The horror of what Donald Trump and his administration did to the asylum seekers on the nation’s southern border has gone beyond brutality. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has walked along with the president’s vile plan in lockstep. Fortunately, someone has begun to strike back.
The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) just tweeted that it is suing the attorney general for “illegally denying asylum protections:”
‘We’re suing Jeff Sessions for illegally denying asylum protections to immigrants fleeing domestic violence and gang brutality. These policies undermine the fundamental human rights of women and violate decades of settled asylum law.’
Sessions worked to change the basic definition of qualified asylum seekers, refusing to allow people from fleeing domestic violence or gang violence. Both promised death to the anyone returning to their deadly grip.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) decided to redefine what “credible fear” meant and that neither of the two reasons would apply for granting asylum. Sessions just took a scythe to the two issues and mowed them out of existence.
In the past, anyone fearing death at the hands of gangs or violent abusers was reason enough to offer them asylum. The attorney general wrote to immigration judges this past month, according to the ACLU lawsuit:
‘Generally, claims by aliens pertaining to domestic violence or gang violence perpetrated by non-governmental actors will not qualify for asylum.’
The ACLU decided to sue for a woman they call “Grace” and a similar group of people seeking asylum in the United States. This group consists primarily of women and children fleeing from the gang-war stricken areas of Central America.
In Grace’s case, she was raped and beaten by her abuser, so she ran from Guatemala to this nation. Then, the Trump administration denied her asylum. She is awaiting deportation.
The ACLU released this statement:
‘By applying these broad and unjustified changes to the credible fear process, the government is attempting to subvert decades of settled asylum law and setting up asylum seekers like Grace to fail their interviews. For example, gender-based persecution has been recognized as a basis for asylum for decades. However, Sessions has declared that the plight of domestic and gang violence survivors is ‘merely personal.’
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
