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Credibility, Trauma, and the Law: Domestic Violence-Based Asylum Claims in the United States

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Abstract

In 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in Matter of A-B-, attempted to bar victims of non-state actors—such as intimate partners and local gangs—from obtaining asylum in the United States. This article focuses on domestic violence-based asylum claims that made it to the US Circuit Court of Appeals during the Trump administration and the first five months of the Biden administration. My interdisciplinary approach goes beyond analysing the effect that Matter of A-B- has had on the outcomes of cases and asks how judges evaluate the credibility of petitioners, determine whether domestic violence can rise to the level of persecution, and decide whether a government was unwilling or unable to protect the victim. A systematic analysis of 83 appellate level verdicts shows that asylum decisions are fraught with inconsistencies and that many judges lack a sophisticated understanding of domestic violence, credibility, and trauma.

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Notes

  1. Matter of A-B- 27 I&N Dec. 227 (A.G. 2018).

  2. Supra n 1 at 318.

  3. Supra n 1 at 318.

  4. Supra n 1 at 337.

  5. Matter of Eusaph, 10 I&N Dec. 453 (BIA 1964).

  6. Supra n 1 at 320.

  7. Velasquez-Gaspar v. Barr 976 F.3d 1062 (2020).

  8. Matter of Kasinga 21 I. & N. 357 (BIA 1996).

  9. Matter of R-A- 24 I&N Dec. 629 (A.G. 2008).

  10. In Re R-A- 22 I. & N. Dec. 906 (BIA 1999) at 2.

  11. Matter of L-R- (BIA Apr. 13, 2009).

  12. Matter of A-R–C-G 26 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2014).

  13. Supra n 12 at 2.

  14. 34 USC § 12291(a)(8)

  15. Fuentes–Erazo v. Sessions 848 F.3d 847 (2017).

  16. Supra n 15 at 3.

  17. Supra n 15 at 6.

  18. Hernandez-Cabrera v. Barr 837 Fed.Appx. 148 (2020).

  19. Supra n 18 at 6.

  20. Supra n 18 at 13.

  21. Supra n 18 at 3.

  22. Supra n 18 at 3.

  23. Supra n 15 at 3.

  24. Acosta-Cervantes v. Barr 795 Fed.Appx. 995 (2020).

  25. Supra n 24 at 4.

  26. Juan-Antonio v. Barr 959 F.3d 778 (2020).

  27. Supra n 26 at 5.

  28. Supra n 26 at 14.

  29. Supra n 26 at 14.

  30. Supra n 26 at 7.

  31. Davila v. Barr 968 F.3d 1136 (2020).

  32. Supra n 31 at 5.

  33. Supra n 31 at 6.

  34. Orellana v. Barr 925 F.3d 145 (2019).

  35. Supra n 34 at 4.

  36. Supra n 34 at 4.

  37. Supra n 34 at 7.

  38. Supra n 34 at 4.

  39. Jeronimo v. U.S. Attorney General 678 Fed.Appx. 796 (2017).

  40. Supra n 39 at 6.

  41. Supra n 39 at 4.

  42. Supra n 39 at 4.

  43. Supra n 39 at 3.

  44. Hernandez DeSantana v. Barr 821 Fed.Appx. 712 (2020).

  45. Supra n 44 at 2.

  46. Supra n 44 at 3.

  47. Supra n 44 at 3.

  48. Supra n 26 at 11.

  49. Ortiz-Ortiz v. Sessions 698 Fed.Appx. 868 (2017).

  50. Supra n 49 at 3.

  51. Alvarado v. U.S. Attorney General 984 F.3d 982 (2020).

  52. Supra n 51 at 5.

  53. Soriano Ruiz v. Wilkinson 849 Fed.Appx. 638 (2021).

  54. Hernandez-Trochez v. U.S. Attorney General 2021 WL 1100540.

  55. Supra n 54 at 3.

  56. De Pena-Paniagua v. Barr 957 F.3d 88 (2020).

  57. Juarez-Coronado v. Barr 919 F.3d 1085 (2019).

  58. Supra n 57 at 2.

  59. Supra n 56 at 3.

  60. Amaya Jimenez v. Barr 802 Fed.Appx. 400 (2020) and Diaz-De Rojas v. U.S. Attorney General 755 Fed.Appx. 877 (2018).

  61. Rapalo-Medoza v. Sessions 718 Fed.Appx. 291 (2018).

  62. Diaz-De Rojas v. U.S. Attorney General 755 Fed.Appx. 877 (2018) and Miranda-Perez v. Garland 2021 WL 1712583 (2021).

  63. Bautista-Lopez v. U.S. Attorney General 813 Fed.Appx. 430 (2020).

  64. Aguilar-Escoto v. Session 874 F.3d 334 (2017).

  65. Rodriguez-Tornes v. Garland 993 F.3d 743 (2021).

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  1. Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Indiana University South Bend, 2259 Wiekamp Hall, 1700 Mishawaka Ave, South Bend, IN, 46615, USA

    Christina Gerken

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Correspondence to Christina Gerken.

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Gerken, C. Credibility, Trauma, and the Law: Domestic Violence-Based Asylum Claims in the United States. Fem Leg Stud 30, 255–280 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-022-09493-7

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