F. H.-T. v. Holder, No. 12-2471 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseFH-T joined the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front in 1982 at age 15, while Eritrea and Ethiopia were engaged in a 30-year war. The EPLF refused to let him leave. For nine years he worked in communications and as a driver. He did not transport weapons. In 1994, the EPLF dissolved and became Eritrea’s only political party. FH-T was employed at a government-owned company, and, in 2005-2006, repeatedly expressed concerns about abuses of the compulsory National Service program. FH-T was imprisoned in a military prison camp for five months. After release, he remained under surveillance, was regularly interrogated, and received threats on his life. He fled Eritrea and sought asylum in the U.S. His father and sister were arrested when he left. An Immigration Judge denied FH-T’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal, 8 U.S.C. 1158. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed on the basis that he had provided material support to the EPLF, classified as a “Tier III” terrorist organization, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III). The Seventh Circuit denied review, rejecting challenges to the system and an argument that he was eligible for an exemption because he did not know that the EPLF was involved in the unlawful use of force; he did not exhaust this argument before the Board.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on January 15, 2014.
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