Parussimova v. Mukasey

Tatyana Parussimova (plaintiff) was a native of Kazakhstan who was of Russian ethnicity and an orthodox Christian. Parussimova sought asylum in the United States (defendant), explaining that she had suffered persecution in Kazakhstan on account of her religion and her ethnicity. Parussimova recounted an event in which she was walking down the road near her house when she was assaulted. Parussimova worked for a company called Herbalife. Suddenly, two Kazakh men began to assault her, dragging her to the entrance of an apartment building. The men disputed Parussimova’s right to work for Herbalife, an American company, and ripped an Herbalife pin off her shirt. The men kicked and spat on Parussimova and told her that Russian pigs should get out of Kazakhstan. The men ripped Parussimova’s clothing off and tried to rape her. Parussimova’s screams brought help, and the men fled. A week later, Parussimova saw the men again. Parussimova’s father contacted the police, who took the men away, but after only a few days, Parussimova saw the men again during a walk with her cousin. The men told Parussimova that they would kill her for alerting the police. Parussimova got away, but her cousin was beaten and left unconscious. After this event, the men continued to threaten Parussimova. When Parussimova came to the United States for a job-related conference, she overstayed her visa and sought asylum. An immigration judge held that Parussimova was not a refugee because she had not demonstrated that the men assaulted her on account of her ethnicity or her religion. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed, and Parussimova petitioned for review. Parussimova’s case provided the Ninth Circuit’s first opportunity to interpret the one-central-reason standard required by the REAL ID Act (the act).