Prejudicial Ruling on Addiction in Federal Immigration Courts: The Case of One Asylum Seeker Goes Before the 9th Circuit Court

Reuben-Vaisman Tzachor

doi:10.33552/oajap.2020.03.000571

Abstract

The case of an asylum seeker who was the victim of prolonged torture and sex enslavement in her country of origin is pending before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. This, after lower immigration authorities (i.e., Immigration Judge and Board of Immigration Appeals) refused to consider granting asylum because of “questionable moral character” of the applicant. The basis for the refusal were repeated Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offenses after the applicant developed an addiction to alcohol. The argument before the appellate court, and the argument of this article, is that addiction to alcohol was consequent to trauma sustained in the country of origin and that it is considered a mental disease, not an indication of immorality.

Highlights

At the core of Federal Immigration Courts’ consideration of applications for asylum in the U.S is an impartial process which is meant to be free from prejudices
The case of Ms MRG represents a tendency of the legal community and of the Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) apparatus to hold prejudicial views about substance use disorders as largely reflecting upon the moral character of addicted applicants
Persons who are adjudicated in substance-related offenses tend to be considered of “questionable moral character” and their asylum applications tend to be largely rejected on that basis

Summary

Introduction

At the core of Federal Immigration Courts’ consideration of applications for asylum in the U.S is an impartial process which is meant to be free from prejudices. A few times during this waiting period she returned at night to see if she could take her children away with her, but R told her that HSR removed her kids from her mother’s custody and placed them with “Seniora M”(who was the wife of the village commissioner and the chief collaborator with the military).

Results

Conclusion