Najaf-Ali
Najaf-Ali v. Meese
Opinion
Opinion
Weigel, J.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
I. SUMMARY
Zubaida Najaf-Ali, an elderly native of Afghanistan, petitions for a writ of habeas corpus. Upon entering this country in June, 1982, she was deemed by an immigration inspector to be “excludable” for lack of a valid visa. In a hearing before an immigration judge (“IJ”) in January, 1985, petitioner admitted excludability, but sought asylum as a “refugee,” or alternatively, “withholding of deportation” on the grounds of likely persecution. The IJ denied this relief, ordering her excluded and deported to Afghanistan. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissed her appeal in March, 1986.
Her petition here claims that (1) the decisions of the IJ and the BIA wére not supported by substantial evidence; (2) the legal standards for granting political asylum and “withholding of deportation” were misapplied; (3) her right to due process was violated because her children were not allowed to testify at the exclusion hearing; (4) she was denied due process, also, because the interpreter at the hearing spoke a different dialect than that spoken by petitioner; (5) she received ineffective assistance of counsel; and (6) respondents should be estopped from…