Persecution or Protection? Gender-Based Violence and Asylum Outcomes for Central American Women

This project investigates how political rhetoric, especially under the Trump administration. has shaped the adjudication of gender-based violence (GBV) asylum claims by Central American women between 2015 and 2025. It argues that anti-immigrant narratives reframed GBV as private, apolitical harm, leading courts to apply narrower legal interpretations. Using a mixed-methods dataset of 26 appellate asylum cases from 2000–2025, including 17 involving Central American women, the project analyzes judicial framing, legal outcomes, and political context. Results show that denials of GBV-based asylum claims peaked under Trump-era policies like Matter of A-B-, with more favorable rulings emerging only after policy reversals under Biden. These findings reveal how politics, law, and ideology intersect to constrain protection for women fleeing gendered violence.