Case Brief Revised
Jean Harshman-Beasley
PA 401
August 6, 2013
Prof. V Corbo

Case Brief Revised Civil v. I.N.S., 140 F.3d 52 (1st Cir. 1998)
FACT;
The petitioner, Lucienne Yvette Civil, sought political asylum under section
8 U.S.C. § 1158(a), on the well-founded fear if returned to Haiti, she would face persecution for her political beliefs. After being denied, Lucienne Yvette Civil appealed the Board of Immigration Appeals ("Board" or "BIA") decision affirming an Immigration
Judge's denial of her application for political asylum. Agreeing with the findings of the
Immigration Judge ("IJ"), the Board found that petitioner did not have a well-founded fear of persecution.
ISSUE;
Whether or not at the time Ms. Civil filed for asylum was her reason for being fearful of persecution well-founded under the Immigration and Nationality Act, § 208(a)?
RULES:
8 U.S.C.A. § 1158 (a): Safe third country; shall not apply to an alien if the Attorney General determines that the alien may be removed, pursuant to a bilateral or multilateral agreement, to a country (other than the country of the alien’s nationality or, in the case of an alien having no nationality, the country of the alien’s last habitual residence) in which the alien’s life or freedom would not be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, and where the alien would have access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum or equivalent temporary protection, unless the Attorney General finds that it is in the public interest for the alien to receive asylum in the United States.
8 C.F.R. § 208.13 (a);Establishing asylum eligibility
Burden of proof. The burden of proof is on the applicant for asylum to establish that he or she is a refugee. The testimony of the applicant, if credible, may be