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appealtestimonyasylumcredibility
tortappeal

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Quintero v. Garland

Facts

Miguel Angel Arevalo Quintero, a Salvadoran national, fled to the U.S. to escape threats from the MS-13 gang after attempting to leave the gang. He was detained by immigration authorities and applied for asylum and withholding of removal, citing fear of persecution due to his former gang membership. The immigration judge denied his application, finding his testimony not credible and failing to consider his proposed social groups.

Petitioner was born in 1994 in El Salvador, a country long plagued by rampant gang violence and instability. Salvadoran gangs 'exercise extraordinary levels of social control over the population . . . [,] principally through the use of threats and violence to create a pervasive atmosphere of fear.' A.R. 215. In September 2012, Petitioner, then a teenager, joined [**3] MS-13. Within a few months of joining MS-13, he realized he had made a mistake, as the gang made him collect extortion money and deliver drugs. Feeling that he 'just couldn't take it anymore,' Petitioner decided to leave the gang. But when Petitioner told the gang about his intent to leave, MS-13 members called him to an isolated place, beat him, and threatened to kill him.

Issue

Did the immigration judge err in failing to develop the record and assist the pro se applicant in identifying viable social groups for his asylum claim?

This case also presents an important question of first impression in our Circuit: whether immigration judges have a legal duty to develop the record.

Rule

Immigration judges have a legal duty to fully develop the record in removal proceedings, particularly for pro se applicants, as mandated by 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(1).

In recognizing such a duty, courts of appeals and the Board of Immigration Appeals have relied on several sources of authority. First, they have grounded the duty principally in a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act which commands immigration judges to 'administer oaths, receive evidence, and interrogate, examine, and cross-examine the [noncitizen] and any witnesses' in removal proceedings. 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(1).

Analysis

The court determined that the immigration judge did not fulfill her duty to assist Quintero in identifying potential social groups relevant to his asylum claim. The judge's adverse credibility determination was not adequately supported, and the Board of Immigration Appeals failed to recognize the errors in the immigration judge's decision.

As explained below, we hold that immigration judges have a legal duty to develop the record, which takes on particular importance in pro se cases, and that the immigration judge in this case erred in failing to discharge that duty. We also conclude that the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in refusing to consider Petitioner's proposed particular social groups based on Matter of W-Y-C- and in mischaracterizing his claim.

Conclusion

The court granted Quintero's petition for review, vacated the final order of removal, and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.

Accordingly, we grant the petition for review, vacate the denial of Petitioner's application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Who won?

Miguel Angel Arevalo Quintero prevailed because the court found that the immigration judge failed to fulfill her duty to develop the record and assist him in his asylum application.

Petitioner first argues that the immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in denying his application for withholding of removal. Specifically, he contends that the immigration judge had a duty to fully develop the record as to two particular social groups plainly supported by his factual allegationsformer MS-13 members in El Salvador who left the gang without permission and family members of Josamiro (his murdered cousin)and that the immigration judge reversibly erred in failing to fulfill that duty or to analyze those groups in evaluating his application for withholding of removal.

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