Xiaodong Li v. Gonzales
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
420 F.3d 500, 429 F.3d 1153 (2005)

- Written by Katrina Sumner, JD
Facts
Xiaodong Li (plaintiff) was a Chinese Christian living in China. Although China recognized five religions, including Christianity, strict regulations required the registration of religious groups with the Religious Affairs Bureau. Registered religious groups were overseen by patriotic religious committees. These committees were political organizations that promoted patriotism and supervised government-sanctioned churches as part of China’s requirement that registered churches promote communism and change any teachings that conflicted with socialism. Any religious practices that did not occur at the location of churches registered with the government and supervised by the patriotic committees were illegal. Like millions of religious citizens, instead of attending a government-sanctioned church, Li and his friend Gao Ying engaged in religious activity at Li’s home with a group of six or seven others by reading the Bible and singing hymns. This unregistered activity took place for over five years until the police learned about it and arrested Li as a reactionary. Li was beaten until he confessed to establishing an underground church and hosting an illegal gathering that was against the government. Before Li’s scheduled hearing on these charges, he fled to the United States (defendant), but he did not initially request asylum because he hoped to return to China someday when conditions improved. After nearly three years in America, Li learned that his friend Gao Ying had been arrested, Li’s family members had been interrogated, and the police were searching for him for having sent religious materials to China while in America. An immigration judge (IJ) did not grant Li asylum, because Li had missed the one-year application deadline. However, the IJ did grant Li withholding from removal, finding China’s law prohibiting religious activities that were not registered was a form of institutional persecution targeting people whose religious practices could not be dictated by the government. The IJ found it more likely that not that Li would face persecution for his past religious activity if he returned to China. The Immigration and Naturalization Service appealed, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversed, ruling that Li would not face persecution on account of his religion but rather prosecution for violating a law against unregistered religious practices, which China had a right to enforce. Li petitioned for review.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Stewart, J.)
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