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26 I. & N. Dec. 1 (2012-2017)

handle is hein.usfed/adin0026 and id is 1 raw text is: Cite as 26 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 2012) Matter of E-A-, Applicant Decided September 11, 2012 U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review Board of Immigration Appeals (1) In assessing whether there are serious reasons for believing that an applicant for asylum or withholding of removal has committed a serious nonpolitical crime, an Immigration Judge should balance the seriousness ofthe criminal acts against the political aspect of the conduct to determine whether the criminal nature of the acts outweighs their political character. (2) When considered together, the applicant's actions as a member of a group that burned passenger buses and cars, threw stones, and disrupted the economic activity of merchants in the market, while pretending to be from the opposition party, reached the level of serious criminal conduct that, when weighed against its political nature, constituted a serious nonpolitical crime. FOR APPLICANT: Michael Lehach, New York, New York, Esquire FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Megan A. Berry, Associate Legal Advisor BEFORE: Board Panel: GRANT, MALPHRUS, and MULLANE, Board Members. MALPHRUS, Board Member: The applicant has appealed from a decision of the Immigration Judge dated November 17, 2008, denying his applications for asylum and withholding of removal under sections 208(b)(1) and 241(b)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158(b)(1) and 123 1(b)(3)(A) (2006), and for protection under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted and opened for signature Dec. 10, 1984, G.A. Res. 39/46. 39 U.N. GAOR Supp. No. 51, at 197, U.N. Doc. A/RES/39/708 (1984) (entered into force June 26, 1987; for the United States Apr. 18, 1988) (Convention Against Torture). The Immigration Judge determined that the applicant had committed a serious nonpolitical crime in Cote d'Ivoire prior to arriving in the United States, which rendered him ineligible for the requested relief pursuant to sections 208(b)(2)(A)(iii) and 241 (b)(3)(B)(iii) of the Act and 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(d)(2) (2012). The appeal will be dismissed. 1 Interim Decision 43766