Court finds past persecution, remands

Vincent v. Holder, __ F.3d __ (6th Cir. Feb. 15, 2011) (published).

The Court denied in part and sustained in part the petition for review filed by a native of Sierra Leone.

The Court did not review the timeliness of his asylum claim, even though he delayed filing because he had a pending adjustment of status application based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen.  His wife died and the Court brought new Surviving Relative law to counsel's attention, which can hopefully be pursued on remand.

Although rejecting the applicant's challenges to the denial of asylum and CAT, the Court remanded on withholding.  The Court found that the record compels the conclusion that the burning of the applicant's home was on account of his political opinion and that the cumulative effect of the harm (including the murder of his son) rose to the level of past persecution.  This is key because there is sometimes a tendency for judges to look at incidents of  harm in isolation instead of cumulatively and based on the totality of circumstances.

Having found past persecution, the Court remanded because the applicant was entitled to a presumption of a clear probability of future persecution (which the Court mistakenly refers to as a well-founded fear).