Attorney General John Ashcroft’s decision in the landmark asylum case of Rodi Alvarado represents a partial victory, although he did not grant asylum to Ms. Alvarado as recommended by the Department of Homeland Security. It is significant that the outgoing Attorney General Ashcroft, in sending the case back to the administrative Board of Immigration Appeals, did not deny asylum to Ms. Alvarado—a survivor of brutal domestic violence.
“A negative decision by the Attorney General would have undermined this country’s protection of women who flee from honor killings, sexual trafficking, rape and other egregious harms,” said Cory Smith, Legislative Counsel for Human Rights First. “At the same time, Rodi Alvarado, who has been in legal limbo for years already, now will have to wait even longer to get the protection she deserves. The Attorney General could have granted asylum to Ms. Alvarado. She is clearly entitled to that—as the Department of Homeland Security concluded nearly a year ago,” Smith added.
In February 2004, the Department of Homeland Security submitted a 43-page brief to Attorney General Ashcroft, supporting the case that Ms. Alvarado is a refugee who is entitled to the protection of U.S. law. Attorney General Ashcroft had “re-certified” her asylum case early in 2003, sparking widespread concern that he would reach a decision limiting the ability of women who flee from gender persecution and other gender-based violence to receive asylum in the United States.
Ms. Alvarado received broad-based support in her asylum claim from a bi-partisan group of over 100 Members of Congress and a diverse coalition of faith-based groups and human rights organizations spanning the political spectrum.
Ashcroft’s decision now delays the resolution of both Ms. Alvarado’s individual case and the broader issues it raises. The fate of Ms. Alvarado and of other women who have fled from domestic violence, honor killings and other harms will now rest with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, which are expected to issue rules to cover such claims.
Human Rights First urges that the regulations recognize that in appropriate circumstances, women like Rodi Alvarado who suffer from certain kinds of violence are eligible for asylum.
“Given the position taken by the Department of Homeland Security in this case, the regulations should recognize that in appropriate circumstances, women like Rodi Alvarado who suffer from certain kinds of violence can be eligible for asylum,” Smith noted. “It is beyond time to bring closure to Rodi Alvarado’s case and make clear that she and others deserve our protection.”
