01-3693 Yadegar-Sargis v. INS

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“Ms. Sargis undoubtedly has endured harassment and hardship in Iran on the basis of her ethnicity and religious affiliation. She has been confronted by police because her dress did not conform to the requirements imposed by the dominant religion, interrogated concerning her son and forced to the end of rationing lines. However, Ms. Sargis never was detained; she was not physically assaulted; she did not suffer extreme economic deprivation; nor was she the direct subject of a physical threat. We must conclude that, under our precedent, the evidence of record does not compel a finding of persecution.

“We do not believe that Ms. Sargis’ testimony compelled a finding by the Board that complying with the Islamic dress requirements would constitute persecution for her. First, when asked why she objected to the dress, her first response was that it was not her culture. Second, although she testified that she believed that the dress code was a way to force Christians to conform to Islam, she did not testify that it violated a specific tenet of her faith. Finally, Ms. Sargis had complied with the dress code while she lived in Iran and, as long as she did so, was not prevented from attending church and practicing her faith. Consequently, because the evidence could be interpreted such that the dress requirements are not ‘abhorrent to [Ms. Sargis’] deepest beliefs,’ Fatin, 12 F.3d at 1242, we cannot say that the BIA’s determination to deny asylum on this basis is without support in the record.

“We are constrained to point out an additional matter that immigration authorities ought to consider before deporting Ms. Sargis to Iran. We take note of the very significant delay that this case experienced during the administrative process. Deportation proceedings first were instituted against Ms. Sargis in 1993. Today, almost a decade later, at the age of seventy-one, she faces deportation to a country in which, according to the record, she has no close relatives. Although we are bound by the record to sustain the Board’s determination that Ms. Sargis will not be subject to persecution on the basis of her religion or social group, the practical reality is that, given her age and her attempt to remain in the United States, she cannot expect a warm welcome or a very easy life. In fact she probably can expect, given her age, a very hard life. Inasmuch as the difficulties that she probably will endure are age-related, the INS must bear significant responsibility for the situation. To the extent that there exist further steps that may permit this applicant to avoid these difficulties, it is, we respectfully suggest, the responsibility of immigration officials to give them very serious consideration.”

Affirmed.

Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals, Ripple, J.