VIGIL

Citations

• 19 I. & N. Dec. 572

Syllabus

VIGIL, 19 I&N Dec. 572 (BIA 1987) ID 3050 (PDF) (1) The group of young, male, urban, unenlisted Salvadorans does not constitute a \particular social group\ within the meaning of sections 101(a)(42)(A) and 243(h)of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101(a)(42)(A) and 1253(h) (1982). (2) An alien who merely testifies at his deportation hearing that he wishes to remain neutral in the midst of the civil conflict in his native country does not thereby establish a well-founded fear of persecution on account of a political opinion pursuant to section 208(a) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. §1158(a) (1982). (3) The forcible recruitment of young males by a guerrilla organization does not constitute persecution within the meaning of the Act. (4) A sovereign government does not engage in persecution when it drafts its citizens in order to raise an army and protect the country. (5) An alien's testimony that he fears persecution in his native country because he applied for asylum in the United States is insufficient to establish eligibility for asylum under section 208(a) of the Act, where the alien has not shown that persons in his native country are harmed because they applied for asylum here. (6) An immigration judge is not required to make credibility findings in every case. (7) An immigration judge is required to admit the Department of State Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs advisory opinion into evidence in an asylum case, pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 208.10(b) (1988). (8) Evidence of conditions in an alien's native country is admissible in support of an asylum application, but the ultimate test for asylum eligibility is whether the particular alien has good reasons to fear persecution.