Guatemalan Women Could Get Asylum Due to Murders

Jennifer L. Manning, July 25, 2010

On Monday, July 12, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered immigration judges to seriously consider awarding asylum to Guatemalan women who fear being murdered.

At issue was defining a "particular social group" that is persecuted and eligible for political asylum in the US.

However, as The Huffington Post reports, there is no argument over Guatemala's appalling murder rate: more than 3,800 women have been killed since 2000, but fewer than two percent of the cases were solved in this patriarchal culture.

Since women fearing genital mutilation or domestic abuse victims have all been identified as "social groups" qualifying for political asylum, the unanimous three-judge panel concluded that "females, or young girls of a particular clan, met [the court's] definition of a particular social group."

This finding by the court could thus continue a trend of asylum eligibility expansion beyond the traditional claims of political and religious oppression.

For more information, please see: Federal Court Opens Door for Guatemalan Asylum Claim (Huffington Post, Paul Elias, July 12, 2010)

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