E-R-A-L

Citations

• 27 I. & N. Dec. 767

Syllabus

(1) An alien's status as a landowner does not automatically render that alien a member of a particular social group for purposes of asylum and withholding of removal. (2) To establish a particular social group based on landownership, an alien must demonstrate by evidence in the record that members of the proposed group share an immutable characteristic and that the group is defined with particularity and is perceived to be socially distinct in the society in question. (3) The respondent's proposed particular social groups—comprised of landowners and landowners who resist drug cartels in Guatemala—are not valid based on the evidence in the record.