Class 17: “Particular Social Group”
Eligibility for asylum turns on a noncitizen demonstrating that she qualifies as a refugee, which in turn requires that she show that she faces “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” INA § 208; INA § 101(a)(42). In recent years one of the most heated and important questions has been what it means for a person to face persecution because of membership in a “particular social group.”
Recent decisions by the Attorney General and pending regulatory proposals may dramatically reshape that debate.
Reading:
Newly Proposed Asylum Regulations, 85 Fed. Reg. 36264 (June 15, 2020) (read discussion of particular social group claims on pp. 36277-26279)
Back to Teaching