Immigration Judges told to Deny Asylum for Citizens of Highly Developed Democratic Countries

The Board of Immigration Appeals held in Matter of B-S-A-N- (30 I&N Dec. 145 (BIA 2026) that Immigration Judges should generally deny asylum applications filed by nationals of highly developed, democratic countries that broadly respect and protect human rights, except in extraordinary circumstances involving national security or foreign policy considerations; (2) European Union citizens are presumptively ineligible for a discretionary grant of asylum in the United States because they are entitled to indefinitely reside lawfully in any EU member state.

The respondent is a dual citizen of France and Gabon. She filed an asylum claim based on her family’s political opposition within Gabon, and alleged that the agents of the Gabonese Government would find her in France if she lived there. The Board found that the respondent had not met her burden to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in France and is thus ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal and CAT.

Although this asylum case was regarding a citizen from France, the larger message to asylum applicants is that immigration judges will now apply this Board of Immigration Appeals decision to deny asylum claims where the applicant’s native country is a “highly developed and democratic country”.

For more information on Board of Immigration Appeals,

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