Maldonado-Cruz v. U.S. Dept. of Immigration and Naturalization

• Decision Date: 24 August 1989
• Docket Number: No. 88-7036,MALDONADO-CRUZ,88-7036
• Parties: Juan A., a/k/a Hugo Deras-Espinoza, Petitioner, v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 788

883 F.2d 788

Juan A. MALDONADO-CRUZ, a/k/a Hugo Deras-Espinoza, Petitioner, v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION, Respondent.

No. 88-7036.

United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted Feb. 14, 1989.

Decided Aug. 24, 1989.

Steven M. Rosenthal, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, Washington, D.C., for petitioner.

Marshall Golding, Washington, D.C., for respondent.

Petition to Review a Decision of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Before WALLACE, TANG and SCHROEDER, Circuit Judges.

TANG, Circuit Judge:

Juan A. Maldonado-Cruz ("Maldonado") petitions for review a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") affirming the denial of political asylum and withholding of deportation. Because the decision of the BIA was incorrect as a matter of law, we reverse.

I. Factual Background

Maldonado had been employed as an agricultural worker near his hometown of La Reyna which is located in northern El Salvador. One day in the fall of 1983, while Maldonado was working in the fields, a guerrilla group consisting of approximately twenty-five men apprehended Maldonado and forced him to go to the guerrilla camp. At the camp, Maldonado was subjected to two days of political indoctrination. The guerrillas then forced Maldonado to accompany them to La Reyna on a raid for food and supplies. Maldonado was forced to stand guard over stolen supplies. ¹

On the following evening, Maldonado escaped from the guerrilla camp, reaching his home at about 3:00 a.m. He stayed at home for only three hours. Fearing pursuit by the guerrillas, he went to the capital, San Salvador, where he met some neighbors who told him that the guerrillas had been looking for him. Maldonado immediately decided to leave the country and headed for Guatemala. Following his departure from El Salvador, Maldonado heard from his mother that the guerrillas had returned to his home several times looking for him. Their visits stopped only after they were shown a letter from Maldonado postmarked from abroad.

Maldonado worked at various temporary jobs in Guatemala and Mexico as he journeyed northward. In 1985, Maldonado entered the United States and settled in the Reno, Nevada area where he had relatives. On July 20, 1986, Maldonado was arrested by local police in Reno for illegally carrying a concealed weapon. ²

II. Procedural Background

In September 1986, as a result of the arrest by Reno police, the Immigration and Naturalization Service ("I.N.S.") apprehended Maldonado in Reno. The I.N.S. issued an Order to Show Cause on September 19, 1986, charging him with an uninspected entry to the United States. The I.N.S. then transferred Maldonado to the Federal Detention Center in Oakdale, Louisiana.

On October 21, 1986, Maldonado appeared before an Immigration Judge ("IJ") in Oakdale and conceded deportability. Maldonado requested political asylum ³ and withholding of deportation, ⁴ and in the alternative, the privilege of voluntary departure. ⁵ The basis of his requests was fear of political persecution from either the guerrillas or the El Salvador military based on "political opinion" within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1101(a)(42)(A). Maldonado claims political neutrality and fears that if he were to return to El Salvador, he would be killed either by the guerrillas or by the military. On January 14, 1987, after a hearing, the IJ denied these requests in an oral decision. AR 118.

After the I.N.S. transferred Maldonado to a detention facility in El Paso, Texas, Maldonado appealed the IJ's decision to the BIA. See 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1226(b); 8 C.F.R. Secs. 3.1-3.8. The BIA dismissed the appeal. Matter of Maldonado-Cruz, Interim Decision 3041 (BIA 1988).

On January 28, 1988, Maldonado filed a timely petition for review. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1105a(a). On March 1, 1988, Maldonado was released on bond and now resides in California.

III. Circuit Case Law

We first decide which circuit cases we apply because Maldonado resides within the Ninth Circuit while the BIA proceedings took place within the Fifth Circuit. With respect to venue, there is no question that this case is properly before us. The venue of petitions for review of deportation orders is either in the circuit where the administrative proceedings were conducted on the residence of the petitioner. 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1105a(a)(2). The question of which Circuit's cases to apply, however, is less clear-cut.

The Attorney General has the authority to transport aliens out of the circuit in which they were apprehended. 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1252(c). In Rios-Berrios v. I.N.S., 776 F.2d 859, 863 (9th Cir.1985), an alien was arrested within the Ninth Circuit and was charged with illegally entering the United States. The alien was then transported, under the authority of Sec. 1252(c), to a detention center in Florida. Hearings were conducted in Florida before an IJ and the BIA. On review, we applied Ninth Circuit cases.

