#he’s like a child when it comes to the al-kamar group

[astranne]

Crossover MCU/DC

So... it’s more like a Crossover between Dr. Strange and the DC universe but yeah... anyway

Dr. Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, the protector of earth and all this shit. But he’s also the protector of the multiverse. And I think, as the protector, he needs to travel between all this worlds. And one of these worlds is the DC universe. I’m more a Marvel fan, know much about the MCU but DC... uhhh, I often read some post about facts of some charakters and often use wikipedia and all. But I haven’t read comics, just watched some movies, so if I have something wrong, it’s fanfic my dudes. 

Anyway (I use this word to much) through this whole protecting shit, travels among the universes, he meets the Justice League and becomes a member. He’s often called, when some mogic villians attack the earth. But Stephen realizes, that’s just too much work. So he creates Kamar Taj in the DC universe, Wong becomes a teacher and so on and on. And Kamar Taj becomes like a door/portal for travels between the two universes Dr. Strange lives. 

Anyway. Because of Thanos the whole multiverse is screwed up and when the Avengers defeat him five years later, it’s repaired, but not like before. The Infinity Stones are the most powerful things in the multiverse, they are beings (creepy) and decide, they need a host. Because Thanos is absolut shit and who says, there are not more like him? So... after the multiverse was screwed up, Dr. Strange goes to the heart? idk if that exists in the comics, but everything has a zentrum and yeah. He goes there and everything is in absolut chaos. He tries to ‘clean’ up, but it doesn’t help much. Then he realizes, that this whole energy can’t be guided in the different universes with some simple speels. So he starts to collect the Infinity Stones and places all six of them in the middle of this whole energy stuff. Uhh, it’s really hard do describe? Hope it still works

Anyway. The stones ‘realize’ that they are finally at their right place and think Stephen is worthy. But he’s still human and humans can be corrupted. So they basically make him a father and create their ‘host’/heir whatever. Basically, Stephen has a daughter now. Who controls and holds the power of the Infinity Stones. And because she was created in the heart of the multiverse, she controls also the universes? This is just an excuse to make my charakter overpowered :) But Stephen can have the Time Stone back, and places all the other Stones back where they come from. They can still be ‘used’, but everytime this happens, Stephen’s daughter knows this and can block the stone or summon it. So basically she protects the stones and the multiverse. 

And now I need a name. Uhm... I’ll call her Thea (greek for goddess) So, Stephen has now a teenage daughter, who is too powerful, wise and yeah. But he treats her still like she’s a teenager and she loosens up? Yk, becomes a little bit more human. So, now, he introduces her to the Avengers and the Justice League (the both groups don’t know each other). But yeah, he tells them, that this is his daughter and now the hero Infinity. When she’s in her ‘hero’ persona, her eyes become glowing white, her voice echoes and her hair has the colors of the stones. And yeah... another excuse to make her absolutly gorgeous and badass and powerful-

Anyway. Thea never shows her real power, just uses magic like her father. All heroes think she’s the host of an Elder, a group of immortal beings, who existet before the Big Bang. Probalby the goddess of life or something like that.

So... now. Ra’s al Ghul hears of her and her powers, well what everybody think her powers are. The villians and civilians don’t know, what the heroes know. So, Ra’s thinks she’s just a powerful sorceress, after all her father is the most powerful of them. He gathers all the magic users together and tries to capture her. And Thea thinks, why not. Let’s play with mortals. (I have no idea, if I should make her immortal or just half human, half universe. Like after her death she becomes one with the multiverse...)

Anyway. She comes to the League of assassins, her magic ‘stolen’ or that’s what everybody thinks. Because they are not Mordo, who can steal the magic from people like in the MCU. So, Ra’s thinks, she’s magicless and trains her. Thea plays the scared teenager, almost adult woman and learns fast. And then she meets Jason, who’s the pet project of Talia. The two of them often train together. When he finally escapes or whatever he does and goes back to Gotham, she tells him to go to Kamar Taj, that the people there can help with the pit madness. Jason still wants revenge and tries to kill Bruce, but when then Bruce tries to help and he can’t really, Jason searches Kamar Taj. Stephen finds him and becomes his teacher. So Jason learns about the multiverse and that Stephen protectes it and suddendly feels very small. He wants to help and becomes fast a Master of the Mystic Arts. One day, Thea comes back, tired of pretending she’s a helpless girl agains the League. She blows up the whole place, and nearly kills Ra’s. 

