Abused Woman Granted Asylum in U.S.

A Guatemalan woman who entered the United States illegally has been granted asylum. 

Maira Farfan Maldonado was one of 31 janitors arrested last year during an immigration raid on Rhode Island courthouses.

Maldonado's lawyers told an immigration judge that her life would be in danger from her abusive husband if she was sent back to Guatemala.  Maldonado said her husband broke her skull, knocked out her teeth, kicked her while pregnant, and threatened to kill her.

To help her daughter escape, in 2000 Maldonado's mother paid a smuggler $5,000 to bring Maldonado over the border from Mexico. Maldonado left behind three children, two of whom are now grown.

To help make her case to the judge, Maldonado's lawyers used medical records, testimony from social workers, and letters showing Maldonado's husband had connections to former members of paramilitary groups.

After hearing Maldonado's case, an immigration judge granted her asylum, ruling that her life would be in danger in she returned to Guatemala. Maldonado's lawyers, Andrea Saenz and Heather Friedman, said that victims of domestic violence can seek asylum on the grounds they have no protection against abusive husbands if they are deported.  In Guatemala, domestic abusers are rarely prosecuted.

Maldonado, who cried when she heard the judge's decision, can now apply for work permits, legal residency, and eventually citizenship.

For more information about asylum, click here to find an immigration attorney.