{"id":522,"date":"2017-05-05T10:22:17","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T17:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hillandpiibe.com\/?p=522\/"},"modified":"2024-08-07T13:11:31","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T20:11:31","slug":"new-bia-case-guarding-tortured-prisoner-persecution-even-no-intent-harm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hillandpiibe.com\/en\/legal-analysis\/2017\/05\/05\/new-bia-case-guarding-tortured-prisoner-persecution-even-no-intent-harm\/","title":{"rendered":"New BIA Case: Guarding a Tortured Prisoner is “Persecution,” Even If You Had No Intent To Harm"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is the first appellate court for all deportation\/removal cases nationwide. \u00a0Today in a decision titled\u00a0Matter of J.M. Alvarado<\/em>, it denied a green card to a man who served in the El Salvador National Guard, because he was a \u201cpersecutor\u201d as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 241(b)(3)(B)(i).\u00a0\u00a0 Alvarado had joined the Salvardoran National Guard because he needed money, and during his service he detained an individual during the Salvadoran Civil War.\u00a0 The prisoner was severely mistreated and tortured during interrogation while Alvarado stood guard.<\/p>\n

Although Alvarado did not specifically commit the persecution and torture, his act of guarding the prisoner assisted the National Guard group who conducted the persecution.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0This assistance is all that is required for Alvarado to be a \u201cpersecutor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Alvarado\u2019s motivation for joining the group was irrelevant.\u00a0 He had joined only because he needed money, not to persecute others.\u00a0 But this was not a sufficient defense because he provided assistance.<\/p>\n

The \u201cpersecutor bar\u201d prevents persecutors from being granted U.S. green cards and other immigration relief in many instances.\u00a0 This includes Cancellation of Removal, Adjustment of Status, and Asylum.<\/p>\n

The BIA decision is consistent with Ninth Circuit decisions on the same subject.\u00a0 In\u00a0Miranda Alvarado v. Gonzales<\/em>, 449 F.3d 915, 927 (9th<\/sup>\u00a0Cir. 2006), the higher appellate Court held that \u201cpersecution\u201d will occur in a prison situation when there is \u201cpersonal involvement and purposeful assistance.\u201d\u00a0 In that case, an interpreter\u2019s assistance was a necessary part of harmful interrogation, and the interpreter was found to be a \u201cpersecutor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill & Piibe successfully defended a similar case where our client gave medical attention to prisoners.\u00a0 We proved that the Immigration Judge made wrongful assumptions about our client\u2019s duties, which did not assist in harming prisoners.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s\u00a0BIA case\u00a0Matter of J.M. Alvarado<\/em>, 27 I&N Dec. 27 (BIA 2017), Interim Decision #3891<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is the first appellate court for all deportation\/removal cases nationwide. \u00a0Today in a decision titled\u00a0Matter of J.M. Alvarado, it denied a green card to a man who served in the El Salvador National Guard, because he was a \u201cpersecutor\u201d as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 241(b)(3)(B)(i).\u00a0\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":878,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asylum-withholding-convention-against-torture","category-legal-analysis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew BIA Case: Guarding a Tortured Prisoner is "Persecution," Even If You Had No Intent To Harm • Hill & Piibe, Immigration Attorneys<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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