Matter of I-J-

The Board of Immigration Appeals is considering the case of a young woman from Sierra Leone who underwent female genital cutting and was forced to perform genital cutting on other girls.  The question in the case is whether the “persecutor of others” bar to asylum applies to a refugee who was compelled against her will, by threats of death and by psychological coercion, to perform acts she objected to and which she repeatedly refused to perform, including by attempting to escape from the individuals forcing her to participate.

CGRS Involvement

CGRS submitted an amicus brief to the Board of Immigration Appeals. CGRS Advisory Board member Simona Agnolucci and her then-colleague, Clara Shin, were part of the amicus team. Ms. I-J- is represented by Christian Burden and Angela Crawford of DLA Piper.

Basic Facts

Ms. I-J- is a young woman of the Fula tribe of Sierra Leone, a country in which 90% of women undergo female genital cutting. She was forcibly subjected to the procedure, but had been told that it was incomplete and she needed to be cut again to complete the job. Her grandmother is a member of the secret society of women responsible in their tribe for female genital cutting procedures, and Ms. I-J- was told she must join their ranks, as doing so was part of her birthright. She tried to escape, and was beaten, stabbed, threatened, and told she must perform cutting on others. Under considerable duress, she did so, and soon after she fled to the United States.

Procedural History

In 2007, an immigration judge found Ms. I-J-’s testimony to be credible and that Ms. I-J- had suffered persecution and had a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground, and granted asylum. The Department of Homeland Security appealed this decision, arguing that Ms. I-J- is barred from asylum eligibility as a “persecutor of others.” CGRS filed an amicus brief to the BIA arguing that the Judge correctly concluded that Ms. I-J- did not meet the description of a “persecutor of others” -her actions were performed only because she feared for her life. The brief argued that the element of duress should be considered in evaluating the “persecutor of others” bar, and that the U.S.’s application of the bar should be consistent with its international obligations and international norms. The case is currently pending before the BIA.

Notably, since the CGRS brief was filed, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the BIA’s interpretation of the “persecutor of others” bar in Negusie v. Holder, 555 U.S. 511 (2009), holding that the BIA applied the wrong standard and remanding for the BIA to address and rule on the correct standard for such claims in the first instance.

Documents

CGRS amicus brief to the BIA (May 2008)

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