So, Jason meets Thea again, accepts the fact, that she’s literally the child of some stones and the multiverse. He also meets tha Avengers and wants to become one. Because they don’t have a problem with killings, not like the Justice League or Batman. 

Anyway. Jason still becomes Red Hood, that he has magic now is his biggest secret. Thea becomes his right hand, names herself Hela (like the sister of Thor), basically becomes her, with her powers and all the stuff. But she only uses them, when it’s necessary. So, Jason takes over Gotham, controls crime and slowls reduces it. Bruce doesn’t really notice it, because Jason let’s all the Bosses (like Black Mask) life, and controls them. But then Bruce hears them talking about Red Hood and his right hand Hela. He never saw them and first thinks this are just rumors, but the talk never stops about them. Bruce begins to search this Red Hood, becomes a drug boss, while Jason watches every step of him. 

It takes some time, but Bruce becomes a part of the Big Bosses of Gotham. Probably has some ridiculous name and a mask, which hides his face. And then he’s finally a part of the meeting with Red Hood. There are many drug bosses there, some villians and the Joker... They all wait for Red Hood, but first meet Hela. If some people don’t know her, here is a picture.

This is so big... anyway. 

So, she stalks in this room and sits at the head of the table, grins like she’s crazy. And then comes Red Hood in, in a neat suit and I’m just putting another picture here..

Something like that. And Jason just sits there, Thea at his right side and stares at the people. Suddendly he points his gun at Bruce, who starts to freak out, because no way this Red Hood knows he’s Batman- Jason shoots the Bodyguard behind him. Bruce just blinks, while Thea summons some daggers/swords? whatever this weapons of Hela are and kills all the rest of the Bodyguards. 

“Now we are finally alone...” Jason glares at Joker, who grins like the madman he is. 

“I’m sure, everybody of you wants to know, why am I doing this?” Bruce wants to sigh, now this typical ‘I’m the bad guy, I need to monologue’ stuff. 

“It’s rather easy. I grew up in Gotham, I lived through the good and the bad things, I lived as a poor boy and as a rich boy. I died here and came back.”

“Thanks to me”, Thea grins, while Jason chuckles. 

“Yes, thanks to Hela. Don’t worry, she’s not some pretender, she’s the real goddess of death.” Now most of the bad guys start sweating, because there is a fucking goddess and she’s the right hand of this guy-

“But we’re not finished yet... I died, in the hands of a madman, because my own mother betrayed me and my... father couldn’t save me.” 

“I didn’t really intruduce myself. My name is Red Hood and before I died, I was the second Robin.” Now Bruce really started to panic. Before anybody can do something, Jason kills the Joker. 

“I always hated his stupid grin...” Thea slowly stands up and kneels beside the body of the Joker and brings him back to life. Joker is just confused and Bruce’s now thinking, that this was a really really bad idea. 

“I’m going to torture you later, but I really needed to shoot you in your stupid face. And don’t think, that Batman is going to save you.” The other villians are shocked, because their new boss was once a hero, a Robin and now he kills people?

“Now... let’s start the real buisness.” Bruce knows, that he’s fucked, because there is a goddess and he’s pretty sure, that this goddess knows, that he’s Batman. 

When the whole meetings ends and everyone is starting to go, Jason calls Bruce by his fake name. Everybody stops, because this is a new guy. Either he dies or he becomes rewared. 

“I always hated Batman for being so cold, almost heartless. But he never seemed to do the bad thing, he was a hero after all. I was rather shocked, when I learned, that he had killed before and from who he had learned... but he never hurt innocents. Not before and not now. So... what is different now? Why does he send you, an innoncent, to the middle of the lion’s den? Tell me, Bruce, what is different now?” 

“You always seem to protect Batman, is he your secret lover? Or just a friend? Or your enemy? After all, you allowed him, that I could be his sidekick... tell me, Bruce, why are you taking this burden? To help him, to do his dirty work?”

Jason doesn’t expose Bruce to all the villians there, just warns him. When he ever steps a foot in his ‘kingdom’, he’s dead. Just like all his allies. And Bruce now knows, Jason is able to do that. So, Bruce distances himself of Red Hood, but tries to find Jason. Jason doesn’t cares about that, he’s happy, he protects Gotham, well, as good as he can and he protects the multiverse.

