Muchiri v. Blanche

── Muchiri v. Blanche ── Court: Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Date: June 03, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit Nos. 25-1340, 25-1544 WALTER WAMBUGU MUCHIRI, Petitioner, v. TODD BLANCHE, Acting United States Attorney General,* Respondent. PETITIONS FOR REVIEW OF ORDERS OF THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS Before Barron, Chief Judge, Howard and Rikelman, Circuit Judges. Chelsea Eddy, with whom Gilles Bissonnette, SangYeob Kim, and American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire were on brief, for petitioner. Andrea N. Gevas, Trial Attorney, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, with whom Brett A. Shumate, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, and John S. Hogan, Assistant Director, Office of Immigration Litigation, were on brief, for respondent. * Pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 43(c)(2), Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is automatically substituted for former Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi as appellee. June 3, 2026  BARRON, Chief Judge. Walter Wambugu Muchiri ("Muchiri") petitions for review of two orders from the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). The first, issued on March 7, 2025, dismissed Muchiri's appeal of an order denying his application for asylum, humanitarian asylum, and withholding of removal. The second, issued on June 4, 2025, granted Muchiri's motion to reconsider the BIA's March 7 ruling but then dismissed his appeal. We grant the petitions for review and vacate and remand the BIA orders. I. On May 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") served Muchiri, a Kenyan native, with a notice to appear at removal proceedings. The notice to appear charged Muchiri with being subject to removal under § 237(a)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act for overstaying his visa. See 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B). Muchiri was ordered to appear at removal proceedings in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, on June 3, 2024. On September 11, 2024, the Immigration Judge ("IJ") assigned to Muchiri's case held removal proceedings to consider Muchiri's application for asylum, humanitarian asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture ("CAT"). The IJ denied the application in full. To succeed on a claim for asylum, an applicant must show that he "is unable or unwilling to return or to avail [himself] of the protection of [his] own country 'because of [past] persecution - 3 - or a well-founded fear of [future] persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.'" De Pena-Paniagua v. Barr, 957 F.3d 88, 92 (1st Cir. 2020) (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A)). An applicant "must establish that he either suffered past persecution (which creates a rebuttable presumption of future persecution) or has a well-founded fear of future persecution." Alexandrescu v. Mukasey, 537 F.3d 22, 25 (1st Cir. 2008). The presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution "can be rebutted by a showing that conditions in the applicant's native country have so changed that he no longer has a well-founded fear of future persecution" such that the "presumption disappears and the applicant is not entitled to asylum." Chreng v. González, 471 F.3d 14, 21 (1st Cir. 2006). In the absence of a showing of past persecution that gives rise to the rebuttable presumption of future persecution, an applicant can also show an