Jose Zumel v. Loretta E. Lynch

Jose Maria Carlos De Leon Zumel, a native and- citizen of the Philippines, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruling that he is inadmissible under 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(3)(B)(i)(I) for having engaged in terrorist activity, and dismissing his appeal from the Immigration Judge’s (IJ) order of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and hold that the BIA did not err when it determined that an attempted coup against the Philippine government was unlawful under Philippine law, and that Zumel “engaged” in the coup by planning it. But assuming that the question whether the coup participants lacked an “intent to endanger, directly or indirectly, the safety of one or more individuals,” 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(3)(B)(iii)(V)(b), is a question of fact, the BIA erred in failing to apply clear error review to the IJ’s finding that the coup participants lacked such intent. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1 (d)(3)(i). We therefore grant the petition for review and remand to the BIA.

I

This appeal relates to Zumel’s activities during a period of political instability in the Philippines from 1986 to 1989. In 1986, Zumel was serving as a general…