Bevc v. I.N.S., 94-1933

• Citation: 47 F.3d 907
• Decision Date: 17 February 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-1933,94-1933
• Parties: Bojana BEVC, Petitioner, v. IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 907

47 F.3d 907

Bojana BEVC, Petitioner, v. IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent.

No. 94-1933.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued Nov. 2, 1994.

Decided Feb. 17, 1995.

Y. Judd Azulay and Stephen D. Berman (argued), Azulay & Azulay, Chicago, IL, for petitioner.

Michael J. Shepard, Asst. U.S. Atty., Office of the U.S. Atty., Crim. Div., Chicago, IL, Anthony W. Norwood (argued), David J. Kline, Dept. of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation, Janet Reno, U.S. Atty. Gen., Office of the U.S. Atty. Gen., Washington, DC, A.D. Moyer, Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, Joseph M. Yeung, I.N.S., Chicago, IL, Richard M. Evans and William J. Howard, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Civ. Div., Immigration Litigation, Washington, DC, for respondent.

Before CUDAHY, EASTERBROOK and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge.

Bojana Bevc, a native of the former Yugoslavia, petitions the court to review the final order of deportation of the Board of Immigration Appeals (the Board), denying asylum and withholding of deportation.

I. STATEMENT OF FACTS

Bevc was born in Macedonia, which was formerly part of Yugoslavia. She is a citizen of Macedonia and is of Macedonian descent. However, she moved to Serbia when she was still a child and she lived there until December 1991, when she entered the United States without inspection in Detroit, Michigan.

Bevc's arrival in the United States followed that of her two children by only a few months. Somehow the children have secured permanent resident status in the United States. We find the record disturbingly sparse regarding the location of these children and what is to become of them if their mother is deported. Although Bevc's former husband is also residing in the United States, we have no information regarding his residency status, with whom the children reside, who has custody of the children or whether or not the children will remain in the United States if their mother is deported. It is troubling that the children have disappeared through the cracks during this decision-making process. Unfortunately, however, while we are concerned about the unknown implications of this decision for the children, our decision must rest on the merits of Bevc's claim of a legitimate fear of persecution alone. ¹

During the initial deportation hearing, Bevc conceded deportability but applied for asylum and withholding of deportation, requesting voluntary departure in the alternative. As evidence of a well-founded fear of persecution, Bevc presented several newspaper articles and a State Department Advisory Opinion on conditions in the former Yugoslavia. ² She was denied asylum and withholding of deportation, but granted voluntary departure. The Immigration Judge designated Yugoslavia as the place of deportation, in spite of Yugoslavia's vast transformation since Bevc's departure. When she left, Macedonia was still a part of Yugoslavia, but it has since been recognized as an independent state. The only remaining republics in Yugoslavia are Serbia and Montenegro.

The Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Bevc's subsequent appeal on the grounds that Bevc failed to substantiate her fears of persecution. Although the Board's decision suggested that petitioner could be returned to either Serbia or Macedonia, the Board ultimately affirmed the Immigration Judge's deportation order which simply designated Yugoslavia as the country to which petitioner would be deported.

II. ASYLUM AND WITHHOLDING OF DEPORTATION

Bevc argues that the Board erred in finding that she did not meet the requirements for asylum and withholding of deportation because the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) did not controvert any of the evidence she presented regarding persecution of non-Serbian people in Serbian territories. Bevc also argues that she was married to a Slovenian-Croatian, that she is of Macedonian descent and that these factors alone render her a marked and likely target of persecution in Serbia. She thus claims that, as a matter of law, the Board's determination should be reversed.

The standard for judicial review of the Board's decisions is an extremely demanding one. The alien seeking reversal must show that "the evidence he presented was so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution." INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 478, 112 S.Ct. 812, 815, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992). The evidence must not only support reversal, but must compel it. Id. 502 U.S. at 481 n. 1, 112 S.Ct. at 815 n. 1. An applicant seeking asylum under Section 208(a) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1158(a), must show either that she has been a victim of persecution or that she has a well-founded fear of persecution. Balazoski v. INS, 932 F.2d 638, 640 (7th Cir.1991); Carvajal-Munoz v. INS, 743 F.2d 562, 576 (7th Cir.1984). She must show specific, detailed facts supporting the reasonableness of her fear that she will be singled out for persecution. Sivaainkaran v. INS, 972 F.2d 161, 163 (7th Cir.1992); Zulbeari v. INS, 963 F.2d 999, 1000 (7th Cir.1992). Bevc has failed to meet these standards.

We recognize that this may not be an ideal time for any non-Serbian to be living in Serbia. However, general conditions of unrest alone are insufficient to warrant relief. Sivaainkaran, 972 F.2d at 165 ("conditions of political upheaval which affect the populace as a whole or in large part are generally insufficient to establish eligibility for asylum"). This is obviously the basis of Bevc's claim since she bases her claim on a State Department Advisory Opinion on conditions in Yugoslavia and newspaper articles discussing general conditions of unrest and persecution of non-Serbians in Serbia.

Bevc urges us to recognize that she is an especially likely target because the Serbian President has embarked on a campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Serbians, and she is readily identifiable as a non-Serbian because of her Slovenian-Croatian name. Further, she claims that since she was a party to a mixed marriage, she is in a particularly dangerous position because she will be distrusted by extremists on all sides. However, the connection between these claims and Bevc's fear of being singled out for persecution is not so clear as to demand rejection of the Board's decision. The general evidence alone does not show that she personally is at great risk, and Bevc offered no other evidence to corroborate her fear of persecution. The facts here are certainly less compelling than those in Zulbeari, 963 F.2d 999, where petitioner had been personally interrogated and his house searched by authorities in his native country, or Balazoski, 932 F.2d 638, where Balazoski had been interrogated by authorities and...