Jose Benedicto Montecino v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Jose Benedicto Montecino-Reyes appeals from the denial from the Board of Immigration Appeals (the Board) of his petition for withholding of deportation and grant of political asylum. We reverse and remand.

FACTS

Montecino, born on September 4, 1962, was a resident of Canton Caulotillo Jurisdiction El Camón, La Union, El Salvador. In 1982 he served as a soldier in the army of El Salvador. At the end of the year in September 1983 — with or without permission, the evidence is ambiguous — he left the army and returned to his parents’ home in the small village in which they lived. The day before he got back, at 1:00 A.M. in the morning, there was a knock at his parents’ door. The nocturnal visitors were guerrillas, who asked that the door be opened. Montecino’s father opened the door. The guerrillas asked for water. They also asked Montecino’s parents if they had sons in the army. Montecino knew of men, discharged from the army, who had been killed by guerrillas. Guerrillas regularly patrolled the area on foot, questioning the women of the country about soldiers or ex-soldiers. When Mon-tecino heard of the guerrillas’ visit to his home, he concluded that he was in danger and did not…