## Facts

- The applicant, a native and citizen of Somalia, was a member of the Darood clan and the Marehan subclan.
- After the overthrow of Somalia’s longtime ruler (a Marehan), members of other clans retaliated against Marehan members amid widespread interclan violence and state collapse.
- The applicant’s father was killed by members of another clan, and the family home was attacked; the applicant’s brother was later killed at a hospital.
- The applicant fled to another town, was detained and severely beaten by an armed group, escaped with assistance from a relative, and left Somalia with financial help from another relative.
- In exclusion proceedings, an Immigration Judge found the applicant excludable, denied asylum and withholding, and ordered exclusion and deportation to Somalia, reasoning that civil war and the lack of a functioning government defeated the asylum claim.
- The applicant appealed, asserting persecution on account of membership in a particular social group (the Marehan subclan).

## Issues

1. Whether membership in a Somali clan or subclan (the Marehan subclan) qualifies as “membership in a particular social group” under the asylum statute.
2. Whether harm inflicted during civil strife and in the absence of a functioning national government can constitute persecution for asylum purposes.
3. Whether proof of past persecution creates a presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution, and what evidence rebuts that presumption.
4. How adjudicators should evaluate discretionary asylum, including humanitarian considerations, when eligibility is established through past persecution.

## Decision

- The Board sustained the appeal in part and remanded for further proceedings.
- The Board held that membership in a clan can constitute membership in a particular social group and that the Marehan subclan qualifies as such a group based on kinship ties and shared linguistic commonalities.
- The Board found the applicant had established past persecution on account of membership in that particular social group, making him statutorily eligible for asylum as a refugee.
- The Board rejected the Immigration Judge’s categorical view that civil war or the absence of a national government prevents a finding of persecution.
- The Board held that past persecution gives rise to a presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution, rebuttable by a preponderance of evidence of changed country conditions.
- The Board remanded for determination of (a) whether the presumption was rebutted by changed conditions, (b) eligibility for withholding of deportation, and (c) whether asylum should be granted as a matter of discretion, including humanitarian factors.

## Legal Principles

- Membership in a clan may constitute “membership in a particular social group”; kinship-based clans or subclans with shared traits may satisfy the definition.
- Harm occurring during civil strife may qualify as persecution if inflicted “on account of” a protected ground; persecution may occur even without a functioning national government.
- A showing of past persecution creates a presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution unless rebutted by a preponderance of evidence that country conditions have changed such that the applicant no longer has a well-founded fear.
- Statutory eligibility for asylum does not require a grant; the applicant bears the burden to show a favorable exercise of discretion is warranted.
- When asylum eligibility rests on past persecution, adjudicators should give careful attention to compelling humanitarian considerations associated with return to the place of prior persecution.

## Conclusion

The Board recognized Somali clan membership as a cognizable particular social group and held that past persecution in interclan conflict can support asylum even where no national government exists; it applied a rebuttable presumption of future fear from past persecution and remanded for changed-conditions, withholding, and discretionary (including humanitarian) determinations.


Matter of H-, 21 I. & N. Dec. 337 (B.I.A. 1996)