3 People Seek Asylum in Tennessee
Posted on Aug 8, 2009 12:05pm PDT
In the state of Tennessee, it is reported that at least 3 women are seeking asylum. The women plan to obtain
asylum through a limited path that has been opened by President Obama's administration. The women claim that they fled their native countries because they had been subjected to severe physical abuse, sexual assault and forced marriages. One of the women, a 19 year old Guatemalan woman who is now living in Nashville, claims that she was abused for years and then raped by a family friend before fleeing from her home country.
Both immigrant and women's advocates claim that the new asylum policy could literally save hundreds of women who have been physically abused or who even face death in their home lands. The new policies would also broaden asylum eligibility requirements in the United States.
Asylum is defined as permission to remain in a country, such as the U.S., to avoid physical injury, persecution or death in one's home country due to one's race, religion or political beliefs. Last year, over 22,930 people were granted asylum in the U.S according to the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services Statistical Yearbook.
Click here to find a lawyer who handles asylum cases!