Sign Up for PublicationsQuinn Emanuel recently achieved a complete victory for our pro bono client Sofia Hernandez Gudiel, who was granted asylum after a prolonged and hard-fought battle with the government.
Sofia is a transgender woman who was born Jonathan Hernandez Gudiel in El Salvador. El Salvador is home to some of the world’s most ruthless gangs, including MS-13. The culture there is also very homophobic—especially against transgender individuals, who are often murdered with impunity. After Sofia came out as a transgender woman and began hormone therapy, she suffered numerous vicious attacks, including multiple attacks at the hands of Salvadorian police officers.
Sofia fled El Salvador and was granted temporary status in Mexico. However, the culture in Mexico is also homophobic, and particularly so for transgender women. After just one month in Mexico, Sofia was attacked again. This time she was stabbed multiple times in the abdomen. Sofia again knew she was not safe in Mexico, and so as soon as she was healthy enough to travel, Sofia presented herself at the US border seeking asylum.
Sofia’s case was referred to Quinn Emanuel by Public Counsel, and Quinn Emanuel took over the matter on a pro bono basis. Sofia had a merits hearing scheduled for July 2021, and the Department of Homeland Security was uninterested in stipulating to relief in lieu of a hearing. The hearing was then postponed due to court backlog, with the hearing being moved from July 2021 to September 2024. This was a blow to Sofia, who had already been waiting years for a decision on her asylum application.
After the hearing was postponed, Quinn Emanuel began negotiating a resolution with the government that would obviate the need for a hearing. Quinn Emanuel drafted a fulsome brief to the government explaining why Sofia’s case warranted a grant of asylum without a hearing, including an expert report on country conditions in El Salvador and Mexico. After multiple rounds of negotiation with the government, Quinn Emanuel finally convinced the government to stipulate to a grant of asylum in November 2023. The Immigration Court accepted the stipulation on December 18, 2023, and granted Sofia asylum status just in time for the holidays.