Shelter from the Storm

Should the U.S. give asylum to victims of domestic violence? A Mission District woman's case may help decide that question.

A A A Comments By Bernice Yeung Wednesday, Oct 25 2000

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Perhaps most troubling to immigration attorneys, the R.A. decision sets legal precedents making it harder for their clients to claim they are a part of a persecuted social group. Because of the R.A. decision, asylum attorneys must now show that the social group is easily recognizable and that the abuse their client faces is not desirable in that country. R.A.'s claim failed because domestic violence victims are not organized and spousal abuse is not encouraged by the Guatemalan government.

"Everyone agrees that [domestic violence] is persecution," says Karen Musalo, director of UC Hastings' Center for Gender and Refugee Studies. "The board is saying that [the circumstances] are a shame, but they are bound by the statutes of the law. We, the people that disagree, say that you can interpret the statutes differently. But the effect is that right now, we might not be able to offer protection to women persecuted because of their gender."

Paul Trapani

Attorney Jane Kroesche is fighting to keep her client from being deported to Guatemala.

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