Fwd: Tell Jeff Sessions: Domestic Violence Victims Need Asylum
Jae Jin Pak
Dear Jae Jin,
Attorney General Jeff Sessions just announced that he will reconsider long-settled policy that allows survivors of domestic violence to seek asylum protection in the United States. We know that public outcry in the form of petitions has made a real difference in cases like this, so we ask that you take action for courageous women fleeing domestic violence.
Session’s decision could be devastating for women like Tahirih Justice Center asylum client Aracely, who bravely shared her harrowing journey to safety with NPR’s Morning Edition this week.
Aracely’s story began in Honduras, where she lived with her family in a small community. At age 15, a man in her village known for his violent temper kidnapped her for several days, raping and beating her until she was finally able to escape. Although she found her way home, the man’s abuse continued for years, until one day he shot Aracely in the head, killed her two sons, and then killed himself. Aracely, who was pregnant with a daughter, miraculously survived, as did her daughter. After that, her abuser’s family blamed Aracely for his death and threatened to kill her and her family. She tried escaping to another part of the country, but his family found her there.
Aracely's only chance to stay alive was to flee to the United States, where she was granted asylum.
Right now, Sessions is rethinking whether women like Aracely – who have faced unimaginable violence – should be granted safety in the United States. He will soon be re-deciding a case similar to Aracely’s, called Matter of A-B-, in which a woman was granted asylum because she experienced extensive physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her domestic partner. Learn more here.
We at Tahirih are fighting to uphold these critical protections for survivors of violence, and we need your help. Join us by signing our petition and sharing it widely. We must tell Sessions that survivors of severe domestic violence deserve a chance at safety on our shores.
In solidarity,
Archi Pyati
Chief of Policy
- Member: IL Imagines Chicago
- Member: National Human Trafficking & Disabilities Working Group (NHTDWG)
- Member: Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health of IL (CIMH)
- Member: Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) of IL
- Member: Change Maker-IL Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke
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