Recognized PSG's
TESTIFYING AGAINST GANG MEMBER
BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS
The Many Revisions of what a PSG is over the course of the past couple of decades: See Matter of C-A-, 23 I. & N. Dec. 951, 951 (BIA 2006); Matter of A-M-E- & JG-U-, 24 1. & N. Dec. 69, 69 (BIA 2007); Matter of S-E-G-, 24 1. & N. Dec. 597, 597 (BIA 2008); Matter of E-A-G-, 24 I. & N. Dec. 591, 591 (BIA 2008); Matter of M-E-V-G-, 26 1. & N. Dec. 227, 227 (BIA 2014); Matter of W-G-R-, 26 1. & N. Dec. 208, 208 (BIA 2014), aff'd in relevant part sub nom. Garay-Reyes v. Lynch, 842 F.3d 1125 (9th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 138 S. Ct. 736 (2018); Matter ofA-R-C-G-, 26 I. & N. Dec. 388, 388 (BIA 2014).
Matter of H-L-S-A-, 28 I&N Dec. 228 (BIA 2021)
Individuals who cooperate with law enforcement may constitute a valid particular social group under the Immigration and Nationality Act if their cooperation is public in nature, particularly where testimony was given in public court proceedings, and the evidence in the record reflects that the society in question recognizes and provides protection for such cooperation.
SECOND CIRCUIT
Resistance to Female Subordination to Male Dominance in El Salvador
Hernandez Chacon v. Barr, No. (2d Cir. Jan. 23, 2020): “resistance to the norm of female subordination to male dominance that pervades El Salvador.”
• “There is ample evidence in the record to support her claim: Gangs control much of El Salvador, including the neighborhood in which Hernandez-Chacon lived. The law enforcement systems that would normally protect women -- police, prosecutors, judges, officials -- do not have the resources or desire to address the brutal treatment of women, and the Salvadoran justice system “favors aggressors and assassins” and “punish[es] victims of gender violence.
OTHER CIRCUITS
Women of Country X
Miguelina De Pena-Paniagua v. Barr, (1st Cir. 2020)
It is not clear why a larger group defined as "women," or "women in country X" -- without reference to additional limiting terms -- fails either the "particularity" or "social distinction" requirement. Certainly, it is difficult to think of a country in which women are not viewed as "distinct" from other members of society…. It is equally difficult to think of a country in which women do not form a "particular" and "well-defined" group of persons.”
It is unsurprising, then, that if race, religion, and nationality typically refer to large classes of persons, particular social groups -- which are equally based on innate characteristics -- may sometimes do so as well. See Perdomo v. Holder.
Female Victims of Domestic Violence
• Garcia v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 665 F.3d 496 (3d Cir. 2011) (PSG: individuals who testify against gang members)v • Valdiviezo-Galdamez v. Holder, 663 F.3d 582 (3d Cir. 2011) (PSG: young men who have been actively recruited by gangs and who have refused to join the gangs” is a “particular social group) • Crespin-Valladares v. Holder, 632 F.3d 117 (4th Cir. 2011) (PSG: family members of those who actively oppose gangs in El Salvador by agreeing to be prosecutorial witnesses) • Martinez v. Holder, 740 F.3d 902 (4th Cir. 2014) (PSG: former gang members) • Perdomo v. Holder, 611 F.3d 662 (9th Cir. 2010) (PSG: Guatemalan women) • Henriquez-Rivas v. Holder, 707 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2013) (PSG: people who testify against gang members) • Cordoba v. Holder, 726 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. 2013) (PSG: landowners in X country) • Niang v. Gonzales, 422 F.3d 1187 (10th Cir. 2005) (PSG: females within a particular tribe)
