U.S. makes historic decision on asylum applications

The US Attorney General has rejected an application for asylum by an El Salvador woman who was beaten and raped by her former husband. What might be called a historic decision, Jeff Sessions argued that a victim of family abuse or gang violence does not necessarily qualify for asylum in the US.

The highest American law official said “asylum status is not a general statute of difficulties” and that migrants were exploiting the system.

Activists say the measure will affect tens of thousands of asylum applications in the United States, which are of this nature.

In general, claims by foreigners dealing with domestic violence or gang violence committed by nongovernmental actors will not qualify for asylum”, Session wrote in his decision.

The simple fact that a country may effectively have problems controlling certain crimes such as domestic violence or gang violence, or that some populations are more likely to be victims of crime, cannot be the condition of asylum in the United States. /Top Channel