In the Nutshell
On Sep. 30, 2025, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a precedential decision regarding asylum eligibility based on perceived gang membership. In Matter of L-A-L-T-, 29 I&N Dec. 269 (BIA 2025), the BIA vacated a grant of asylum by the Immigration Judge (IJ), finding that the proposed particular social group (PSG) of “perceived Salvadoran gang members” is not cognizable. The noncitizen in L-A-L-T- was never a member of a gang but was targeted and assaulted by police officers on multiple occasions because they erroneously believed him to be an MS-13 gang member. Based on the past harm the respondent suffered, the IJ found that he had met his burden of showing past persecution on account of a valid protected ground – “perceived Salvadoran gang members.”