Oliverto Pirir-Boc v. Eric Holder, Jr. (2014)

We require “a reasoned explanation by the BIA of the basis for its decision.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1086 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting Franco-Rosendo v. Gonzales, 454 F.3d 965, 966 (9th Cir. 2006)).

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014). 1.

See Matter of M-E-V-G-, 26 I. & N. Dec. at 241 (“Societal considerations have a significant impact on whether a proposed group describes a collection of people with appropriately defined boundaries and is sufficiently ‘particular.’”); see also Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014) (“To be consistent with its own precedent, the BIA may not reject a group solely because it had previously found a similar group in a different society to lack social distinction…

However, “the agency must make a case-by-case determination as to whether the group is recognized by the particular society in question.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014).

However, “the agency must make a case-by-case determination as to whether the group is recognized by the particular society in question.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014).

The Country Report also highlights that “[t]he Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations operated the Women’s Emergency Program, which included service centers that combined police, prosecutors, counselors, and public welfare agents to help victims of domestic abuse.” See Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014) (“Evidence such as country conditions reports, expert witness testimony, and press accounts of discriminatory laws and policies, historical animos…

“Social distinction refers to whether ‘the people of a given society would perceive a proposed group as sufficiently separate or distinct.’” Diaz-Torres, 963 F.3d at 980 (quoting Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014)).

See Zuniga v. Barr, 946 F.3d 464 , 466 (9th Cir. 2019) (per curiam); Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014).

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014).

Pirir- Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014).

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014).

“Evidence such as country conditions reports, expert witness testimony, and press accounts of discriminatory laws and policies, historical animosities, and the like may establish that a group exists and is perceived as ‘distinct’ or ‘other’ in a particular society.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting Matter of M-E- V-G-, 26 I. & N. Dec. 227, 241 (B.I.A. 2014)).

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014).

“Whether a group constitutes a ‘particular social group’ [(“PSG”)] is a question of law.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014). 1.

“Whether a group constitutes a ‘particular social group’ [(“PSG”)] is a question of law.” Pirir- Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014). 1.

Social distinction examines whether “the people of a given society would perceive a proposed group as sufficiently separate or distinct.” Id. (quoting Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014)).

“Whether a group constitutes a ‘particular social group’ [(“PSG”)] is a question of law.” Pirir- Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014). 1.

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014).

Petitioner argues that his statements to the AO that he “cooperat[ed] with U.S. law enforcement officials against drug operations of cartel members in Mexico and their associates . . . make[] him a member of a particular social group with a well-founded future fear of being persecuted on account of it.” “Whether a group constitutes a particular social group is a question of law.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Cf. Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014) (describing the particularity inquiry as “a case-by-case determination”); Diaz-Reynoso, 968 F.3d at 1088 (similar).

“Whether a group constitutes a ‘particular social group’ under the [Immigration and Nationality Act] is a question of law that we review de novo.” Barbosa v. Barr, 926 F.3d 1053, 1059 (9th Cir. 2019) (citing Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014)).

Cordoba v. Barr, 962 F.3d 479 , 482 (9th Cir. 2020) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014)).

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014) (citation omitted). 1.

It is true that “[e]vidence such as country conditions reports, expert witness testimony, and press accounts of discriminatory laws and policies, historical animosities, and the like may establish that a group exists and is perceived as ‘distinct’ or ‘other’ in a particular society.” Diaz-Torres v. Barr, 963 F.3d 976, 980 (9th Cir. 2020) (quoting Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014)).

The inquiry into social distinction “ordinarily demand[s] some type of corroborative, objective evidence” showing 2 22-487 that “a group exists and is perceived as ‘distinct’ or ‘other’ in a particular society.” Diaz-Torres v. Barr, 963 F.3d 976 , 981–82 (9th Cir. 2020) (quoting Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014)).

It is true that “[e]vidence such as country conditions reports, expert witness testimony, and press accounts of discriminatory laws and policies, historical animosities, and the like may establish that a group exists and is perceived as ‘distinct’ or ‘other’ in a particular society.” Diaz-Torres v. Barr, 963 F.3d 976, 980 (9th Cir. 2020) (quoting Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014)).

Vasquez-Rodriguez, 7 F.4th at 897–98 (quoting Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014)).

Under our precedent in Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084-85 (9th Cir. 2014), an individual that takes concrete steps to oppose gang authority may be recognized to be a member of a cognizable PSG.

