Attorney General Jeff Sessions released new guidance on Monday that said illegal immigrants who seek refuge in the U.S. from domestic or gang violence will no longer qualify for automatic asylum.
“Generally, claims by aliens pertaining to domestic violence or gang violence perpetrated by non-governmental actors will not qualify for asylum,” Sessions wrote in his 31-page directive. “The mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes — such as domestic violence or gang violence — or that certain populations are more likely to be victims of crime, cannot itself establish an asylum claim.”
Sessions, who oversees all immigration courts, previewed the change in a speech earlier Monday, in which he said the asylum system was being “abused.”
The order overturned a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals that allowed a Salvadoran woman to get asylum based on the domestic abuse she endured for more than a decade by her husband.
He also quoted a 2017 court case that ruled against a Honduran woman and her minor son seeking asylum from family violence, which said “the asylum statute is not a general hardship statute.”
Now, asylum seekers must claim membership in a specific social group — i.e., race or nationality — that is “socially distinct” from where he or she lives. Membership in that social group must be “a central reason for her persecution.”
“When the alleged persecutor is someone unaffiliated with the government, the applicant must also show that her home government is unwilling or unable to protect her,” wrote Sessions.
A Justice Department spokesperson said U.S. immigration laws “provide for asylum to be granted to individuals who have been persecuted, or who have a well-founded fear of persecution, on account of their membership in a ‘particular social group,’ but most victims of personal crimes do not fit this definition — no matter how vile and reprehensible the crime perpetrated against them.”
“The Department of Justice remains committed to reducing violence against women and enforcing laws against domestic violence, both in the United States and around the world,” the spokesperson added.
