Transgender Minor’s Case May Impact Asylum Law “ The U.S. government does recognize that men and women with sexual-identity or sexual-orientation issues are subject to persecution in many South and Central American countries … they have been recognized as eligible for asylum in the United States.” A 12-year-old diagnosed with gender identity disorder (GID) is
the subject of an important asylum law case in Washington state. The case itself may expand the boundaries of asylum law, and an appeal, which is likely, may clarify several important legal issues. he child, who was born male in Colombia, identifies as female T and goes by the name of Amanda. She has been living in the Seattle area for 10 years, having fled Colombia with her mother, Maria, who sought to escape a guerilla organization that had murdered her husband for unrelated reasons. manda has been diagnosed with gender identity disorder (GID), A the formal diagnosis that psychologists and physicians use to describe persons who experience significant discontent with their biological sex and/or the gender they were assigned at birth. Amanda has identified as a female since she could speak, and now attends a school in Seattle that provides support to children with gender-identity issues. She has been receiving hormone treatments to prevent the onset of puberty and plans to undergo gender reassignment surgery when she turns 18. ccording to Boris Gaviria, an associate in our Bellevue office who A has filed an asylum application for Amanda, she is “an excellent candidate for asylum.” The U.S. government does recognize that men and women with “ sexual-identity or sexual-orientation issues are subject to persecution in many South and Central American countries,” says Boris. “They have been recognized as eligible for asylum in the United States.” manda’s case may impact future asylum claims involving A transgender minors because there is so little case law discussing such cases. It may also impact asylum cases for family members. Boris is also working to keep Amanda’s mother, Maria, in this country. He is asking the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) to keep her here while Amanda’s application is pending. However, he faces an uphill battle, because Maria’s asylum case involves allegations of terrorist activity that the U.S. government has made against her.
aria says she and her late husband, Amanda’s father, were M repeatedly threatened by the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla organization that has been fighting a civil war in Colombia for decades. They were forced to house and feed members of FARC when they passed through the area, and Maria’s husband was forced to pick coca leaves by the armed rebels, who would often kill or torture farmworkers who did not cooperate. I n 1998, when members of FARC found out that Maria’s husband once worked as a government clerk, they shot him to death and beat Maria. She fled to Bogota, where she was subjected to continued harassment by FARC. She eventually paid “coyotes” to bring her and Amanda into the U.S. illegally after she obtained a visa to visit Mexico. I n 2010, the USCIS began removal proceedings against Maria. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused her of drug trafficking. She says her husband had occasionally picked coca leaves for use in home remedies, a common practice in Colombia, where some coca farming is legal. DHS also accused Maria of supporting terrorist activities because she admitted to having fed members of FARC, cleaning their clothes, and paying them a “tax” they demanded when they would arrive in her village heavily armed. oris took Amanda’s and Maria’s cases through the Northwest B Immigrant Rights Project, an organization he has volunteered for almost since he started at Davis Wright in 2000. “This is an area of the law that is crying out for pro bono assistance,” says Boris, “because immigration and asylum laws impact and divide families, and the system is plagued with extensive delays and technical rules.” oris has a personal stake in assisting immigrants. His parents B emigrated to the United States from Peru when he was 2 years old. They both completed their medical residencies here and put Boris through law school. “I have always appreciated becoming a legal and full member of our U.S. society,” he says. “I would like to assist other immigrants in obtaining the same opportunity.” he overloaded immigration court has continued both Maria’s and T Amanda’s trials until September 2012. 5