A legitimate fear of death doesn't always matter in the U.S. asylum system

The Trump administration has further tightened U.S. policies to deter Central American migration, arguing that harm caused by gangs amounts to “private violence” that asylum doesn’t cover. This has made it even more likely that people fleeing in legitimate fear for their lives may be deported to their deaths.

For asylum-seekers who are fleeing gang violence, fitting their stories into the five protected categories in asylum law can be especially challenging. “It’s very difficult to define the motives of the person who’s torturing you,” said Ruth Wasem, who specialized in immigration policy at the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service before becoming a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.