INS v. Elias-Zacarias Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

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INS v. Elias-Zacarias | 502 U.S. 478 (1992)

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a noncitizen is eligible for asylum if he proves that he has a well-founded fear of persecution in his country on account of his political opinion. So what if a noncitizen fled his country to avoid being conscripted into an anti-government guerrilla organization? Does that, by itself, render the noncitizen eligible for asylum? The Supreme Court addressed this issue in I N S versus Elias-Zacarias.

Immigration officials arrested Jairo Elias-Zacarias, an eighteen-year-old Guatemalan citizen, for entering the United States without permission. In subsequent removal proceedings, Elias-Zacarias admitted that he was deportable but requested asylum and withholding of deportation. He testified that he had fled Guatemala because anti-government guerillas there had attempted to conscript him into their anti-government forces and he didn’t want to join. He stated that the guerillas repeatedly came to his house after he had initially declined to join and that he feared they would either kidnap him or kill him if he returned home. He further testified that he feared that the Guatemalan government would punish him if he were to join the guerillas. The immigration judge denied asylum and withholding of deportation. The Board of Immigration Appeals likewise denied him asylum and withholding of deportation.

Elias-Zacarias petitioned the Ninth Circuit to review the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals. The Ninth Circuit held that Elias-Zacarias had a well-founded fear of persecution by the guerilla organization based on his political opinion.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service successfully petitioned the United States Supreme Court for cert.

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