Appellate Law

CA1: Armenian petition denied

By S. COTUS

Kechichian v. Mukasey, No. 07-1584 (7/23/08) denies an asylum petition from an Armenian whose father ran afoul of the government.  The IJ found no nexus between the petitioner?s woes and her father?s woes.  The IJ and BIA rejected that, and the First seems to accept this uncritically. Before the IJ she didn?t raise the argument that petitioner claims that she is a member of a social group ? people with mental illnesses.  The BIA didn?t address that because ?we are an appellate body.?  (Whatever.  There is a reason people don?t take the BIA seriously.)  The First doesn?t look at this, and says there isn?t a due process argument.  And, it says a denial of a remand to look at that new evidence wasn?t an abuse of direction. 

Full post as published by Appellate Law and Practice on July 24, 2008 (boomark / email).