Guatemalan Refugees In Persecution Appeals Case
source: http://womensenews.org/story/in-the-courts/101001/appeals-case-gives-hope-guatemalan-refugees
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Persecution for race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group have all provided grounds for winning U.S. asylum.
But not persecution for being a girl or a woman.
"We have a legal definition of refugees that has been interpreted in a way that has really left women out," said Karen Musalo, director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at University of California Hastings' College of Law.
That could change, however, with the case of women resisting compulsory return to Guatemala, the country in Latin America with the highest rate of femicide.
The U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals is now reviewing the case of Lesly Yajayra Perdomo, a 34-year-old woman who has been seeking refugee status for six years. At the same time, it is also considering whether Guatemalan women between the ages of 14 and 40 could be classified as a particular social group for granting asylum.
If the board rules yes, approximately 3,000 Guatemalan women presently facing deportation in the U.S. could be eligible for refugee status, if they successfully make the case that returning to Guatemala could mean death.
"There are many Guatemalan women in the U.S. who were victims of violence in Guatemala or, like Perdomo, who would face extreme danger if forced to return to Guatemala. This decision would provide an important tool for these women," said Kelsey Alford-Jones, program associate of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission.
Read the full story here http://womensenews.org/story/in-the-courts/101001/appeals-case-gives-hope-guatem...
But not persecution for being a girl or a woman.
"We have a legal definition of refugees that has been interpreted in a way that has really left women out," said Karen Musalo, director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at University of California Hastings' College of Law.
That could change, however, with the case of women resisting compulsory return to Guatemala, the country in Latin America with the highest rate of femicide.
The U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals is now reviewing the case of Lesly Yajayra Perdomo, a 34-year-old woman who has been seeking refugee status for six years. At the same time, it is also considering whether Guatemalan women between the ages of 14 and 40 could be classified as a particular social group for granting asylum.
If the board rules yes, approximately 3,000 Guatemalan women presently facing deportation in the U.S. could be eligible for refugee status, if they successfully make the case that returning to Guatemala could mean death.
"There are many Guatemalan women in the U.S. who were victims of violence in Guatemala or, like Perdomo, who would face extreme danger if forced to return to Guatemala. This decision would provide an important tool for these women," said Kelsey Alford-Jones, program associate of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission.
Read the full story here http://womensenews.org/story/in-the-courts/101001/appeals-case-gives-hope-guatem...
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