In addition to the general policy of preventing forum shopping by the INS, the facts of this case make it particularly appropriate to apply Ninth Circuit cases. Maldonado was apprehended in the Ninth Circuit, was residing in the Ninth Circuit at that time, and has resided in the Ninth Circuit since his release from custody. Apart from the government's unilateral action in transporting him to Louisiana and Texas for deportation proceedings, Maldonado had no contacts with the Fifth Circuit. We conclude that the cases of the Ninth Circuit shall apply to this appeal.

IV. Political Persecution

In dismissing Maldonado's appeal, the BIA noted that a well-founded fear of harm that is not based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social, or political opinion, cannot be the basis for granting asylum or withholding of deportation. See Martinez-Romero v. I.N.S., 692 F.2d 595 (9th Cir.1982) (reported anarchy is insufficient basis to disturb deportation order); Raass v. I.N.S., 692 F.2d 596 (9th Cir.1982) (generalized economic disadvantage cannot be basis for award of asylum). We have previously noted that

[a] clear probability that an alien's life or freedom is threatened, without any indication of the basis for the threat, is generally insufficient to constitute "persecution" and thus to preclude the Attorney General from deporting the alien. There must also be some evidence that the threat is related to one of the factors enumerated in [the statute].

Hernandez-Ortiz v. I.N.S., 777 F.2d 509, 516 (9th Cir.1985).

The BIA dismissed Maldonado's appeal on the grounds that his fear of persecution by the guerrillas and by the El Salvador military is not persecution on account of political opinion as a matter of law. Indeed, the BIA conceded that "the issue does not involve questions of proof, but whether the harm the respondent fears is on account of 'political opinion' as this term is used under [8 U.S.C. Sec. 1101(a)(42)(A) ]." Matter of Maldonado-Cruz, at 3. Because resolution of this matter involves a question of law, we review the decision of the BIA de novo. Rodriguez-Rivera v. I.N.S., 848 F.2d 998, 1001 (9th Cir.1988); see also Lazo-Majano v. I.N.S., 813 F.2d 1432, 1434 (9th Cir.1987).

This case presents the following legal question: If an alien is forced to join a band of guerrillas, but escapes, and the alien then fears persecution by the guerrillas and by the foreign government's military, is the fear of persecution on account of "political opinion" within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1101(a)(42)(A)? The BIA answered this question in the negative. We disagree and reverse.

It is true that Maldonado had not aligned himself politically with either the guerrillas or the military. But we have already noted that "[c]hoosing to remain neutral is no less a political decision than is choosing to affiliate with a particular political faction." Bolanos-Hernandez v. I.N.S., 767 F.2d 1277, 1286 (9th Cir.1984); see also Turcios v. I.N.S., 821 F.2d 1396, 1401 (9th Cir.1987).

We hold that Maldonado's fear of persecution by the guerrillas was based on political opinion. The guerrillas are a political entity. Maldonado's refusal to join them was a manifestation of his neutrality, which is a recognized political opinion. Del Valle v. I.N.S., 776 F.2d 1407, 1413 (9th Cir.1985); Bolanos-Hernandez, 767 F.2d at 1286. Hence, any persecution by the guerrillas is a result of Maldonado's expression of his political opinion, which falls within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1101(a)(42)(A). ⁶

This is not a case involving mere claims of "random violence." Rodriguez-Rivera, 848 F.2d at 1006. Maldonado "is likely to be persecuted by a politically motivated group that frequently engages in terrorist tactics directed at those who refuse to join its armed political struggle." Bolanos-Hernandez, 767 F.2d at 1287.

Maldonado's fear of persecution by the El Salvador military is similarly on account of political opinion. In Blanco-Lopez v. I.N.S., 858 F.2d 531, 532 (9th Cir.1988), the petitioner had been falsely accused of being associated with the guerrillas. The El Salvador authorities then threatened to kill the petitioner because of his reportedly being a guerrilla. The BIA affirmed the denial of asylum and withholding of deportation as a matter of law. Id. at 533. We reversed, holding that the petitioner was being persecuted based on political opinion in that the government "security forces believed him to be a guerrilla and attempted to persecute him for it." Id. at 534. Similarly, in the instant case, Maldonado's fear of persecution is based on political opinion; Maldonado fears harm from the El Salvador authorities because of his supposed association with the guerrillas.

Furthermore, we noted in Blanco-Lopez that

the incident described by Blanco-Lopez was not in furtherance of a criminal prosecution, but rather was one of governmental persecution based on Blanco-Lopez's perceived political beliefs.

858 F.2d at 534 (emphasis in original)....