N-M

Citations

• 25 I. & N. Dec. 526

Syllabus

N-M-, 25 I&N Dec. 526 (BIA 2011) ID 3717 (PDF) (1) Opposition to state corruption may, in some circumstances, constitute the expression of political opinion or give a persecutor a reason to impute such an opinion to an alien. (2) For claims arising under the REAL ID Act of 2005, Division B of Pub. L. No. 109-13,119 Stat. 302, a showing of retaliation for opposing governmental corruption is, by itself,insufficient to establish eligibility for relief instead, an alien must persuade the trierof fact that his or her actual or imputed anticorruption belief (or other protected trait) wasone central reason for the harm. (3) In making the nexus determination, an Immigration Judge should consider: (1) whetherand to what extent the alien engaged in activities that could be perceived as expressionsof anticorruption beliefs (2) any direct or circumstantial evidence that the persecutor wasmotivated by the alien's actual or perceived anticorruption beliefs and (3) any evidenceregarding the pervasiveness of corruption within the governing regime.