The Justice Department Overturns Policy That Limited Asylum For Survivors Of Violence

Speaker 1: 00:00 Survivors of domestic abuse and gang violence. Now have a better chance at seeking asylum in the United States yesterday, the justice department announced it is reversing a Trump era rule that limited asylum protections for these groups. And while the decision does provide a clear path for some asylum seekers, it also underscores the need for clearer and more comprehensive law outlining who qualifies for asylum in the first place. Joining me with more is Leah Chavarria, the director of immigration services at Jewish family services and legal welcome. Speaker 2: 00:34 I thank you for having me today. So Speaker 1: 00:36 To start, how did the Trump administration rule limit survivors of domestic violence and gang violence from seeking asylum? Speaker 2: 00:44 The decisions from the prior attorney general made it so that it was much more difficult for survivors of domestic violence and those suffering from gang violence to receive asylum. So the law is already very convoluted to define what is a particular social group and the decisions from the prior attorney general made it, um, near impossible for someone who's a survivor of domestic violence or gang violence to receive asylum. Speaker 1: 01:12 And so how does yesterday's decision by the justice department affect the criteria by which they can now seek asylum? Speaker 2: 01:20 Essentially what's happened now is we go back to the law as it existed before the last attorney General's decision changed the law. So that doesn't mean that everyone who is a survivor of domestic violence or everyone who is a gang violence survivor, will be able to get asylum. It's still a very difficult area of the law to navigate, especially for someone who's not represented by a lawyer, because even lawyers are confused by this area of law and how to navigate, defining what is a particular social group or someone who's a survivor of domestic violence or gang violence. So essentially it's still a very complex legal argument that has to be made to win on those claims. But now many practitioners are celebrating because the battle is a little bit easier than it was now under the decision that was issued. So Speaker 1: 02:14 How common is it for asylum seekers to flee their countries of origin due to gang violence or domestic abuse? And do you have a sense of how many people this change could impact? Speaker 2: 02:25 I would say that the majority of central American cases have to do with domestic violence or gang violence at this point in time. So that's a lot of asylum seekers who will now have a chance at reaching asylum that, uh, that chance was foreclosed on by the, or nearly foreclosed on by the prior decisions. It's thousands of people who will now have a chance at reaching asylum in this country, which they deserve. Speaker 1: 02:53 Now, this decision by the justice department does not totally clarify who is eligible for asylum, so needs to be done from your perspective, to make that more clear Speaker 2: 03:04 The decisions hinted at forthcoming rulemaking, which it seems that the administration is seeking to do. So that would be regulatory framework that says here is exactly what a particular social group should look like. And, um, that rulemaking is still forthcoming. So I can't really say exactly what that would look like. I think many practitioners, we want something that's a little bit more clear on what is a particular social group. Exactly. But we also want to have the opportunity to argue particular social groups that are outside of the confines of what the administration can create, because we want to be able to make a claim for all of the very types of cases that are out there. And every case is so unique, even though generally we're speaking of people who have suffered domestic violence and people who have suffered gang violence, each one of the claims has very unique facts and circumstances that makes it, um, more unique maybe than another. Speaker 2: 04:05 And we want to still be able to make those arguments. But what we don't want to have happen is another case issued by the board of immigration appeals or another attorney general in the future that says that anyone that has suffered domestic violence or anyone that suffers gang violence is enabled to reach asylum. Uh, and that that should not happen. So in the rulemaking, what we're hoping is that it at least sets in stone that someone can make a gender based claim. Someone can make a gang violence claim. Someone can make a domestic violence claim, and that, and that is sufficient for getting to the other arguments that you need to make in order to try to win an asylum claim, Speaker 1: 04:48 The legal argument over who should qualify for asylum hinges on the meaning of three words, particular social group. Can you tell us more about that? Speaker 2: 04:58 What I can tell you is that it is an area of law that is very complex and difficult. So a particular social group needs to be a group that is defined with particularity that is immutable, and that is socially distinct. And so if you can imagine, you can make many different arguments that a particular group meets each one of those elements. And so it really takes an expert to try to navigate how to make the best argument within those confines. It's an area of law in which even immigration judges struggle to make a decision that makes sense with the, with the law. Speaker 1: 05:41 Are there people already in the country seeking asylum under these rules who are now protected from deportation because of this change? Speaker 2: 05:49 Yes. So if, for example, if someone's case was already decided by an immigration judge now, and maybe it's up on appeal, or they were about to appeal their case, they have a chance now to possibly reopen their proceedings if their case was decided based on these prior decisions from the, from the last attorney general. So there's a chance for many people to reopen proceedings, there's a chance for people to make better appeal arguments based on their claim. And there's a chance for, for people. For example, some of my clients who already have a pending asylum claim, and now I'm going to be able to make stronger legal arguments on their behalf. I have a lot more work ahead of me now that these decisions have come forward, but it's work that I'm excited to do. Speaker 1: 06:39 Well. I've been speaking with Leah Chavarria, the director of immigration services at Jewish family services. And Leah, thank you so much for joining us. Speaker 2: 06:48 Thank you so much for having me appreciate it.