Jin Ying LI, Petitioner, v. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent

Petitioner Jin Ying Li, a native and citizen of China, appeals the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (the “BIA”) denying his application for asylum and withholding of deportation. Petitioner claims that he was persecuted while in China and that he has a well-founded fear of persecution if he returns to China.

Petitioner was smuggled from the Fujian Province in China to the United States (Puerto Rico). Once in Puerto Rico, he was detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (the “INS”).

I. Past Persecution

An alien seeking asylum based on past persecution must show that he was harmed on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. See, e.g., Desir v. Ilchert, 840 F.2d 723, 726-27 (9th Cir.1988); 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A). Persecution is the “infliction of suffering or harm upon those who differ ... in a way regarded as offensive.” Sagermark v. I.N.S., 767 F.2d 645, 649 (9th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1171 , 106 S.Ct. 2895 , 90 L.Ed.2d 982 (1986).

A. Persecution Based on Social Group

Petitioner argues that he belonged to the social group of people with low economic status. This Court has…