March 9, 2010

Luis and Carmen* never planned to leave Guatemala. But after Luis witnessed a gang murder and was subsequently threatened by gang members and beaten by police, the family decided their only hope for survival was to flee to the United States. Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) took on the family's immigration case and won one of the first gang-related asylum claims in Chicago. Meanwhile, Heartland's Marjorie Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of Torture and Refugee & Immigrant Community Services have helped the family settle into a new life of freedom and security.

Raising three children in Guatemala City, Luis and Carmen had learned to live with the Mara Salvatrucha street gang members who ruled their neighborhood. But when Luis turned a corner one day and witnessed a gang leader kill a young boy, the family's relatively peaceful life began to crumble. A few days after the shooting, a police officer questioned Luis about the murder, then beat him up and threatened to kill him. When Luis attempted to file a report with the authorities he was told that government officials could not help him. On his way home from work the next day, Luis saw gang members waiting with knives and guns at his bus stop. Luis got off the bus and escaped through the crowd, but knew he could not return to his home. He began to move around the country, hoping to find a place where his family could safely live. After being found by gang members and authorities connected to the gang members three times, Luis decided that to survive he would have to leave Guatemala. When Carmen began to receive threats, she and the children left for the United States as well.

The family finally reunited in Chicago and contacted NIJC for help applying for asylum. Even though gang-based asylum claims are challenging to win, NIJC attorneys knew Luis, Carmen, and their children deserved asylum protection and felt the case offered a good opportunity to challenge the immigration courts' reluctance to recognize people targeted by gang violence as a social group worthy of protection. NIJC connected the family with pro bono attorneys at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services and provided technical assistance as the attorneys gathered evidence and represented the family in court. Luis and Carmen, along with their children, were granted asylum in April 2009.

Nearly a year later, the oldest children have adjusted to their new home and attend Chicago Public Schools. Luis works for the city of Chicago and Carmen volunteers at NIJC once a week and cares for their almost-two-year-old daughter. Born in Chicago in April 2008, she is the family's first U.S. citizen.

To learn more about NIJC’s work to defend the human rights of asylum seekers, visit www.immigrantjustice.org.
*Names have been changed

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