Domestic Violence is Actually a Reason to be Given Asylum
Central America is roughly 2,000 miles away from the Southern border. Many women and children, battered and bruised, walk those miles to reach the border of a country that will tell them that those traumas aren’t reason enough to let them in.
In 2018, Jeff Sessions, the then-Attorney General, decided that domestic and gang violence would no longer be considered viable reasons to seek asylum. Sessions and the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that regardless of how “vile and reprehensible” the violence is, it is not a good enough reason for the government to protect them. It is just not our responsibility to protect everyone in the world.
To some extent, that is true. We cannot afford to protect every person to ever exist. We cannot fix every problem. However, this is not a matter of if we should start a war or if national security is at risk. It is simply a matter of America continuing to tell women that their suffering is not reason enough for them to bother with it.
That being said, being victimized by domestic or gang violence is actually a perfectly good reason to seek asylum.
When discussing abuse and violence, the most important thing is getting as far away from the abuser as possible. The crisis here covers Central America — Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. If someone is being abused in Honduras and escapes to Guatemala, they are still extremely close to their abuser and could easily be found.
This gifts us the argument of, “Why don’t they just go to Mexico?” Well, Mexico is just as violent as wherever they are fleeing. Tijuana, a main artery for migration, was ranked as the most violent city in 2018. Migrants are extorted and robbed in Tijuana, which makes for an even more violent space for them. It just isn’t a good idea.
In terms of domestic violence, women are much more vulnerable to this abuse. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean determined that 40 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 fell victim to domestic abuse. A large reason for that is that opportunity for women is quite barren, so becoming independent is extremely hard for a woman in Central America.
Women have so much more opportunity in the United States that would allow them to provide for themselves and their families. There is no law that would deny them the housing, the right to work, and the ability to attend school if granted asylum. These are some of the reasons that the abuse and violence is continually perpetuated in these states. Women are offered poor quality general and sex education, become pregnant at a young age, and are stuck in these positions that do not give them the opportunity they deserve to be independent.
It seems like the DOJ has a difficult time trying to figure out who hits the mark when applying for asylum, since the policy is so vague. The Immigration and Nationality Act is the main line of determination. This act is in place for when a person is unable to return to their country of origin when facing persecution based on “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” In the majority of DOJ rulings, there is a lot of emphasis on the term “particular social group” and when that definition fits an applicant.
A “particular social group” is defined as a group that shares a specific characteristic. I’m no linguist, but I would think that based on that definition, “woman” would be considered a specific group. In the asylum application form, the applicant has to check if they are a male or a female. If it isn’t considered a specific group of people, why bother making the distinction?
In 2016, a young woman named Minta del Carmen Rivera-Barrientos was approached and asked to join the violent street gang MS-13 in El Salvador. When she refused, she was kidnapped, beaten, and violently gang raped by gang members. MS-13 continued to follow her and her family, and Rivera-Barrientos decided to escape to America. She was denied asylum.
The immigration judge decided that her “particular social group” of being a young woman who rejects gang ideals was not enough. River-Barrientos was beaten and raped. Her family was targeted and threatened. For her to now return home, to a gang that is awaiting her arrival, is sending her to her grave.
Women are victimized far too much for the U.S. government to just turn their cheek to the abuse they are facing, especially in Central America. The escalation of gang violence, domestic abuse, and lack of opportunity should be plenty of reasons for women and their families to be granted asylum.
Unfortunately, can we really be surprised that American government is actively invalidating women when they do it time and time again?
