Asylum Denied: Gambian Professor Loses Appeal in 8th Circuit
Momodou Jatta, a Gambian university professor, was beaten into a coma by police in 2014 after a student reported him for quoting Barack Obama in a lecture. He fled to the US and applied for asylum. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals denied his petition in October 2026, ruling that a change of government in The Gambia eliminated his legal claim to protection — even though the court believed his account of torture.
You fled your home country after being beaten into a coma by police. You applied for asylum in the US. But a new president took power back home — and now a federal court says you no longer qualify for protection. That is exactly what happened to Momodou Jatta, a 46-year-old professor from The Gambia, after the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals denied his asylum petition on October 16, 2026.
What happened in this case
Jatta entered the US in August 2014 on a student visa to attend the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California. He never enrolled — his uncle, who had promised to pay tuition, was arrested in The Gambia and could no longer help. Jatta stayed in the US without switching to another visa or enrolling elsewhere. In December 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began removal proceedings against him.
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The immigration judge (IJ) — the judge who hears deportation cases — actually believed Jatta's story. The court found that Gambian police had tortured him in 2014 after a student reported him for quoting President Obama during a lecture. That torture counted as past persecution, which normally gives an asylum applicant a legal presumption that they still face danger if returned. But the IJ and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) — the federal body that reviews immigration court decisions — both ruled that conditions in The Gambia had changed enough to cancel that presumption. President Yahya Jammeh, under whose government Jatta was persecuted, lost power in January 2017. The new president, Adama Barrow, began investigating past abuses, restored press freedom, and returned exiled journalists. The Eighth Circuit reviewed the record and found that substantial evidence supported the agency's conclusion. The court declined to reverse the ruling.
Jatta also argued he deserved humanitarian asylum — a form of protection available even without a current fear of persecution, when past abuse was especially severe. The BIA found his past persecution, while serious, did not rise to the level required for humanitarian asylum. The court also declined to grant withholding of removal (a separate form of protection that stops deportation even if asylum is denied) or relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), which protects people from being sent to countries where they would likely be tortured.
Why this matters for asylum seekers
This case shows a critical risk in the asylum process: even if you were genuinely persecuted, the US government can deny your claim by proving that your home country has changed. Courts call this a "fundamental change in circumstances." If a new government takes power and makes credible reforms, that can be enough to cancel the legal protection you would otherwise receive. Country conditions reports from Human Rights Watch, the Congressional Research Service, and other sources carry real weight in these decisions.
What to do
- If you have an asylum case pending and your home country has recently had a change in government, talk to an immigration lawyer immediately — the government may argue that conditions have improved and your fear is no longer valid.
- Gather current evidence of ongoing risks: news reports, human rights organization statements, and personal accounts from people still in your country. Generic reports about improvements are not enough to defeat your claim if you can show specific, ongoing danger to people like you.
- If you entered on a student visa and did not enroll, or if your visa status lapsed, address that issue with a lawyer — it affects your overall immigration options beyond asylum.
- If your asylum claim was denied by the BIA, you have a limited window to petition a federal circuit court for review. Missing that deadline ends your options in federal court.
Related: our step-by-step guide — “Appealing to the BIA”.
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When the government argues 'fundamental change in circumstances,' the burden shifts back to the applicant to show the change is not durable or does not protect people in their specific situation. Jatta's case shows that a credible past persecution finding is not enough on its own — you must actively counter the government's country conditions evidence with current, specific documentation. If you are in removal proceedings and your home country has had political changes, consult an immigration attorney now to assess whether your record needs to be supplemented before your next hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the US deny asylum even if they believe I was persecuted in the past?
Yes. If the US government proves that conditions in your home country have fundamentally changed — for example, a new government took power and stopped targeting people like you — the presumption that you still face danger can be canceled. The immigration judge and the BIA can then deny asylum even if they fully believe your account of past persecution.
What is humanitarian asylum, and how is it different from regular asylum?
Humanitarian asylum (also called asylum based on past persecution alone) is available in rare cases where the past abuse was so severe that returning you would be inhumane, even if you no longer face a current threat. Courts set a very high bar for this. In Jatta's case, the BIA found that his torture, while serious, did not meet that threshold.
What is withholding of removal, and why did it not help Jatta?
Withholding of removal is a separate form of protection that prevents deportation to a specific country if you would likely face persecution there. It has a higher standard than asylum — you must show it is 'more likely than not' that you will be persecuted. Because the courts found the changed conditions in The Gambia rebutted that risk, withholding of removal was also denied.
If the BIA denies my asylum appeal, what options do I have left?
You can petition a federal circuit court of appeals to review the BIA's decision. The deadline to file is strict — typically 30 days from the BIA's order. Federal courts review whether the agency's decision was supported by substantial evidence, which is a high bar to overcome. If the federal court also denies your petition, as happened in Jatta's case, deportation can proceed.