Sessions revises asylum policy

Domestic and gang violence are worldwide social problems and do not qualify as justification for an asylum claim, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday. Asylum should be granted for government oppression, not crimes that every country struggles to police, Sessions said. His decision overrules a Justice Department immigration appeals court that granted asylum to a woman from El Salvador who fled her abusive husband. “No country provides its citizens with complete security from private criminal activity, and perfect protection is not required,” Sessions wrote. The policy change could affect an estimated tens of thousands of domestic violence asylum claims in the U.S. backlog of more than 700,000 immigration cases. Critics of the decision called it a step backward for women’s rights. “Today we are deeply disappointed that our country will no longer offer legal protection to women seeking refuge from terrible forms of domestic violence from which their home countries are unable or unwilling to protect them,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.