyzing social group-based claims play close attention societal perceptions of the group to which the asylum seeker belongs.[11] As such, social group can vary in definition and interpretation. In one case, the Board of Immigration Appeals defined a particular social group as a “a group of persons, all of whom share a common, immutable characteristic.”[12] Additionally, the group must be “particular” and “socially distinct.”[13] Examples of social groups that satisfy the United States’ government’s definition include:
· Tribes;
· Ethnic groups;
· Social classes like laborers and labor union leaders; and
· Those persecuted for sexual preference[14]
Threaded Mode