Particular social group, nexus, and future persecution

Qu v. Holder, http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/10a0270p-06.pdf
This case, involving a Chinese woman kidnapped and threatened with rape and forcible marriage by a "big thug," addressed several important issues.

First, the Court continued to follow the definition of particular social group formulated in Matter of Acosta, 19 I&N Dec. 211 (BIA 1985).  Acosta's broad interpretation of psg encompasses any group, not matter how populous, that is persecuted because of shared characteristics that are either immutable or fundamental.

Second, the Court strongly suggested that women in China who have been subjected to forced marriage and involuntary servitude constitute a psg, although it remanded to let the BIA decide this in the first instance.  Ms. Qu shares the common, immutable characteristic of being a woman who has been abducted by a man trying to force her into marriage in an area where forced marriages are recognized.

Third, this case involved a mixed motive because Ms. Qu was targeted both to secure the repayment of her father's debt and because she was a woman show could be forced into marriage in a place where such marriages are accepted.  If there is a nexus between the persecution and membership in a psg, the simultaneous existence of a personal dispute does not eliminate the nexus.  This case is subject to the REAL Id Act.

The Court remanded because the BIA did not fully consider these issues.  The Court left the BIA with the parting instruction that if the BIA concludes that she belonged to a psg, then substantial evidence does not support its finding that she did not fulfill the requirements for asylum.

Finally, the Court found that Ms. Qu did not abandon her CAT claim by only raising it in a cursory manner before the BIA.  The IJ had granted asylum and ICE appealed, so Ms. Qu may not have been aware of the need to argue CAT in detail before the BIA.  Plus, the Court suggested that she had a viable CAT claim.