Kaur
Kaur v. Ashcroft
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Surinder Kaur, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) dismissal of her appeal from an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , grant the petition for review in part, and remand for further proceedings.
The BIA erred in concluding that Kaur “failed to establish past persecution ... based on one of the protected grounds.” Kaur testified credibly that she was raped during one of her detentions by the Indian police. “Rape can support a finding of persecution, but a petitioner alleging persecution must present some evidence, direct or circumstantial, of the persecutor’s motive. The motive requirement is satisfied by evidence that political opinion was imputed to the petitioner.” Kebede v. Ashcroft, 366 F.3d 808, 812 (9th Cir.2004) (quotation marks and internal citation omitted). Our inquiry focuses on whether the rapist’s motivation was at least in part on account of a protected ground. See Shoafera v. INS, 228 F.3d 1070, 1075-76 (9th Cir.2000).