DISCLAIMER: The following unofficial case summaries are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
073443P.pdf 11/03/2008 Noel Malonga v. Michael B. Mukasey
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 07-3443
Board of Immigration Appeals
[PUBLISHED] [Bright, Author, with Riley and Melloy, Circuit Judges]
Petition for Review - immigration. Decision denying asylum to Noel
Malonga, a member of the Lari ethnic group of the Kongo tribe, is
affirmed, as asylum application was untimely and this court is precluded
from reviewing the decision refusing to excuse the untimely application.
Decision to deny withholding of removal is reversed, as immigration
judge applied incorrect legal standard as 8 C.F.R sec. 1208.16 requires.
Notwithstanding size of group, Lari ethnic group constitutes a particular
social group for purposes of withholding or removal. Decision denying
relief under the Convention Against Torture is affirmed as the record is
not convincing to compel a reasonable fact finder to determine it is more
likely than not he would be tortured if he returned to the Congo. Judge
Riley dissents in part on whether Malonga's ethnicity is a particular
social group.