Asylum Granted for 18 Year Old Girl from El Salvador

On June 13, 2017, Gibson Dunn successfully obtained asylum for a teenage girl who had been forced to flee her home and family in El Salvador to escape gang violence. Starting when she was 15 years old, a local faction of the 18th Street gang targeted her family for death if they refused to surrender their home to the gang. Her guardian was then executed, and she was kidnapped, beaten, and told she would be killed if she did not agree to become a “gang wife.” After fleeing on her own to the United States, Gibson Dunn represented her removal proceedings and obtained initial California state findings supporting a claim for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Gibson Dunn then successfully briefed and obtained asylum for her from USCIS. After overcoming an initial preliminary rejection of her asylum claim due to the department’s reluctance to grant asylum related to gang violence, the Gibson Dunn team obtained a reinterview at USCIS and successfully advocated for the department to change its view. Gibson Dunn attorneys Raymond LaMagna and Victor Lee handled the matter, with assistance from KIND, guidance from partner Patrick Dennis, and translation support from Ramona Gonzales.