By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 19, 2013//
United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Civil
Immigration — asylum
Where the BIA found an asylum applicant faced no fear of future persecution in a motion to reopen, without considering the evidence, the denial of asylum must be reversed.
“The Board denied Boika’s motion to reopen, explaining only that the evidence she offered did not reflect a material change in conditions in Belarus and was not sufficient to show a prima facie claim for eligibility for asylum. We grant Boika’s and her husband’s petition for review and remand to the Board for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. The terse Board opinion did not provide an adequate explanation for rejecting Boika’s new evidence and denying her motion to reopen. The prior credibility finding against Boika regarding her pre-2007 political opposition inside Belarus does not necessarily taint her new evidence concerning both her new political activity in the United States or the new, severe crackdown on the government’s political opponents in Belarus. That evidence needs a fresh look.”
Petition Granted.
Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals, Hamilton, J.