Third Circuit: Woman Forced to Have IUD Inserted Eligible for Asylum

In an opinion by Judge Julio Fuentes (joined by Judges Aldisert and Roth), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that an asylum applicant from China who “was … forced to have an intrauterine device (“IUD”) inserted” and fled the country was, under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42), eligible for asylum as a “person who has been forced to . . . undergo involuntary sterilization, or who has been persecuted for . . . other resistance to a coercive population control program.”

The Immigration Judge had denied her application and the Board of Immigration Appeals had affirmed.  “We disagree with both of these conclusions and will therefore grant the petition for review.” There is teh opinion in Cheng v. Attorney General (Oct. 6, 2010).  Download Iud opinion