Gabriela’s planned family trip to Disney World morphed into a desperate escape from cartel violence in Ecuador. Previously living a normal middle-class life in Guayaquil, Gabriela, whose name we have changed for safety, experienced a shocking shift when escalating gang activities targeted her family. Initially thinking that extortion threats were aimed only at the wealthy, she found herself directly in the crosshairs of cartel violence after receiving a chilling ultimatum: pay or face lethal consequences.
Compounding her fears, Gabriela’s father was kidnapped; video footage showing his mutilation shattered her sense of security. Her partner urged her to take their daughter to the US, fearing for their lives in Ecuador. Now, Gabriela is among countless individuals seeking asylum in a legal landscape that has been increasingly resistant to applicants fleeing cartel violence.
US asylum laws adhere to strict definitions tied to persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or belonging to a particular social group. Unfortunately, the pervasive violence posed by cartels does not fit neatly into these categories. Experts point out that since the Trump administration, the pathways for those escaping gang violence have become more constricted, with heightened scrutiny on asylum applications.
Despite the Biden administration rolling back some Trump-era policies, the difficulties of securing asylum remain prevalent. Cartels are dangerously influential, complicating claims as the government interprets gang violence as a crime rather than a legitimate bases for asylum, frequently categorizing victims unequally when determining their status.
Gabriela plans to argue political grounds in her asylum claim, pointing to systemic corruption in Ecuador’s law enforcement, but fears that her case may still be disregarded amidst rising rejection rates for similar pleas. Asylum-seekers like Gabriela navigate a climate of fear and uncertainty, facing deportation while waiting for court hearings and living under stringent conditions designed to discourage claims.
Other migrants share her plight. Maria, another Ecuadorian who fled the violence, faces a long wait for her asylum hearing while battling the toll of fear and isolation. Luis, a taxi driver, took refuge in the US after his friends were killed for defying gang extortion demands. Each story elucidates the challenges immigrants encounter, caught in a convoluted legal system that often fails to respond to their needs.
The backlog in US immigration courts underscores the immense hurdles to achieving legal status for asylum-seekers, complicating their attempt at rebuilding their lives. The complexity stimulates a rampant misperception of those fleeing violence as complicit in their circumstances, leaving many feeling betrayed by the very systems meant to protect them.
As families like Gabriela’s pursue the impossibly difficult task of securing asylum, they merely wish for safety and stability—hopes that seem perpetually out of reach amidst political machinations and outdated legal frameworks.
