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The new rule amends the
Department of Justice regulations
implementing the provisions of the
Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
(IIRIRA), governing asylum claims.
Additionally, this rule amends portions
of the regulations governing cases in
which an applicant has established past
persecution or in which an applicant
may be able to avoid persecution in a
particular country by relocating to
another area of that country. Finally, the
rule identifies factors that may be
considered in the exercise of discretion
in asylum cases in which the alien has
established past persecution but may
not have a well-founded fear of future
persecution. This final rule will ensure
that asylum applications are processed
in accordance with the Immigration and
Nationality Act (Act), as amended by
IIRIRA, as well as with international
instruments.
The new regulation provides guidance
on the definitions of ‘‘persecution’’ and
‘‘membership in a particular social
group,’’ as well as what it means for
persecution to be ‘‘on account of’’ a
protected characteristic in the definition
of a refugee. It restates that gender can
form the basis of a particular social
group. It also establishes principles for
interpretation and application of the
various components of the statutory
definition of ‘‘refugee’’ for asylum and
withholding cases generally, and, in
particular, will aid in the assessment of
claims made by applicants who have
suffered or fear domestic violence.
Further, the regulation clarifies
that the factors considered in cases in
the Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit regarding membership in a
particular social group are not
determinative. Finally, the regulation clarifies
procedural handling of asylum and
withholding claims in which past
persecution has been established. This
proposed rule has been prepared and is
published in conjunction with the final
rule on asylum procedures, which
incorporates both the interim rule
amending the Department of Justice
(Department) regulations to implement
the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act, 62 FR
10312 (1997), and the proposed past
persecution rule, 63 FR 31945 (1998).
DATE: The new rule is effective January 5,
2001.
A complete documentation on the US-New Regulations are available for reading or downloading. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the file.
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