Perez-Rodriguez v. Barr, No. 18-3269 (8th Cir. 2020)
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The Eighth Circuit denied a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's application for asylum based on his claim that he belonged to a particular social group of "individuals with schizophrenia who exhibit erratic behavior." The BIA found that there was no connection between the alleged persecution and the social group.
The court held that the BIA did not err in concluding that petitioner failed to establish that he would be subjected to persecution on account of his membership in the alleged social group. In this case, the record was not so substantial that a reasonable factfinder would have to conclude that Mexico's government targets individuals on account of group membership. Rather, the BIA noted that economic considerations, as well as political considerations, contributed substantially to the regrettable institutional conditions.
Court Description: [Smith, Author, with Gruender and Benton, Circuit Judges] Petition for Review - Immigration. The BIA did not err in finding the evidence failed to establish a persecutory motive for the conditions present in Mexican mental institutions; based on the record before the court, the court holds that a reasonable factfinder would not have to conclude that membership in the petitioner's alleged group (persons suffering from schizophrenia who exhibit erratic behavior) actually and sufficiently motivated the Mexican government's acts or inaction toward the group; as the BIA noted, economic and political considerations contribute substantially to the regrettable institution conditions; Mexico's inability to adequately fund mental health institutions does not establish that the government has a patter of persecuting individuals with a specific form of schizophrenia; in sum, under a substantial evidence review, the BIA did not err in concluding petitioner failed to establish that he would be subjected to persecution on account of his membership in the alleged social group if he returned to Mexico.
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