For over a decade, “Ana” weathered a storm of violence unleashed by her husband’s cruel hands. The scars of his brutality marred her body and soul after he held a knife to her throat, smashed her head against furniture, dragged her by her hair, and threatened to cut her to pieces and flush her down the toilet.
Police failed to respond to her frequent calls for help and refused to issue a restraining order. She relocated several times in Mexico to escape her husband, but he always found her.
Knowing he had a criminal record in the U.S. and would be arrested if he crossed over, Ana and her daughter fled to the border in Nogales and requested asylum.
Without money to hire an attorney, they were ordered deported over a technicality before their case was heard. They were just days from being sent back to further violence when APA stepped in.
A motion was filed to reopen their case and stop deportation. APA paid their legal fees and brought together volunteer attorneys and law students to assist them.
Ana and her daughter cried for joy after the Immigration Judge granted asylum. It was a rare victory for such a case: nearly 90 percent of asylum requests filed by Mexicans in U.S. Immigration Courts are denied. Mexican domestic violence survivors often are denied on grounds they can escape their abusers by relocating within the country.
But the judge ruled that the years of physical violence, death threats, stalking, and mental abuse Ana endured amounted to persecution, and that the Mexican government proved unable or unwilling to protect her.
