Being lesbian and Salvadoran a basis for US asylum claim

The Boston Globe published a story today about a Salvadoran woman who sought asylum in the US based on her sexual orientation. Here is an excerpt:
In all asylum cases, applicants must show they have a well-founded fear of persecution in their homelands. Applicants can seek asylum in different ways: They can apply to Citizenship and Immigration Services, and they can appeal the decisions in court; or, if they are facing deportation, they can appeal to a judge directly in court.

Asylum does not guarantee citizenship, and asylum status can be revoked if conditions improve in their homelands or if they commit certain crimes.

For Berganza, a 40-year-old floor installer, the fear came early in El Salvador.

In her hometown, crowds frequently taunted and threw garbage at a boy they thought was gay. One girl had no friends because people believed she was a lesbian. One of Berganza's aunts received death threats because people thought she was a lesbian.

You can read my earlier posts about gay and lesbian issues in El Salvador at this link.

Comments

Anonymous said…
So all women are lesbians, or thought to be lesbians in that town in El Salvador.....

And all men are frightened of lesbians in El Salvador....

And this coincides with the running of "The L Word" for some seasons now....

And she just happens to make such claim to get asylum....in California, probably.....

Yeah right.

Reads like one of those clasic cases of lets make a claim in order to be able to remain here....

Even I was a political refugee in the 80's and remained in the US with said status....

We all had claims.....

Now she does......

Right...