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014).

See Barbosa v. Barr, 926 F.3d 1053, 1059 (9th Cir. 2019) (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1231 (b)(3)(A)); Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A)).

Contrary to Gonzalez’s arguments, the Board appropriately evaluated the proposed particular social groups and political opinions through a case-specific “evidence-based inquiry.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014). 5.

Cordoba v. Barr, 962 F.3d 479, 482 (9th Cir. 2020) (internal quotations omitted) (quoting Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014)).

Cf. Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014) (noting that the BIA "may not reject a group solely because it had previously found a similar group in a different society to lack social distinction or particularity").

Social distinction refers to whether “the people of a given society would perceive a proposed group as sufficiently separate or distinct.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014).

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014); see also Diaz-Reynoso v. Barr, 968 F.3d 1070, 1088 (9th Cir. 2020) (remanding “[b]ecause the BIA avoided the case-specific [PSG] inquiry demanded by . . . the BIA’s precedents”).

Id. at 482 (quoting Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014)).

The BIA also concluded petitioner’s proposed group lacked social distinction, but it failed to consider “society-specific evidence,” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014); see also Henriquez-Rivas v. Holder, 707 F.3d 1081, 1092 (9th Cir. 2013) (en banc) (explaining that laws targeted at a particular class of individuals may be “evidence that a society recognizes [the] particular class of individuals as uniquely vulnerable”).

See Diaz-Reynoso, 968 F.3d at 1086 (“The dissent’s reliance on these decisions reflects its mistaken premise that the rejection of a social group in one case suggests that a similar group may be rejected summarily in another. . . . [This] contravenes binding authority establishing that whether a particular social group is cognizable ‘requires a fact- specific inquiry based on the evidence in a particular case.’”) (quoting Matter of L-E-A-, 27 I. & N. Dec. 581, 591 (A.G. 2019…

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014).

Different treatment by society can evidence social distinction, see Acevedo Granados, 992 F.3d at 763 , and the country conditions suggest mentally ill people behaving aggressively are treated distinctly by society, see Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014).

“To be consistent with its own precedent, the BIA may not reject a group solely because it had previously found a similar group in a different society to lack social distinction or particularity . . . .” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014).

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014).

Instead, “[w]e must accept the BIA’s construction if it is reasonable.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014).

We have repeatedly recognized that “[e]vidence such as country conditions reports, expert witness testimony, and press accounts of discriminatory laws and policies, historical animosities, and the like may establish that a group exists and is perceived as ‘distinct’ or ‘other’ in a particular society.” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting M-E-V-G-, 26 I. & N. Dec. at 241); Diaz-Torres v. Barr, 963 F.3d 976 , 980–82 (9th Cir. 2020) (same).

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014).

See Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077 , 1086 n.9 (9th Cir. 2014) (“[A] CAT claim is sufficiently raised when an alien declares his fear of future torture on his asylum application and provides supporting evidence during the removal hearing.”).

Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014) (“To determine whether a group is a particular social group for the purposes of an asylum claim, the agency must make a case-by-case determination as to whether the group is recognized by the particular society in question.”); Reyes, 842 F.3d at 1132 (same); see also Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849 , 854–55 (9th Cir. 2009) (resistance to gang recruitment does not constitute a social group for purposes of asylum).

Reyes v. Lynch, 842 F.3d 1125, 1140 (9th Cir. 2016) (“Where the BIA conducts its own review of the evidence and law rather than adopting the IJ’s decision, our review is limited to the BIA’s decision, except to the extent that the IJ’s opinion is expressly adopted.”) (internal quotations omitted); Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014) (“Whether a group constitutes a ‘particular social group’ is a question of law.”).

An agency “is not required ‘to discuss each 23 piece of evidence submitted.’” Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1086 (9th Cir. 2014).

Compare Acosta, 19 I&N Dec. at 233 , and C-A-, 23 I&N Dec. at 955 , with M-E-V-G-, 26 I&N Dec. at 231, and W-G-R-, 26 I&N Dec at 210; see also Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1084 (9th Cir. 2014) (“To determine whether a group is a particular social group for the purposes of an asylum claim, the agency must make a case-by-case determination as to whether the group is recognized by the particular society in question.”); Miranda v. Sessions, 892 F.3d 940, 943 (8th Cir. 201…