I think Thea would become his lover and maybe one day, Red Hood becomes part of the Batfam and they meet ‘Hela’. And Infinity is together with Drákon, the right hand of Dr. Strange. Jason is choosen by an ancient sword, which holds the power of dragons. (something like Genji of overwatch) So yeah... Jason and Thea have many personas and love to confuse people

If anyone wants to write a story about this, tag me, so I can read it! This is one of my favourite ideas :) and if anything is confusing about my writing style... I’m swiss, I have like no idea how to write in english ._.

Masterlist

[benrleeusa]

[Eugene Volokh] No deportation to Jordan for woman who seems at risk of honor killing (for premarital pregnancy)

An interesting opinion handed down Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Kamar v. Sessions:

Kamar is a native of Lebanon and a citizen of Jordan. She was born in Lebanon in 1964, but moved to Jordan as a young child. Kamar and her family are Catholic, but adhere to Islamic cultural practices and societal traditions. Kamar’s mother and sister are United States citizens. Her mother lives in Jordan and her sister lives in New Orleans. Kamar’s other siblings and cousins live in Jordan.

Kamar was admitted to the United States as a B-2 visitor in June 1999. She changed her status to an F-1 student in January 2001 to pursue a master’s degree. Kamar’s F-1 status was terminated when she became pregnant and left school. Kamar has three sons with her husband from her first marriage, which ended in divorce in 2006. Their three sons live in Canada with their father.

In 2007, Kamar became pregnant again. She married her second husband two months before her child was born. The child is a United States citizen and is now ten years old. Kamar has no relationship with her second husband and has an order of protection against him.

The Department of Homeland Security has been trying to get Kamar deported since October 2007, because she was let in on an F-1 student visa but is no longer a student. She applied for withholding of deportation, “alleg[ing] that if she returned to Jordan, under Islamic tradition, she would be subject to an honor killing by her youngest male relative for bringing shame to her family by getting pregnant out of wedlock”:

Kamar testified that her family did not approve of her divorcing her first husband and conceiving her fourth son while unmarried. She explained that the fact that she married her second husband before giving birth was irrelevant because she got pregnant before marriage. Her brothers have not spoken to her since this occurred.

Kamar testified that she fears returning to Jordan because her cousins intend to perform an honor killing on her and her child in accordance with Jordanian custom. She explained that even though her family is Catholic, they live in Jordan where the majority of people are Muslim and the law is according to Islamic law. Her family follows the local traditions. In Jordanian society, if a woman shames her family, the solution is to cleanse the family and restore its honor by killing her.

While Kamar has not had physical contact with her cousins, she testified that she received letters claiming that her cousins want to kill her and that she was told this by numerous relatives and friends. In support, she submitted a letter from her mother dated September 5, 2009, saying that Kamar’s first cousin, Alias, is the cousin that is the angriest with her. It stated, “[Alias] told your sisters that he wished God took his life if he did not finish this work. Even if this was the last thing that he would do on this earth, he will kill you for your sisters.”

The other letter Kamar presented was from Alias. It said, “You understand what the punishment is for a girl like you, who brings shame upon our family. Your day of punishment is coming and with God’s blessing it will be very soon.”

Kamar testified that if she attempted to seek help from the Jordanian government, it would place her in prison and place her son in an orphanage for protection. She said she could not relocate in Jordan, because it is a small country where everyone knows each other. Also, she is well known in the country because she used to be a teacher there and had a business.

Kamar testified that she could not alternatively move to Lebanon because she does not have a visa to be admitted into any other country. Additionally, she stated that she has not been to Lebanon since she was one year old and was not allowed to visit when she once attempted.

Mona, Kamar’s sister who is also divorced, testified that their family did not like the fact that she was divorced either, but had come to accept it. However, she said that because Kamar became pregnant outside of marriage, their cousins would kill her to restore their family’s honor.

She explained that it did not matter that Kamar subsequently married her second husband because Alias believes that Kamar cheated on her first husband with her second husband. This is due to a rumor spread by Kamar’s first husband’s family that reached Jordan. Mona asserted that if Kamar returned to Jordan, their cousins would find out and be waiting for her at the airport.

The immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected Kamar’s argument, but the 6th Circuit sided with Kamar:

Withholding of [deportation under U.S. immigration law] is mandatory if an alien shows a “clear probability” that, if she was removed, her “life or freedom would be threatened” on a protected ground such as her “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” A “clear probability” means that it is “more likely than not” that the alien would be subject to persecution if returned to the country of removal. …

1. Particular Social Group

The Board did not address whether Kamar was a member of a “particular social group,” and the parties do not address the issue in their appellate briefs. … Therefore, like the Board, we assume without deciding that Kamar has established membership in Kamar’s professed particular social group. Kamar’s professed particular social group is “women who, in accordance with social and religious norms in Jordan, are accused of being immoral criminals and, as a consequence, face the prospect of being killed or persecuted without any protection from the Jordanian government.” [Record] 553, citing Sarhan v. Holder (7th Cir. 2011). Cf. Bi Xia Qu v. Holder (6th Cir. 2010) (concluding that women who are sold or forced into marriage and involuntary servitude are a social group); Al-Ghorbani v. Holder (6th Cir. 2009) (approving proposed group of women who opposed the repressive and discriminatory Yemeni cultural and religious customs that prohibit mixed-class marriages and require paternal consent for marriage); Yadegar-Sargis v. INS (7th Cir. 2002) (identifying “Christian women in Iran who do not wish to adhere to the Islamic female dress code” as a particular social group).

2. Persecution Because of Social Group Membership

… Persecution is “the infliction of harm or suffering by the government, or persons the government is unwilling or unable to control, to overcome a characteristic of the victim.” … [W]ithholding of removal is “not available to an alien who fears retribution solely over personal matters.” However, Kamar asserts that her life would be threatened because of Jordanian social norms that impose behavioral standards on women and permit family members to sentence those who violate these standards to death. While a family member may have a personal motivation to restore honor to his family, he carries out the honor killing because it is socially permissible. Thus, there is broader societal significance intertwined with the personal retribution. …

The probability of harm occurring in these cases is an inference based on facts in the record. Considering the evidence, it is hard to … [accept] the Board’s conclusion that even if Kamar had a subjective fear of persecution, this fear was not objectively reasonable. …

Finally, we consider whether the Jordanian government would be “unwilling or unable” to protect Kamar from harm. In the country reports in the record, it has been established that governors in Jordan routinely abuse the law and use imprisonment to protect potential victims of honor crimes. These victims are not released from imprisonment unless the local governor consents, the victim’s family guarantees the victim’s safety, and the victim consents. One non-governmental organization has provided a temporary, unofficial shelter as an alternative.

On the other hand, successful perpetrators of honor killings typically get their sentences greatly reduced. Additionally, if the victim’s family, who is usually the family of the alleged perpetrator as well, does not bring the charges, the government dismisses the case. See also Sarhan (“After reviewing the evidence of the Jordanian government’s treatment of honor crimes, we conclude that … the government is ineffective when it comes to providing protection to women whose behavior places them in the group who are threatened with honor killings.”).

The Board’s decision outlined the Jordanian government’s efforts to combat honor crimes, including placing potential victims in “protective custody.” As the Ninth Circuit concluded in an analogous case, “This observation omits the fact that such protective custody is involuntary, and often involves extended incarceration in jail.” While victim protection is necessary, incarceration is an insufficient solution. This practice is akin to persecuting the victim as she “must choose between death and an indefinite prison term.” … This showing satisfies both of the standards for finding governmental action for purposes of withholding of removal under the Act and also those for protection under the Convention, as it amounts to “pain or suffering” that is inflicted with the acquiescence of a public official or a person acting in an official capacity. …

Substantial evidence does not support the Board’s refusal to find that Kamar will probably be persecuted if she is returned to Jordan, due to her membership in the particular social group we discussed, or that the Jordanian government can or will do nothing to help her. The Board’s decision with regard to those issues is reversed.

[3.] Protection Under the Convention Against Torture

To qualify for protection under the Convention, a petitioner must show that “it is more likely than not that he or she would be tortured if removed to the proposed country of removal.” Unlike withholding of removal, relief under the Convention is not conditioned on proof that the alien would be persecuted on a protected ground. …

The definition of torture includes:

any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or her or a third person information or a confession, punishing him or her for an act he or she or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or her or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent of acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.

