Dionesio Calunsag Grava, a citizen of the Philippines, entered the U.S. illegally in 1991. When the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) began deportation proceedings against him, he petitioned for asylum. According to his testimony, Grava had been working as a policeman and customs officer. On several occasions, he exposed the official corruption and misdeeds of his supervisors.
Grava claims to have suffered mistreatment as a result. For example, someone had poisoned his dog and his monkey, and he had received several threatening telephone calls. If sent back to the Philippines, Grava fears further persecution from several Philippine groups, including Marcos Loyalists, the police force and Communist insurgents.
The immigration judge denied Grava's petition for asylum. On appeal, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed, inter alia, because Grava's alleged persecution was not based on his "political" opinions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reverses. It rules that whistle blowing may constitute an expression of political opinion and may lead to a sufficiently "well-founded fear of persecution" to justify granting asylum.
"Whistle blowing against one's supervisors at work is not, as a matter of law, always an exercise of political opinion. However, where the whistle blows against government officials, it may constitute political activity sufficient to form the basis of persecution on account of political opinion. ..."
"Refusal to accede to government corruption can constitute a political opinion for purposes of refugee status. ... Thus, official retaliation against those who expose and prosecute governmental corruption may, in appropriate circumstances, amount to persecution on account of political opinion." [1181] The Court therefore remands to the BIA for consideration of whether Grava has proven a well-founded fear of persecution from his whistle blowing activities.
Citation: Grava v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 205 F.3d 1177 (9th Cir. 2000).
