Sirbu v. Holder, No. 12-2320 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseHusband, Sirbu, and wife, Prodan, entered the U.S. as nonimmigrant tourists in 2009 and overstayed their visas. They then filed a timely application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. Sirbu’s persecution claim is based on politically motivated mistreatment that occurred in Moldova between 2000 and 2009; he claims to fear prosecution based on his active opposition to the Communist Party. The government responded by charging them as removable under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(1)(B). An immigration judge denied relief. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. The Seventh Circuit granted their petition for review and remanded, finding that the immigration judge and the Board applied the wrong legal standard in holding that the facts did not “compel” a finding of past persecution. If the Board concludes that Sirbu has demonstrated past persecution, the burden will shift to the government to prove that changed circumstances mean that Sirbu’s fear of persecution in Moldova is no longer well-founded.
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