… The Seventh Circuit has found that the Jordanian government’s “solution” to protect honor killing victims is actually a form of punishing the victims of these crimes amounting to mental “pain or suffering,” which is “inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.” … Given the likelihood that Kamar would be subject to involuntary imprisonment at the hands of the Jordanian authorities, resulting in mental pain and suffering, the Board erred in concluding that Kamar failed to establish that it was more likely than not that she would be tortured upon removal to Jordan. We grant the petition with respect to the Board’s reasoning under the Convention.

[nancyedimick]

No deportation to Jordan for woman who seems at risk of honor killing (for premarital pregnancy)

An interesting opinion handed down Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Kamar v. Sessions:

Kamar is a native of Lebanon and a citizen of Jordan. She was born in Lebanon in 1964, but moved to Jordan as a young child. Kamar and her family are Catholic, but adhere to Islamic cultural practices and societal traditions. Kamar’s mother and sister are United States citizens. Her mother lives in Jordan and her sister lives in New Orleans. Kamar’s other siblings and cousins live in Jordan.

Kamar was admitted to the United States as a B-2 visitor in June 1999. She changed her status to an F-1 student in January 2001 to pursue a master’s degree. Kamar’s F-1 status was terminated when she became pregnant and left school. Kamar has three sons with her husband from her first marriage, which ended in divorce in 2006. Their three sons live in Canada with their father.

In 2007, Kamar became pregnant again. She married her second husband two months before her child was born. The child is a United States citizen and is now ten years old. Kamar has no relationship with her second husband and has an order of protection against him.

The Department of Homeland Security has been trying to get Kamar deported since October 2007, because she was let in on an F-1 student visa but is no longer a student. She applied for withholding of deportation, “alleg[ing] that if she returned to Jordan, under Islamic tradition, she would be subject to an honor killing by her youngest male relative for bringing shame to her family by getting pregnant out of wedlock”:

Kamar testified that her family did not approve of her divorcing her first husband and conceiving her fourth son while unmarried. She explained that the fact that she married her second husband before giving birth was irrelevant because she got pregnant before marriage. Her brothers have not spoken to her since this occurred.

Kamar testified that she fears returning to Jordan because her cousins intend to perform an honor killing on her and her child in accordance with Jordanian custom. She explained that even though her family is Catholic, they live in Jordan where the majority of people are Muslim and the law is according to Islamic law. Her family follows the local traditions. In Jordanian society, if a woman shames her family, the solution is to cleanse the family and restore its honor by killing her.

While Kamar has not had physical contact with her cousins, she testified that she received letters claiming that her cousins want to kill her and that she was told this by numerous relatives and friends. In support, she submitted a letter from her mother dated September 5, 2009, saying that Kamar’s first cousin, Alias, is the cousin that is the angriest with her. It stated, “[Alias] told your sisters that he wished God took his life if he did not finish this work. Even if this was the last thing that he would do on this earth, he will kill you for your sisters.”

The other letter Kamar presented was from Alias. It said, “You understand what the punishment is for a girl like you, who brings shame upon our family. Your day of punishment is coming and with God’s blessing it will be very soon.”

Kamar testified that if she attempted to seek help from the Jordanian government, it would place her in prison and place her son in an orphanage for protection. She said she could not relocate in Jordan, because it is a small country where everyone knows each other. Also, she is well known in the country because she used to be a teacher there and had a business.

Kamar testified that she could not alternatively move to Lebanon because she does not have a visa to be admitted into any other country. Additionally, she stated that she has not been to Lebanon since she was one year old and was not allowed to visit when she once attempted.

Mona, Kamar’s sister who is also divorced, testified that their family did not like the fact that she was divorced either, but had come to accept it. However, she said that because Kamar became pregnant outside of marriage, their cousins would kill her to restore their family’s honor.

She explained that it did not matter that Kamar subsequently married her second husband because Alias believes that Kamar cheated on her first husband with her second husband. This is due to a rumor spread by Kamar’s first husband’s family that reached Jordan. Mona asserted that if Kamar returned to Jordan, their cousins would find out and be waiting for her at the airport.

The immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected Kamar’s argument, but the 6th Circuit sided with Kamar:

Withholding of [deportation under U.S. immigration law] is mandatory if an alien shows a “clear probability” that, if she was removed, her “life or freedom would be threatened” on a protected ground such as her “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” A “clear probability” means that it is “more likely than not” that the alien would be subject to persecution if returned to the country of removal. …

1. Particular Social Group

The Board did not address whether Kamar was a member of a “particular social group,” and the parties do not address the issue in their appellate briefs. … Therefore, like the Board, we assume without deciding that Kamar has established membership in Kamar’s professed particular social group. Kamar’s professed particular social group is “women who, in accordance with social and religious norms in Jordan, are accused of being immoral criminals and, as a consequence, face the prospect of being killed or persecuted without any protection from the Jordanian government.” [Record] 553, citing Sarhan v. Holder (7th Cir. 2011). Cf. Bi Xia Qu v. Holder (6th Cir. 2010) (concluding that women who are sold or forced into marriage and involuntary servitude are a social group); Al-Ghorbani v. Holder (6th Cir. 2009) (approving proposed group of women who opposed the repressive and discriminatory Yemeni cultural and religious customs that prohibit mixed-class marriages and require paternal consent for marriage); Yadegar-Sargis v. INS (7th Cir. 2002) (identifying “Christian women in Iran who do not wish to adhere to the Islamic female dress code” as a particular social group).

2. Persecution Because of Social Group Membership

… Persecution is “the infliction of harm or suffering by the government, or persons the government is unwilling or unable to control, to overcome a characteristic of the victim.” … [W]ithholding of removal is “not available to an alien who fears retribution solely over personal matters.” However, Kamar asserts that her life would be threatened because of Jordanian social norms that impose behavioral standards on women and permit family members to sentence those who violate these standards to death. While a family member may have a personal motivation to restore honor to his family, he carries out the honor killing because it is socially permissible. Thus, there is broader societal significance intertwined with the personal retribution. …

The probability of harm occurring in these cases is an inference based on facts in the record. Considering the evidence, it is hard to … [accept] the Board’s conclusion that even if Kamar had a subjective fear of persecution, this fear was not objectively reasonable. …

Finally, we consider whether the Jordanian government would be “unwilling or unable” to protect Kamar from harm. In the country reports in the record, it has been established that governors in Jordan routinely abuse the law and use imprisonment to protect potential victims of honor crimes. These victims are not released from imprisonment unless the local governor consents, the victim’s family guarantees the victim’s safety, and the victim consents. One non-governmental organization has provided a temporary, unofficial shelter as an alternative.

On the other hand, successful perpetrators of honor killings typically get their sentences greatly reduced. Additionally, if the victim’s family, who is usually the family of the alleged perpetrator as well, does not bring the charges, the government dismisses the case. See also Sarhan (“After reviewing the evidence of the Jordanian government’s treatment of honor crimes, we conclude that … the government is ineffective when it comes to providing protection to women whose behavior places them in the group who are threatened with honor killings.”).

The Board’s decision outlined the Jordanian government’s efforts to combat honor crimes, including placing potential victims in “protective custody.” As the Ninth Circuit concluded in an analogous case, “This observation omits the fact that such protective custody is involuntary, and often involves extended incarceration in jail.” While victim protection is necessary, incarceration is an insufficient solution. This practice is akin to persecuting the victim as she “must choose between death and an indefinite prison term.” … This showing satisfies both of the standards for finding governmental action for purposes of withholding of removal under the Act and also those for protection under the Convention, as it amounts to “pain or suffering” that is inflicted with the acquiescence of a public official or a person acting in an official capacity. …

Substantial evidence does not support the Board’s refusal to find that Kamar will probably be persecuted if she is returned to Jordan, due to her membership in the particular social group we discussed, or that the Jordanian government can or will do nothing to help her. The Board’s decision with regard to those issues is reversed.

[3.] Protection Under the Convention Against Torture

To qualify for protection under the Convention, a petitioner must show that “it is more likely than not that he or she would be tortured if removed to the proposed country of removal.” Unlike withholding of removal, relief under the Convention is not conditioned on proof that the alien would be persecuted on a protected ground. …

The definition of torture includes:

any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or her or a third person information or a confession, punishing him or her for an act he or she or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or her or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent of acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.

… The Seventh Circuit has found that the Jordanian government’s “solution” to protect honor killing victims is actually a form of punishing the victims of these crimes amounting to mental “pain or suffering,” which is “inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.” … Given the likelihood that Kamar would be subject to involuntary imprisonment at the hands of the Jordanian authorities, resulting in mental pain and suffering, the Board erred in concluding that Kamar failed to establish that it was more likely than not that she would be tortured upon removal to Jordan. We grant the petition with respect to the Board’s reasoning under the Convention.

