For Attorneys

P. and her husband were members of an opposition political party. In early 2019, police came to their home and demanded they remove an opposition flag, searched their home, and warned them to stop supporting the opposition. The police returned a few weeks later and attempted to detain P.  Terrified, the family went into hiding and then fled seeking protection in the U.S. P.'s children are in unique procedural postures.

A group of Hindu religious extremists hijacked the bus and tried to force L. to say Hindu prayers.  When L., who is Muslim, refused, the hijackers pulled L.’s scarf off her head. Subsequently, members of the same Hindu extremist group broke into L.’s home, beat L. and her son, P, targeted L.’s husband, K., and threatened the whole family with death multiple times.  L. reported the threats to the police on more than one occasion, but the police did not protect them. Fearing for their lives, the family fled to the United States. NIJC timely filed the family’s asylum applications with USCIS in December 2020.  All affidavits and supporting materials will be due one week prior to their interview at the asylum office.

P’s parents forced her to maintain the family house, and if P did not, she was physically abused. When P turned 12 years old her parents told her to stop going to school and to find work because her family would no longer support her. At her work away from her home, P. was subject to frequent sexual assaults. P left Guatemala to live with her sister and arrived in the US in December 2019. There is no one in Guatemala who could care for, or protect P. A pro bono attorney will need to file a guardianship case on behalf of P’s sister, and obtain an order for guardianship finding that P’s reunification with both parents is not viable due to abuse and neglect, and that it is not in P’s best interest to return to Guatemala. This order must be obtained prior to P’s 18th birthday in September of 2021.