S.A.B. v. Boente

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SAB, 61-year-old Ethiopian citizen, was formerly a member of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which conducted a ‘low level guerrilla campaign against the Ethiopian security forces’.” SAB came to the U.S. in 2004 on a visitor’s visa. She sought asylum or withholding of removal. When an asylum officer deemed her claims not credible, she was charged as removable, 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(1)(B). She claimed fear that, if removed to Ethiopia, she would be tortured by the government because of her past OLF membership. She claimed that her membership was limited to attending general meetings and small financial contributions, that she did not believe reports of OLF killings, that her husband disappeared, and that she was imprisoned and tortured for four months. The IJ ruled that SAB was entitled to deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, but was not entitled to asylum or withholding of removal, citing her support of ”a terrorist organization,” 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(B)(vi)(III). The BIA affirmed. The Seventh Circuit rejected an appeal, stating that there was enough evidence to conclude that the SAB provided material support to OLF, which committed many violent acts, killing a significant number of people, over a period of years. SAB did not “demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence” that she did not know and “should not reasonably have known," that OLF was a terrorist organization. SAB, a business woman, could not have missed all the reports or reasonably thought all of them fraudulent. The court noted that the removal order cannot be executed as long she remains under threat of torture. View "S.A.B. v. Boente" on Justia Law