In Williams v. Gover, the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a suit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). At the heart of the dispute was the downgrading of the membership of certain member of the Moorehead Rancheria Indian tribe. However, the actions undertaken to reclassify certain members as "adoptee members” was an action taken by the tribe, not the BIA. A tribe has the right to determine its membership.
In LoLong v. Gonzales, the Ninth Circuit overturned its previous decision of Molina-Camacho v. Ashcroft, and finds it does have jurisdiction to review decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Until passage of the REAL ID Act in 2005, persons aggrieved by a BIA decision could seek habeas review, but that option has been removed, prompting the Court to revisit its decision in Molina-Camacho.
Having determined it has jurisdiction, the Court affirmed the denial of asylum here. There was no evidence that the Indonesian government was unable, or unwilling, to protect Chinese Christians there from religious militant groups. Accordingly, LoLong’s fears of persecution were not objectively reasonable.
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