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Background information
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Documents and Information on Rodi Alvarado's Claim for Asylum in the U.S.Both parties and two amicus briefs are all in agreement: Rodi Alvarado should be granted asylum. Click here for: (1) DHS's brief; (2) Rodi Alvarado's brief; (3) UNHCR's advisory opinion; (4) Harvard/GBLS amicus brief from 187 NGOs and law professors. BackgroundRodi Alvarado Peña is a Guatemalan woman who suffered ten years of brutal violence at the hands of her husband, a former soldier. Despite her repeated attempts to obtain government protection, the police and the courts refused to intervene. When she ran away, her husband found her and beat her unconscious. Desperate to save her life, Ms. Alvarado finally fled to the United States, leaving her two children with relatives. She was fortunate to obtain the help of the San Francisco Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. In 1996, a San Francisco immigration judge granted Rodi asylum. But the immigration service chose to appeal. Karen Musalo, now director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies and lead attorney in the landmark Kasinga case, coordinated and co-authored an amicus brief submitted to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). In June 1999, the BIA reversed the decision of the immigration judge, and ordered that Ms. Alvarado be deported to Guatemala. The decision in Matter of R- A- led to denials of asylum protection to women fleeing a broad range of serious human rights violations, including trafficking for prostitution, gang rape and honor killing, as well as domestic violence. In the wake of the BIA's decision, Karen Musalo assumed sole responsibility for Rodi's legal appeal. In January 2001, then-Attorney General Janet Reno responded to a nationwide campaign of outrage and concern by overturning the BIA's decision. She ordered the BIA to issue a new decision in Rodi's case after the issuance of proposed Department of Justice regulations on the subject of gender asylum. Those regulations have never been finalized by the Bush Administration. Current Update
Key Legal Documents
AdvocacyLetter to Attorney General Ashcroft from 49 members of the House (Feb. 27, 2003), initiated by Rep. Gregory Meeks. Amnesty International USA's Refugee Action NSA 3/03 CGRS, Amnesty International USA and the Family Violence Prevention Fund together call for INS to drop its appeal of Rodi Alvarado's 1996 grant of asylum (March 2002). Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) quizzed INS Commissioner Ziglar about INS progress on the social group regulations during his appearance before the House Appropriations Committee (March 7, 2002). In September 2000 members of both the House and Senate sent letters to the Attorney General in September, again urging her to take immediate action to reverse Matter of R-A-. In response, in October 2000 she met with concerned members of Congress to discuss their concerns. On February 14, 2000, Senators Leahy, Brownback, Jeffords, Kerry, Kennedy, Feingold and Schumer sent a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno asking her to reverse the BIA's decision in an honor killing case, referring to Matter of R- A- and expressing concern that "the BIA lacks sufficient understanding of current standards in both United States asylum law and policy and international human rights law." On December 2, 1999, five Senators sent the Attorney General a letter expressing their concern about Matter of R- A-. Also, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) made a statement on Ms. Alvarado's case. Representatives Luis Gutierrez, Chris Smith, Connie Morella, Carolyn Maloney, & Rosa DeLauro, sent a letter to all House members, asking their support in asking the Attorney General to reverse Matter of R- A-, August 5, 1999. Dozens of members of the House of Representatives responded by signing a letter to the Attorney General. Congressional Hispanic Caucus, letter to Attorney General Reno supporting Ms. Alvarado's asylum claim and requesting certification of Matter of R- A-, July 22, 1999 See Human Rights First's excellent web page on Gender & Asylum in the United States. Amnesty International's original Refugee Action on the Alvarado case (NSA 6/99; May 25, 1999). In the NewsEdwidge Danticat, A Crime to Dream, The Nation, May 2, 2005. Tina Sussman, Long wait for women seeking asylum as U.S. operates in legal vacuum, New York Newsday, March 31, 2005. Peter Blumberg, Ruling Favors Women Who Seek Asylum, San Francisco Daily Journal, March 11, 2005. Bill Frelick, Women Will Suffer Under Asylum Law, Journal Sentinel Online, February 26, 2005. William Fisher, Legal Limbo for Battered Women Seeking Asylum, Inter Press Service, February 15, 2005. Carmen Valenzuela, Abuse Victim's Asylum Claim Deserves Justice, Miami Herald, January 31, 2005. Frank Davies, Ashcroft Declines to Resolve Asylum Case of Battered Women, Knight-Ridder News Wire, January 24, 2005. Bob Egelko, Ashcroft Will Pass Asylum Case to Successor, San Francisco Chronicle, January 22, 2005. John Files, Ashcroft Won't Aid Asylum Seeker, The New York Times, January 22, 2005. Wendy Wright and Cory Smith, Grant This Woman Asylum, The Washington Post, October 8, 2004. Editorial, A Haven for Abused Women, The New York Times, April 29, 2004. Rachel Swarns, Ashcroft Weighs Granting of Political Asylum to Abused Women, The New York Times, March 11, 2004, at A1. |
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