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AG Sessions issues Matter of A-B-, restricting asylum claims based on domestic or gang violence

  1. Original Date Announced

    March 7, 2018

    AG Sessions vacates the BIA's decision in Matter of A-B- and overrules the BIA's decision in Matter of A-R-C-G-. Sessions largely rejects domestic and gang violence as grounds for asylum, opining that a claim based on the conduct of a private actor must show that the government condoned the conduct or was incapable of controlling it, rather than just having difficulty reining it in. Sessions also chastised the BIA for issuing a precedent where DHS had conceded relevant legal issues.

    [ID #169]

    Matter of A-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 316 (A.G. 2018)
  2. Effective Date

    June 11, 2018
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  4. Biden Administration Action: Other

    June 16, 2021

    2021.06.16 Impact of Attorney General decisions in Matter of L-E-A- and Matter of A-B-

    Following Attorney General Garland’s decision to vacate Matters of L-E-A-, A-B- I, and A-B- II. on June 16, 2021, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta explained that "Attorney General Garland's decisions instruct that Immigration Judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals should no longer follow the vacated decisions and should instead revert to prior precedent."

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  5. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    June 16, 2021

    Matter of A-B-, 28 I&N Dec. 307 (A.G. 2021)

    This Biden administration action revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On June 16, 2021, Attorney General Garland issued a new decision in Matter of A-B-, vacating Matter of A-B- I and Matter of A-B- II. "Pending forthcoming rulemaking," immigration judges are instructed to follow the precedent that governed before these decisions were issued, including the BIA's decision in Matter of A-R-C-G-.

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Current Status

Not in effect

Most Recent Action

June 16, 2021 Action: Revoked/Replaced Matter of A-B-, 28 I&N Dec. 307 (A.G. 2021)
June 16, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
June 16, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration

Original Trump Policy Status

Trump Administration Action: Adjudication
Agencies Affected: EOIR AG ICE USCIS

Pre Trump-Era Policies

  • August 6, 2014

    In 2014, the BIA held in Matter of A-R-C-G- that, depending on the facts and evidence in an individual case, “married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship” can constitute a cognizable particular social group for purposes of asylum and related relief.

    Matter of A-R-C-G-, 26 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2014)

Commentary

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