Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General v. Michelle Thomas et al. (547 U.S. 183)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 17, 2006 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 547 U.S. 183 · 126 S. Ct. 1613
- Decided
- April 17, 2006
- Term
- October Term 2005
- Vote
- 9–0
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Per Curiam. The Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the Attorney General to grant an alien asylum if the alien cannot return to another country because of “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” § 101(a)(42)(A), as added, §201, 94 Stat. 102, 8 U. S. C. § 1101(a)(42)(A) (emphasis added). The respondents, Michelle Thomas and her immediate family, applied for asylum. They checked boxes on the application form that indicated their claim rested upon fear of persecution in their native South Africa because of (1) their “political opinion[s],” and (2) their “membership in a particular social group.” In proceedings before the Immigration Judge, they emphasized their fear of persecution because of their race (they are white) and their kinship with Michelle’s father-in-law, “Boss Ronnie,” a white South African who allegedly held racist views and mistreated black workers at the company at which he was a foreman. The Immigration Judge, focusing upon questions of race and political views, rejected their claim. And the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), responding to the Thomases’ primarily race-related arguments, summarily affirmed that decision. On review, a Ninth Circuit panel held by a 2-to-l vote that the BIA had not adequately considered the Thomases’ claim of…
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