Past Persecution & Rebuttable Presumption

410 F.3d 1112 (9th Cir. 2005) · 2005

A finding of past persecution creates a rebuttable presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution; the government bears the burden of rebutting this presumption through evidence of changed country conditions or internal relocation.

29 I&N Dec. 499 (BIA 2026) · 2026

(1) Past persecution creates a presumption of future threat to life or freedom on the basis of the original claim, which may be rebutted by a fundamental change in circumstances. (2) An IJ cannot rely on generalized crime and widespread violence unrelated to the original claim to find the presumption rebutted, particularly where other evidence suggests a fundamental change such that the respondent will no longer be harmed on a protected ground.

Rebuttal of the past-persecution presumption must be targeted: generalized crime or violence in the home country is not sufficient — the government must show the specific threat on the protected ground has dissipated.