Zarouite v. Gonzales

Abdelhafid Zarouite (plaintiff) was a citizen of Morocco who was born and raised in Casablanca, where he lived until the Moroccan government forced him and his family to move to the Western Sahara territory. Much of the Western Sahara territory was occupied by Morocco; however, other areas were under the control of the Polisario Front, an independent group. With the help of the United Nations, Morocco and the Polisario Front agreed to hold a referendum to determine the status of Western Sahara. However, there was a dispute regarding whether all residents could vote or only ethnic Sahrawis. Therefore, ahead of a referendum vote, the Moroccan government forced Zarouite and his parents, who were of Sahrawi descent, to move to the territory to increase the votes against independence. Zarouite reported being beaten and attacked for three years by members of the Polisario Front, who wanted Zarouite to leave Western Sahara. When Zarouite went back to Casablanca, the Moroccan government imprisoned him. The government gave Zarouite a choice of going back to Western Sahara or remaining in prison. Several months later, Zarouite went back to Western Sahara, where he continued to be harassed by the Polisario Front. Zarouite left Western Sahara and entered the United States (defendant) without authorization. Zarouite applied for asylum and withholding of removal. However, an immigration judge denied Zarouite’s application, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed. The BIA determined that country conditions in Morocco had changed to the extent that Zarouite no longer had a well-founded fear of returning to Morocco. The BIA made this determination based solely on the state department’s country report for Morocco. The country report indicated that the Moroccan government encouraged Sahrawis to come back if they recognized the government’s authority over Western Sahara and that nationals of Western Sahara who were released from jail were not permitted to live in Western Sahara. Finally, the report indicated that in a majority of areas, the Moroccan government generally regarded the rights of its citizens, but in a few areas, respect for rights was generally poor. From this sole report, the BIA concluded that Morocco generally regarded the rights of citizens and inferred that Zarouite’s fear of returning was not well-founded. Zarouite petitioned for review. Notably, nothing in the government’s brief demonstrated that the country report negated Zarouite's fear of continued persecution.