Bu Jason Hopkins

Attorney General William Barr ruled Monday that being a member of a family harassed by gangs is not enough to qualify for asylum.

In a ruling that will likely block a large number of immigrants from lodging successful asylum claims moving forward, Barr overturned a previous decision made by Board of Immigration Appeals, which found that being a member of family targeted by gangs or other criminal organizations could qualify them as a “particular social group” worthy of U.S. asylum.

The White House’s top lawyer argued that the decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals was too broad, making it so that “virtually every alien” could make an asylum claim under such conditions.

The ruling pertains to a case known as “Matter L-E-A,” which involves a Mexican national caught twice entering the U.S. illegally. Upon his second deportation proceedings, the individual, simply referred to by the initials L-E-A, claimed asylum. He argued that his father’s store was being targeted by a cartel that wanted to force the store into selling drugs, which ultimately led to the cartel harassing him specifically.