⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit considers a Mexican family's request for protection from removal. The dispute began when a man was repeatedly pressured to sell drugs for a local criminal. According to the account presented to the court, he refused and was attacked. He and his family sought asylum and related protection, but an immigration judge denied their applications and the Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that denial. The argument centers on nexus: the required connection between persecution and a legally protected reason, such as religion or membership in a particular social group. Here, the proposed group is men from the petitioner's hometown. The parties dispute whether the harm was connected to that group or simply to his refusal to sell drugs. The judges also question what the Board meant by an intent to overcome that group membership, and whether it demanded more than the law requires. Shannon Murphy represents the family and will ask the court to send the case back to the immigration agency.

Silva-Cruz, et al. v. Blanche (No. 25-7120) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued September 14, 2026.