Emmanuel Mejia v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Emmanuel Mejia, a native of the Phillip-pines, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) decision denying his motion to reopen his asylum proceedings. We grant the petition and direct the BIA to reopen the proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Emmanuel Mejia left the Philippines for the United States in May 1992, afraid for his life. The following account of his experience in the Philippines comes from the factual findings in a 1994 decision by an Immigration Judge (IJ), who “afford[ed]” Mejia’s testimony “full weight as evidence” because he found it “candid,” “forth-right,” and “credible.”

In the Philippines, Mejia operated an auto repair business. A military base sat one kilometer from his auto shop and many of Mejia’s customers were high-ranking military officers. In April, 1991, a man named Ramon Carmon came to his shop and began asking about the whereabouts and activities of Mejia’s military customers. Mejia did not supply the requested information.

Carmon returned five days later and asked similar questions. Mejia similarly refused to respond. In a visit one week later, Carmon revealed that he belonged to the New People’s Army (NPA), a violent rebel…