Shaikh v. Holder, No. 12-1111 (7th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseHusband and wife, Pakistani citizens, entered the U.S. in 2006 and applied for asylum several months later. In 1984, wife had left her native India for an arranged marriage. Her new hometown of Karachi was full of violence, crime, and corruption spurred by political and ethnic rivalries. Wife and her first husband began supporting the MQM party in 1988. By 1991, she became disillusioned by the party’s involvement in illegal activities. She began an extramarital romantic relationship with her current husband, divorced and remarried, and began receiving threats from MQM members. She never reported the threats because she feared losing her job and the MQM controlled the police. The couple survived three targeted incidents of violence between 2002 and 2005. The immigration judge noted their “consistent credible testimony” but denied their applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. He concluded that only the kidnapping incident rose to the level of persecution but did not occur “on account of” their political opinion and that they had not shown that the government of Pakistan was unwilling or unable to protect them. The Board dismissed their appeal. The Seventh Circuit affirmed.
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