Matter of L-S-

L-S- was an Albanian citizen who was imprisoned in an internment camp along with his family for criticizing communism. Years later, after L-S-’s release, he and three of his brothers participated in the democratic movement, and L-S- joined the Democratic Party. Both the secret police and members of the Socialist Party threatened L-S-. L-S- endured three beatings by unknown individuals and by police personnel in May and June of 1997. L-S-’s brothers also suffered reprisals as one brother’s home was bombed, and another’s store was bombed in 1998. During the election season of 2000, men with machine guns shot into L-S-’s apartment, hitting his son in the leg. L-S-’s three politically active brothers came to the United States, where they each received asylum. In 2004 the immigration judge (IJ) denied L-J-’s claim for asylum, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed in 2006. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit remanded the case, which was considered by an IJ again in 2008. At that time, L-S- and the Department of Homeland Security submitted evidence of changed country conditions, and L-S- acknowledged that in 2005 the Democratic Party had prevailed in parliamentary elections, winning a majority of the seats in parliament and the prime minister’s position. Despite the changed county conditions, L-S- did not want to return to Albania and explained that his enemies were still there, and his children were still in hiding with their grandparents. L-S- complained of panic attacks, nightmares, and depression and was on a number of psychotropic medications. The IJ determined that conditions in Albania had changed to the point that L-S- did not continue to have a well-founded fear of future persecution and denied the application for asylum without considering the request for humanitarian asylum based on past persecution alone. The BIA affirmed and summarily determined that L-S- did not qualify for humanitarian relief. L-S- again petitioned for review, and the Eighth Circuit affirmed the lack of a well-founded fear but remanded the case to the BIA to determine if L-S- qualified for humanitarian asylum by assessing the relevant factors.