Third Circuit Requires that Asylum Applicant be Given Opportunity to Express Language of Preference

The Third Circuit has determined that an Immigration Judge must give an asylum applicant the opportunity to identify the language they prefer to proceed in, and if that language is anything other than English, to secure an interpreter for the applicant. Accordingly, the court remanded a motion to reopen filed by a Cameroonian asylum seeker whose native language was Pidgin English, and who was not provided with an interpreter during his removal proceedings.

The full text of BC v. Attorney General can be found here:

https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/191408p.pdf

First Circuit Reverses BIA's Determination that IJ Made Clearly Erroneous Factual Finding

The First Circuit applied a de novo review to the BIA's determination that the IJ clearly erred when he determined that the Mexican government was unable or unwilling to protect the petitioner from organized crime members.  The Court reversed the BIA's determination because it conflated the issue of the police's willingness to investigate the crime with their ability to actually protect the petitioner from harm.  The IJ focused heavily on the country conditions evidence that police in Guerrero are overwhelmed by organized crime, and the First Circuit cited this analysis approvingly. 

The full text of Justo v. Sessions can be found here: http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/17-1457P-01A.pdf