Asylum
Protection News 30
August 16 ,
2004
Attorney General Poised to Decide if US will Protect Rodi Alvarado
Bipartisan Support for Woman Who Fled Horrific Domestic Violence
Urge Ashcroft to Grant Asylum
Attorney General John Ashcroft is poised to rule on the asylum case of Rodi
Alvarado, a Guatemalan woman who fled ten years of brutal violence at the hands
of her husband after her country’s government ignored her repeated requests
for help.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, over 100 Senators and members of
Congress, and a broad range of faith-based, human rights, women’s rights
and civil rights groups have urged the Attorney General to protect Rodi Alvarado
and women who have suffered similar horrific violence and persecution.
The Stakes for Rodi Alvarado – Decision Looming
Rodi Alvarado fled Guatemala after suffering years of violence and abuse.
She was repeatedly beaten by her husband and brutally attacked when he learned
that she was pregnant. Ms. Alvarado has suffered nearly ten years of separation
from her children while awaiting a final decision to be made on her case. The
Attorney General has decided to issue a decision himself in this historic case,
and since all the legal briefs have been submitted, he could issue his decision
at any time.
The Attorney General should act now, without further delay, to finally end
the suffering that Ms. Alvarado has endured for nearly 20 years. The Attorney
General himself acknowledged, in January 2004, that Rodi’s “application
for asylum has been pending for several years and it is important to move toward
resolution of the legal issues involved.” Ms. Alvarado has waited long
enough for her fate in the U.S. to be decided.
Human Rights First is concerned that Attorney General Ashcroft may deny Ms.
Alvarado’s claim for asylum, particularly since he has taken the extraordinary
step of announcing that he will issue a decision himself in this case. A denial
of her claim would not only affect Ms. Alvarado’s fate, but it could also
prevent other women who have fled from violence, sexual slavery, honor killings,
and other persecution from receiving protection in the United States.
Ms. Alvarado’s case, and its implications for other women and girls,
has sparked a tremendous amount of attention and bipartisan support. The Department
of Homeland Security, in its brief, recommended that Ms. Alvarado be granted
asylum and stated that it plans to issue regulations soon that will provide guidance
in cases involving similar issues. Over 100 Senators and members of Congress,
Republicans and Democrats alike, have written to the Attorney General urging
him to grant asylum to Ms. Alvarado.
Conservative groups, such as World Relief and Concerned Women for America,
as well as a range of faith-based groups, have urged the Attorney General to
grant asylum to Ms. Alvarado. So too have human rights and civil liberties groups,
including Human Rights First and the American Civil Liberties Union, domestic
violence organizations, women’s rights groups, and refugee and immigrant
assistance organizations.
The Legal Background
An immigration judge ruled in 1996 that Ms. Alvarado merited asylum; the judge
ruled that her husband had inflicted severe abuse and that she was unable to
seek protection from the Guatemalan government. But the U.S. Board of Immigration
Appeals (BIA) reversed the immigration judge’s decision in 1999. Then Attorney
General Reno vacated the BIA decision to deny asylum to Ms. Alvarado and the
former INS proposed to create a new rule that would clarify that victims of domestic
violence and other gender-related persecution are eligible for asylum. However,
these proposed regulations were never finalized.
On March 19, 2003, the BIA notified Ms. Alvarado’s attorney that the
Attorney General had decided to rule on the case himself. Ms. Alvarado’s
attorneys requested that the Attorney General allow the parties to re-brief the
case since a significant amount of time had elapsed and there had been changes
in the law over the years. The Attorney General initially denied this request,
but subsequently changed his mind after members of Congress and the public weighed
in to support Ms. Alvarado.
Ms. Alvarado is represented by Karen Musalo, from the Center for Gender and
Refugee Studies at UC Hastings College of Law. Over 90 organizations (including
Human Rights First) joined in a legal brief, written by the Harvard Immigration
and Refugee Clinic and Greater Boston Legal Services, which supported Ms. Alvarado’s
claim for refuge.
Urge
Ashcroft to Grant Asylum
Attorney General Ashcroft should make a decision on the fate
of Rodi Alvarado without further delay. As the 10th Anniversary of the Violence
Against Women Act approaches on September 13 and 14, the Department of Justice
has an excellent opportunity to solidify its commitment to the protection of
women by granting protection not only to Rodi Alvarado but to other women and
girls fleeing violence.
Join people across the country and write to Attorney General Ashcroft and
the White House to urge them to grant Rodi Alvarado asylum immediately and to
preserve asylum for women and girls fleeing horrific violence and persecution.
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