Ali

I. Factual and Procedural History

A. Ali’s Experiences in Somalia

Ali, the lead petitioner, was born in Berbera, a northern Somali city, and is a member of the Muuse Diriiye clan, which is referred to pejoratively as the Midgan clan. Muuse Diriiye clan members are bound in servitude to noble Somali families and are considered low-caste and subhuman by other Somali clans. As a result, higher-status clans will not marry members of the Muuse Diriiye clan. See 1996 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Dep’t. of State, Somalia: Profile of Asylum and Country Conditions 13, reprinted in Administrative Record (AR) at 637 (hereinafter State Dep’t Report). Traditionally, the Muuse Diriiye had no rights to engage in political activities or undertake political work, but under the presidency of Mohammed Siad Barre they were allowed to assume political positions for the first time. See id. at 13-14, reprinted in AR at 637-38. This open- ing of civil service positions to a non-noble clan angered higher-status clans, including members of the United Somali Congress (“USC”) militia that ousted Siad Barre in a civil war in 1991. Id. at 14, reprinted in AR at 638. The civil war…