This rule proposes to amend the Immigration and Naturalization Service (Service) regulations that govern establishing asylum and withholding eligibility. This rule provides guidance on the definitions of "persecution" and "membership in a particular social group," as well as what it means for persecution to be "on account of" a protected characteristic in the definition of a refugee. It restates that gender can form the basis of a particular social group. It also establishes principles for interpretation and application of the various components of the statutory definition of "refugee" for asylum and withholding cases generally, and, in particular, will aid in the assessment of claims made by applicants who have suffered or fear domestic violence. The Service believes these issues require further examination after the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) decision in In re R-A-, Interim Decision 3403 (BIA 1999). Further, the rule clarifies that the factors considered in cases in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding membership in a particular social group are not determinative. Finally, the rule clarifies procedural handling of asylum and withholding claims in which past persecution has been established. This proposed rule has been prepared and is published in conjunction with the final rule on asylum procedures, which incorporates both the interim rule amending the Department of Justice (Department) regulations to implement the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, 62 FR 10312 (1997), and the proposed past persecution rule, 63 FR 31945 (1998).
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