LULAC Applauds Asylum Reinstatement For Domestic Violence Victims
Nation’s Largest and Oldest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says Decision by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland Will Save Lives
Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is celebrating the reversal of a Trump-era action that left undocumented immigrant victims of domestic violence and gender-related persecution exposed to deportation. Untold numbers were returned to their home countries where they could be brutalized again or even killed by their aggressors. Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr acceded in 2020 to then-President Trump’s assertions that neither women nor children’s claims of violence back home were valid for protection from deportations. The decision this week by Attorney General Garland means that immigration courts are not allowed to use legal precedents from the Trump Administration as a basis to deny asylum to women, children, or families fleeing violence in their countries of origin.
Elsie Valdes-Ramos - LULAC National Board Member and Vice-President for Women
“We are elated beyond words by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s response to the courageous women and others who have spoken out pleading for justice, even at great risk to themselves so that their cries could be heard. For too long women have suffered alone and in silence out of fear of retaliation against their children and themselves. The travesty of ignoring their pleas during these past many months was inexplicable and should be a wake-up call to us all of what can happen when life and death immigration decisions are politicized. We will never know the full cost paid in human suffering or even death when our nation’s immigration courts were forced to turn their back on victims of domestic violence and persecution. The women of LULAC stand with these brave unnamed mujeres whose cases have served as the basis for this historic righting of a wrong.”
Domingo Garcia - LULAC National President
“LULAC is fighting daily in defense of those victims whose voices alone are being drowned out by a system that either will not listen or is being blocked by politicians whose racial hatred stands in the way of justice. We will no longer candy-coat or soften the tone so as not to offend our opponents who could care less about the human toll being caused by their indifference. This action by Attorney General Garland now frees immigration judges from the shackles of bad law placed on the books because Barr was too weak or unwilling to do his job. The blood is on their hands of those women, children, and families who were sent back to meet a violent fate. May we never forget the lives of American soldiers paid so that our country’s historic immigrant values could be preserved, not forsaken for political gain. I applaud Attorney General Garland for this courage to do the right thing.”
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About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest Hispanic civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services, and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting the critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit https://lulac.org/