The Ninth Circuit has determined that when threats and harm to an asylum applicant and her family restrict the applicant’s ability to practice her religion, that restriction is a form of harm that must be considered when determining if she has experienced past persecution.
“De Souza Silva experienced a death threat explicitly linked to animus against Candomblé practitioners. The masked man specifically invoked the murder of Simone’s father, who had been murdered because of his religious practice. De Souza Silva additionally experienced other harm, including escalating vandalism paired with menacing and pejorative messages.”
“Ultimately, in evaluating whether the cumulative effect of the harms and abuses De Souza Silva experienced rose to the level of persecution, the agency was required to consider the effect of her experiences on her ability to practice her religion freely. The agency failed to do so, never mentioning her religious practice as a consideration nor citing any of the related evidence in the record about the issue.”
The full text of De Souza Silva v. Bondi can be found here: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2025/06/11/24-834.pdf