Bojnoordi v. Holder

Petitioner, a native and citizen of Iran, challenged the BIA's determination that he provided material support in the 1970s to a "Tier III" terrorist organization (MEK), making him statutorily ineligible for immigration relief other than deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court held that, under a normal reading of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B), as amended by the PATRIOT Act, the statutory terrorism bar applied retroactively to an alien's material support of a "Tier III" terrorist organization and that the statutory terrorism bar applied in petitioner's case. The court concluded that substantial evidence supported the BIA's determination that petitioner gave support to MEK in the 1970s and that petitioner failed to show by clear and convincing evidence that he did not know, or should not reasonably have known, that MEK was a terrorist organization during the time in which he gave it material support. Accordingly, the court denied the petition for review. View "Bojnoordi v. Holder" on Justia Law