Today was a thrilling day as we successfully obtained asylum for an El Salvadoran woman and her young child.
Last year she fled her home country after gang members threatened their lives. Initially, the gang members targeted her as a single mother demanding she pay them “quotas,” or a tax, just to live in her home as they claimed it was their territory. Bravely, she refused their demands and told them they had no right to do so. She then went to the authorities to report the extortion and became an informant providing the police with the names and other information which resulted in the detention of some of the criminals.
Unfortunately, police corruption is rampant in El Salvador and someone within the department leaked to the gang she had become a source. They then came after her and threatened her and her son with death. She tried to move and find shelter in another part of El Salvador but their massive gang network resulted in members searching her out at her hiding place. She then decided to flee to the US as a refugee.
After months of preparing her case before the Immigration Court, and extensive negotiations with the Department of Homeland Security, we were able to obtain asylum for her and her child. We are thrilled she and her son will forever be free of these predatory gang members.