Roberto Antonio Aguilera-Cota v. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Roberto Antonio Aguilera-Cota petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (the “BIA”) holding him ineligible for asylum. We grant the petition for review, reverse the BIA’s decision and remand so that the Attorney General may exercise his discretion under section 208(a) of the Refugee Act of 1980, 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (a) (1990) (the “Act”).

FACTS

Roberto Antonio Aguilera-Cota fled El Salvador in March of 1984. Before he fled the country, Aguilera worked for the Central Board of Elections during the 1983-1984 presidential elections. As a government employee, he had been issued a government identification card. Although he was politically neutral, he did not feel safe working for the government. In early March, Aguilera received a threatening letter with his name on it. The handwritten, anonymous note was left under his door at home, and it warned him to quit his job or pay the consequences. Aguilera destroyed the note. Several days later, an unidentified man came to his house looking for him. The man questioned his sister concerning Aguilera’s whereabouts and his job with the government. He told her he was going to return. Aguilera, fearing for his life,…

dissenting:

8 U.S.C. § 1158 (a) provides that the Attorney General may in his discretion grant asylum to an alien who qualifies as a “refugee” within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A) (1990). Section 1101(a)(42)(A) defines a “refugee” as, in relevant part, an alien “who is unable or unwilling to return to” his country of nationality “because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of ... membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.... ” To meet this standard, Aguilera-Cota must show his fear of persecution is “both subjectively genuine and objectively reasonable.” Blanco-Comarribas, 830 F.2d 1039, 1042 (9th Cir.1987) (citing Sanchez-Trujillo v. INS, 801 F.2d 1571, 1579 (9th Cir.1986)).

Substantial evidence supports the Board’s finding that Aguilera-Cota failed to establish a well-founded fear of persecution. Single episodes of the ransacking of *1385 his house by the military, his receipt of a threatening anonymous note instructing him to resign from his temporary low-level job with the Salvadoran Board of Elections, and an inquiry made at his home regarding his job by a stranger; two episodes of his nearly being drafted by the…

914 F.2d 1375 Roberto Antonio AGUILERA-COTA, Petitioner, v. U.S. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent. No. 88-7389. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted Oct. 30, 1989. Decided Sept. 21, 1990. Rosemary J. Esparza, Los Angeles, Cal., for petitioner. Robert C. Bonner, U.S. Atty., Frederick M. Brosio, Jr., Asst. U.S. Atty., Chief, Civ. Div., Michael C. Johnson, Sp. Asst. U.S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for respondent. Petition for Review of an Order By the Board of Immigration Appeals. Before NORRIS, REINHARDT and TROTT, Circuit Judges. REINHARDT, Circuit Judge: 1 Roberto Antonio Aguilera-Cota petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (the "BIA") holding him ineligible for asylum. We grant the petition for review, reverse the BIA's decision and remand so that the Attorney General may exercise his discretion under section 208(a) of the Refugee Act of 1980, 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1158 (a) (1990) (the "Act"). FACTS 2 Roberto Antonio Aguilera-Cota fled El Salvador in March of 1984. Before he fled the country, Aguilera worked for the Central Board of Elections during the 1983-1984 presidential elections. As a government employee, he…