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/11/18/no-deportation-to-jordan-for-woman-who-seems-at-risk-of-honor-killing-for-premarital-pregnancy/

[wolfandpravato]

No deportation to Jordan for woman who seems at risk of honor killing (for premarital pregnancy)

An interesting opinion handed down Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Kamar v. Sessions:

Kamar is a native of Lebanon and a citizen of Jordan. She was born in Lebanon in 1964, but moved to Jordan as a young child. Kamar and her family are Catholic, but adhere to Islamic cultural practices and societal traditions. Kamar’s mother and sister are United States citizens. Her mother lives in Jordan and her sister lives in New Orleans. Kamar’s other siblings and cousins live in Jordan.

Kamar was admitted to the United States as a B-2 visitor in June 1999. She changed her status to an F-1 student in January 2001 to pursue a master’s degree. Kamar’s F-1 status was terminated when she became pregnant and left school. Kamar has three sons with her husband from her first marriage, which ended in divorce in 2006. Their three sons live in Canada with their father.

In 2007, Kamar became pregnant again. She married her second husband two months before her child was born. The child is a United States citizen and is now ten years old. Kamar has no relationship with her second husband and has an order of protection against him.

The Department of Homeland Security has been trying to get Kamar deported since October 2007, because she was let in on an F-1 student visa but is no longer a student. She applied for withholding of deportation, “alleg[ing] that if she returned to Jordan, under Islamic tradition, she would be subject to an honor killing by her youngest male relative for bringing shame to her family by getting pregnant out of wedlock”:

Kamar testified that her family did not approve of her divorcing her first husband and conceiving her fourth son while unmarried. She explained that the fact that she married her second husband before giving birth was irrelevant because she got pregnant before marriage. Her brothers have not spoken to her since this occurred.

Kamar testified that she fears returning to Jordan because her cousins intend to perform an honor killing on her and her child in accordance with Jordanian custom. She explained that even though her family is Catholic, they live in Jordan where the majority of people are Muslim and the law is according to Islamic law. Her family follows the local traditions. In Jordanian society, if a woman shames her family, the solution is to cleanse the family and restore its honor by killing her.

While Kamar has not had physical contact with her cousins, she testified that she received letters claiming that her cousins want to kill her and that she was told this by numerous relatives and friends. In support, she submitted a letter from her mother dated September 5, 2009, saying that Kamar’s first cousin, Alias, is the cousin that is the angriest with her. It stated, “[Alias] told your sisters that he wished God took his life if he did not finish this work. Even if this was the last thing that he would do on this earth, he will kill you for your sisters.”

The other letter Kamar presented was from Alias. It said, “You understand what the punishment is for a girl like you, who brings shame upon our family. Your day of punishment is coming and with God’s blessing it will be very soon.”

Kamar testified that if she attempted to seek help from the Jordanian government, it would place her in prison and place her son in an orphanage for protection. She said she could not relocate in Jordan, because it is a small country where everyone knows each other. Also, she is well known in the country because she used to be a teacher there and had a business.

Kamar testified that she could not alternatively move to Lebanon because she does not have a visa to be admitted into any other country. Additionally, she stated that she has not been to Lebanon since she was one year old and was not allowed to visit when she once attempted.

Mona, Kamar’s sister who is also divorced, testified that their family did not like the fact that she was divorced either, but had come to accept it. However, she said that because Kamar became pregnant outside of marriage, their cousins would kill her to restore their family’s honor.

She explained that it did not matter that Kamar subsequently married her second husband because Alias believes that Kamar cheated on her first husband with her second husband. This is due to a rumor spread by Kamar’s first husband’s family that reached Jordan. Mona asserted that if Kamar returned to Jordan, their cousins would find out and be waiting for her at the airport.

The immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected Kamar’s argument, but the 6th Circuit sided with Kamar:

Withholding of [deportation under U.S. immigration law] is mandatory if an alien shows a “clear probability” that, if she was removed, her “life or freedom would be threatened” on a protected ground such as her “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” A “clear probability” means that it is “more likely than not” that the alien would be subject to persecution if returned to the country of removal. …

1. Particular Social Group

The Board did not address whether Kamar was a member of a “particular social group,” and the parties do not address the issue in their appellate briefs. … Therefore, like the Board, we assume without deciding that Kamar has established membership in Kamar’s professed particular social group. Kamar’s professed particular social group is “women who, in accordance with social and religious norms in Jordan, are accused of being immoral criminals and, as a consequence, face the prospect of being killed or persecuted without any protection from the Jordanian government.” [Record] 553, citing Sarhan v. Holder (7th Cir. 2011). Cf. Bi Xia Qu v. Holder (6th Cir. 2010) (concluding that women who are sold or forced into marriage and involuntary servitude are a social group); Al-Ghorbani v. Holder (6th Cir. 2009) (approving proposed group of women who opposed the repressive and discriminatory Yemeni cultural and religious customs that prohibit mixed-class marriages and require paternal consent for marriage); Yadegar-Sargis v. INS (7th Cir. 2002) (identifying “Christian women in Iran who do not wish to adhere to the Islamic female dress code” as a particular social group).

2. Persecution Because of Social Group Membership

… Persecution is “the infliction of harm or suffering by the government, or persons the government is unwilling or unable to control, to overcome a characteristic of the victim.” … [W]ithholding of removal is “not available to an alien who fears retribution solely over personal matters.” However, Kamar asserts that her life would be threatened because of Jordanian social norms that impose behavioral standards on women and permit family members to sentence those who violate these standards to death. While a family member may have a personal motivation to restore honor to his family, he carries out the honor killing because it is socially permissible. Thus, there is broader societal significance intertwined with the personal retribution. …

The probability of harm occurring in these cases is an inference based on facts in the record. Considering the evidence, it is hard to … [accept] the Board’s conclusion that even if Kamar had a subjective fear of persecution, this fear was not objectively reasonable. …

Finally, we consider whether the Jordanian government would be “unwilling or unable” to protect Kamar from harm. In the country reports in the record, it has been established that governors in Jordan routinely abuse the law and use imprisonment to protect potential victims of honor crimes. These victims are not released from imprisonment unless the local governor consents, the victim’s family guarantees the victim’s safety, and the victim consents. One non-governmental organization has provided a temporary, unofficial shelter as an alternative.

On the other hand, successful perpetrators of honor killings typically get their sentences greatly reduced. Additionally, if the victim’s family, who is usually the family of the alleged perpetrator as well, does not bring the charges, the government dismisses the case. See also Sarhan (“After reviewing the evidence of the Jordanian government’s treatment of honor crimes, we conclude that … the government is ineffective when it comes to providing protection to women whose behavior places them in the group who are threatened with honor killings.”).

The Board’s decision outlined the Jordanian government’s efforts to combat honor crimes, including placing potential victims in “protective custody.” As the Ninth Circuit concluded in an analogous case, “This observation omits the fact that such protective custody is involuntary, and often involves extended incarceration in jail.” While victim protection is necessary, incarceration is an insufficient solution. This practice is akin to persecuting the victim as she “must choose between death and an indefinite prison term.” … This showing satisfies both of the standards for finding governmental action for purposes of withholding of removal under the Act and also those for protection under the Convention, as it amounts to “pain or suffering” that is inflicted with the acquiescence of a public official or a person acting in an official capacity. …

Substantial evidence does not support the Board’s refusal to find that Kamar will probably be persecuted if she is returned to Jordan, due to her membership in the particular social group we discussed, or that the Jordanian government can or will do nothing to help her. The Board’s decision with regard to those issues is reversed.

[3.] Protection Under the Convention Against Torture

To qualify for protection under the Convention, a petitioner must show that “it is more likely than not that he or she would be tortured if removed to the proposed country of removal.” Unlike withholding of removal, relief under the Convention is not conditioned on proof that the alien would be persecuted on a protected ground. …

The definition of torture includes:

any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or her or a third person information or a confession, punishing him or her for an act he or she or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or her or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent of acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.

… The Seventh Circuit has found that the Jordanian government’s “solution” to protect honor killing victims is actually a form of punishing the victims of these crimes amounting to mental “pain or suffering,” which is “inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.” … Given the likelihood that Kamar would be subject to involuntary imprisonment at the hands of the Jordanian authorities, resulting in mental pain and suffering, the Board erred in concluding that Kamar failed to establish that it was more likely than not that she would be tortured upon removal to Jordan. We grant the petition with respect to the Board’s reasoning under the Convention.

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/11/18/no-deportation-to-jordan-for-woman-who-seems-at-risk-of-honor-killing-for-premarital-pregnancy/