I last wrote about a case I thought would make a bigger splash than it did relating to voluntary departure. Today’s splashless big case is a case dealing with asylum, Henriquez-Rivas v. Holder, and in particular the term, “particular social group.” It is an en banc case in the Ninth Circuit published on February 13, 2013. By way of background, a person seeking asylum in the United States must show that he or she fears persecution in his or her…

On August 11, 2011, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals published another en banc blockbuster, U.S. v. Aguila-Montes de Oca authored by Judge Jay Bybee. The case addresses the modified categorical approach of statutory analysis. The use of the approach arises when a court needs to figure out if a state criminal conviction fits a federal definition of say, a crime of violence or a burglary or a crime of domestic violence or sexual abuse of a minor or a…

On February 14, 2009, I posted a column on Aden v. Holder in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the appeal of the denial of an asylum case for a Somali, Hassan Aden, because of his failure to present evidence requested by the immigration judge. The judge requested corroboration regarding the existence of the clan Mr. Aden asserted he belonged to and Mr. Aden’s membership in it. Mr. Aden presented some evidence, letters from three people from Minneapolis, Minnesota, the…

  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision today,  Toj-Culpatan v. Holder. The case deals with whether an alien filed a timely asylum application. In its legal analysis, the Court writes: First, Petitioner fails to explain how his inability to speak English is extraordinary for an alien nor how it prevented him from timely filing an asylum application in English, especially given that the government makes translators available to immigrants who do not speak or read English. I wonder where…