Immigration Law & Justice Network vehemently denounces the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) latest decision in Matter of K-E-S-G-, which contradicts 30 years of positive case precedent involving women and girls seeking protection from gender-based violence.
In this case, the BIA held that a particular social group defined by the individual’s sex or sex and nationality did not meet the Board’s requirements for constituting a particular social group. This ruling opens a pathway for judges to deny asylum to women and girls fleeing human rights violations and seeking safety in the United States. It serves as yet another tool in the administration’s attempt to destroy due process and ramp up mass deportation.
“This is exactly the type of wrong that asylum and refugee law are meant to address,” says Katie Taylor, legal director for Neighbors Immigration Clinic, our ILJ affiliate in Kentucky. “So many women will now be at greater danger in countries where domestic violence victims are not protected, in countries where femicide is rampant, and in countries where women are not allowed to work, wear the clothes they choose, travel without a male escort, or express many other freedoms.
“We should lament the BIA’s decision in Matter of K-E-S-G-,” she continues, “but we should also be motivated to fight harder for our clients and remember that there is still plenty of hope.“
In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court stripped federal agencies of their authority to interpret ambiguous laws that they administer. This repudiation of the Chevron Deference means that the power of interpretation currently lies with the courts and not with the BIA or other federal agencies.
“We now have space to move forward and fight to convince the Federal Circuit Courts that they do not have to reach this same conclusion as the Board of Immigration Appeals,” Katie states emphatically.
“They can, and should, choose to protect women instead.”