Gomez-Saballos

The lead petitioner is Sergio Augusto Gomez-Saballos, who seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) order denying his application for withholding of deportation and political asylum under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1253 (h) and 1158(a). 1 We must uphold the BIA’s determination that petitioner is not eligible for asylum and withholding of deportation if the BIA’s finding is “supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence on the record considered as a whole.” 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(4). We conclude under the unusual facts of this case the BIA has misapplied the governing standards to the facts before it, that substantial evidence on the record as a whole demonstrates without equivocation that the petitioner’s “life ... would be threatened ... on account of ... political opinion” if required to return to Nicaragua, and that the petitioner is thus entitled to withholding of deportation under § 1253(h). It follows that the petitioner is also eligible for asylum under the lesser “well-founded fear of persecution” standard under § 1158(a). See 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A) (defining “refugee”).

Controlling Standards

In á trilogy of eases, the Supreme Court has clarified the…