I wrote my senior thesis in college about this case. You can't tell from the NY Times article, but she was subjected to horrific violence on a daily basis. She left her children with a relative when she fled and I'm not sure if she's seen them since.
Each asylum applicant has to prove a certain level of violence/discrimination/etc. to be considered "persecution." If she had been abused by a local officer or a member of the military because of political beliefs or ethnicity, she would have been granted asylum and INS would not have appealed. The fact that it was a domestic situation and the US government is (properly) hesitant to expand asylum law without studying the impact of that change means she was just barely outside of established asylum regulations. In a way, she was lucky-ish because her case was picked up by Karen Musalo, who runs a gender and refugees clinic at Hastings. (There's been a link to Alvaradi's case since as long as I remember and students at the clinic learn about the case.) I'm just happy that DHS, after initially appealing a grant of asylum to someone who clearly deserves it, finally came to its senses and made this recommendation.
I think this makes perfect sense if the asylum seeker is from a country that does not really provide legal protection to victims of domestic abuse, thus making them, as said above, a particular social group facing persecution. Of course, that still leaves a lot of room in our own system for providing better protection for victims of domestic violence, and I'm fairly certain that this unfortunately will not apply equally to male victims of domestic violence, but it's a good start. #asylum
It seems to me the real problem here is the insanely pervasive culture of violence in the countries the women are fleeing. Why don't we spend some money on that? #asylum
@wordinedgewise: Much of U.S. foreign assistance is inefficient and tied to security issues. Aside from all the issues of imposing outside values, the U.S. government simply does not have the capacity to change other cultures in any kind of time frame that would actually help these women now. However, many NGOs are working toward women's rights, and often have local implementers - they would probably be happy for any support. #asylum
@TheocratsForDarwin: Thanks for pointing that out. I should clarify that by "we" I meant American people (read: NGO's), not necessarily government agencies. #asylum
@Kristinkles Ingabogovinanana: But, we have resources and agencies for men and women subjected to domestic violence, whereas these countries, for the most part, do not.
@CurtCole: I know, I know. These resources do fail our women though, and so I was just posing the point that while it's wonderful and very necessary to help elsewhere there is still much to be done here. #asylum
@Kristinkles Ingabogovinanana: I totally agree. My best friend works for Child Protective Services and sees women fall through the cracks all the time. She'll refer them to Adult Services, but after that is is out of her hands. #asylum
When I read the first part of that jennifer anniston quote "My friends love coming over [to my house], because they get fed" I was like, aww isn't that nice. Stars they'e just like us! But then I got to "says her personal chef" and my heart sunk.
That Dr. Phil lady is the same one who's been making accusations for like ten years. I don't know why the National Enquirer is making it news again. It's a very, very old story.
What was that man doing in the dumpster anyway? I've read quotes from lots of celebs bemoaning that paparazzi and tabloid reporters steal their garbage. Something seems fishy about this guy.
Actually the UK press are well-known for accepting stuff found in bins. A few years ago there was a garbage collector who was on the payroll of several mags and used to look for stuff especially for them. Gutter press, indeed.
@LadyFabulous: Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've seen the word bender thrown around on Jezebel and have heard it used plenty with friends, on tv, etc. I sort of took that bit to mean "we don't really know who these British celebs are," not "what's a bender?"...
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Each asylum applicant has to prove a certain level of violence/discrimination/etc. to be considered "persecution." If she had been abused by a local officer or a member of the military because of political beliefs or ethnicity, she would have been granted asylum and INS would not have appealed. The fact that it was a domestic situation and the US government is (properly) hesitant to expand asylum law without studying the impact of that change means she was just barely outside of established asylum regulations. In a way, she was lucky-ish because her case was picked up by Karen Musalo, who runs a gender and refugees clinic at Hastings. (There's been a link to Alvaradi's case since as long as I remember and students at the clinic learn about the case.) I'm just happy that DHS, after initially appealing a grant of asylum to someone who clearly deserves it, finally came to its senses and made this recommendation.
[cgrs.uchastings.edu]
Check out the court filings, they're pretty extraordinary. #asylum
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Carry on.
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He isnt' even a doctor.
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Actually the UK press are well-known for accepting stuff found in bins. A few years ago there was a garbage collector who was on the payroll of several mags and used to look for stuff especially for them. Gutter press, indeed.
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Example: "I went on a weeklong bender and woke up naked holding a grapefruit with no memories."
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