Gonzales v. Thomas

Summary

A per curiam Court granted certiorari, vacated the Ninth Circuit's en banc judgment, and remanded because the court below decided in the first instance whether the Thomas family constituted a 'particular social group' under the Immigration and Nationality Act without first giving the administrative agency the opportunity to address the question. Applying the ordinary remand rule governing review of asylum eligibility determinations, the Court held the failure to remand was legally erroneous and obvious in light of its controlling precedent, finding no special circumstance that justified first-instance resolution by the court of appeals.