MOGARRABI

Citations

• 19 I. & N. Dec. 439

Syllabus

MOGARRABI, 19 I&N Dec. 439 (BIA 1987) ID 3028 (PDF) (1) In INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421 (1987), the United States Supreme Court held that the \clear probability\ of persecution standard employed for withholding of deportation under section 243(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1253(h) (1982), does not converge with, and may not be equated with, the \well-founded fear\ of persecution standard used for asylum under section 208, 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (1982). Matter of Acosta, 19 I&N Dec. 211 (BIA 1985), is therefore overruled insofar as it held that the two standards were not meaningfullydifferent, and in practical application converged. (2) The well-founded fear of persecution standard used in section 208 of the Act is significantly different from the clear probability standard used in section 243(h). (3) An applicant for asylum under section 208 of the Act has established a well-founded fear if a reasonable person in his circumstances would fear persecution. (4) A reasonable person may well fear persecution even where its likelihood is significantly less than clearly probable. (5) An alien's own testimony in an asylum case may be sufficient, without corroborative evidence, to prove a well-founded fear of persecution where that testimony is believable, consistent, and sufficiently detailed to provide a plausible and coherent account of the basis for his fear. (6) Matter of Acosta's requirement that an applicant for asylum show, inter alia, that the potential persecutor \could easily become aware\ that the applicant possesses a belief or characteristic the persecutor seeks to overcome by some punishment is changed by omitting the word \easily.\