NEW YORK (CN) - Three women from the African nation of Guinea should not be forced to return to their homeland due to their status as victims of female genital mutilation, the 2nd Circuit ruled.
The Board of Immigration Appeals had ruled that the three women were past victims of persecution, but it would be impossible for the wrongdoing to happen again.
Judge Straub disagreed, concluding that the board improperly assumed that the mutilation was a one-time act. The judge cited evidence that the practice has been known to be repeated in Guinea.
Also, women in Guinea are often victims of rape and sex trafficking. A victim of persecution does not have to prove that she is at risk for suffering the same method of persecution she suffered in the past.
In fact, the burden is on the government to prove that an alien can be safely returned to her homeland. Straub ruled that the government did not meet that burden.
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