Bah v. Mukasey
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
529 F.3d 99 (2008)
- Written by Mary Katherine Cunningham, JD
Facts
Three women, Salimatou Bah, Mariama Diallo, and Haby Diallo, (applicants) (defendants) entered the United States from Guinea, and the applicants sought asylum. Attorney General Michael Mukasey (plaintiff) initiated deportation proceedings before two different immigration judges (IJ) in 2005. In the deportation proceedings, the applicants testified that they suffered female genital mutilation (FGM) and that they suffered physical and emotional harm as a result of their experiences. In the case of each woman, the IJs denied the applicant’s application for asylum, finding that the applicants failed to establish a clear probability of future persecution if they returned to Guinea. The IJs found that the FGM the women suffered could not be repeated, and therefore, the women could not demonstrate a well-founded fear of future persecution on the basis of a particular social group. The applicants all appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). In each case, the BIA rejected the applicant’s arguments that FGM constituted ongoing persecution and denied their appeals. The applicants then appealed to the Second Circuit, reasserting their applications for asylum. The applicants argued that FGM constituted an ongoing mutilation of their bodies and that they feared persecution if they returned to Guinea.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Straub, J.)
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