Laura Luis Hernandez v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

While living in Mexico, Laura Luis Hernandez (“Hernandez”) experienced life-threatening violence at the hands of her husband, a legal permanent resident of the United States. She fled to the United States, but her husband tracked her down, promised not to hurt her again, and begged her to return to Mexico with him. After Hernandez submitted to his demand and returned to Mexico, the physical abuse began again.

Having escaped her husband permanently, and now living without legal status in the United States, Hernandez applied for suspension of deportation under a provision of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (“VAWA”) intended to protect immigrants who have suffered domestic violence. With the passage of VAWA, Congress provided a mechanism for women who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty to achieve lawful immigration status independent of an abusive spouse. However, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirmed the immi gration judge’s (“IJ’s”) denial of Hernandez’s application because it determined that Hernandez had not “been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States,” as the statute then required. Hernandez also applied for…