Mohammed Azim Faruk Althea Val Faruk v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Althea Val Faruk (“Althea”) and Mohammed Azim Faruk (“Mohammed”) petition for review of the denial of their claims for asylum and withholding of removal. They claim that they were persecuted in Fiji because of their mixed-race, mixed-religion marriage. The immigration judge (IJ) found the Faruks’ testimony credible, but held that the harassment, beatings, and death threats they experienced did not rise to the level of persecution, in part because much of the violence was instigated, threatened, or carried out by the Faruks’ family members. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) summarily affirmed. We grant the petition for review as to the asylum claim, deny the petition as to withholding of removal, and remand.

I.

Althea Faruk is Christian and native Fijian. Mohammed Faruk is a Muslim of Indo-Fijian heritage. There are strong racial tensions in Fiji: According to the State Department Report in the record, native Fijians, almost all of whom are Christian, regularly persecute Fijians of Indian descent, most of whom are Hindu or Muslim. U.S. Dep’t of State, Fiji Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998 (Feb. 26, 1999), available at http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_…