Thread: SF Court Says Gay Mexican is Eligible for Asylum

http://www.fresnobee.com/state_wire/sto ... 9993c.html

SF appeals court says gay Mexican man is eligible for asylum
The Associated Press

(Updated Saturday, August 13, 2005, 11:40 AM)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court has ruled that an AIDS-afflicted gay man who fled Mexico because he feared persecution is eligible for political asylum in the United States.

Friday's decision by the San Francisco-based Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses rulings by immigration courts that ordered the deportation of Jose Boer-Sedano, who claimed a police officer in Mexico had forced him to perform sex acts under threat of being outed or killed.

The three-judge panel said Boer-Sedano, 45, would likely face further abuse and have difficulty getting life-sustaining AIDS medication if he were sent back to Mexico, where the U.S. State Department has found that violence against gays is widespread.

The ruling is the latest by the San Francisco-based court in which it has granted refuge to gay or transgender asylum applicants from Latin America based on evidence of abuse inflicted or condoned by police.

"It really does mean that he'll be safe now," said Boer-Sedano's lawyer, Angela Bean, who said her client was overcome with emotion when he heard the news.

Boer-Sedano, who now works as a waiter and busboy at a San Francisco hotel, was ostracized by family and friends in the town of Tampico in the eastern Mexico state of Tamaulipas, and was later harassed by co-workers because of his homosexuality, the court said.

Boer-Sedano said in the late 1980s a high-ranking officer stopped him nine times over three months and forced him to perform oral sex. The officer threatened to expose his homosexuality, talked about killing him and once held a gun to his head.

Boer-Sedano came to San Francisco on a six-month visa in 1990, and his deportation proceedings began seven years later. An immigration judge denied his asylum claim, saying his encounters with the officer didn't amount to persecution.

But the appeals court ruled Friday that the assaults were clearly motivated by Boer-Sedano's homosexuality, and that the death threats constituted persecution by a government agent.

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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle

I am shocked, SHOCKED, i tell you.

The three-judge panel said Boer-Sedano, 45, would likely face further abuse and have difficulty getting life-sustaining AIDS medication if he were sent back to Mexico,

Well, this is an interesting reason to let him stay.

I wonder who's going to be picking up the tab for his drugs here.

I don't believe that dishwasher/busboy wages will quite cover it.

Are we going to be required to pay for the medication of every illegal who manages to get across the border?

A friend just sent me an article about this from the BBC! It made international news! Knowing the BBC they will probably do a follow up criticizing the United States for taking so long to take this action and condemning us for our treatment of gays in general.

From the BBC...


Gay Mexican wins US asylum case
Mexicans celebrate gay pride in Mexico City
Mexico City has long celebrated gay pride but the US court was sceptical
A court in the US has ruled that a gay Mexican with Aids is eligible for asylum because of the danger of persecution in his home country.

The appeals court in San Francisco overturned earlier rulings by immigration courts.

The three-judge panel said Jose Boer-Sedano, 45, would probably face further abuse in Mexico and have difficulty getting Aids treatment.

"It really does mean that he'll be safe now," said Mr Boer-Sedano's lawyer.

Angela Bean said her client was overcome with emotion at the court's decision.

Mr Boer-Sedano testified that in his home country he had been forced to perform sex acts by a police officer who threatened to kill him or expose his homosexuality.

'Bad influence'

He said he had been shunned by his family.

"Despite his attempts to conceal his sexuality, others could perceive it and Boer-Sedano was ostracised by his family, friends, and co-workers on that basis," the judges wrote in their judgement.

"His family refused to allow him to interact with other family members or his friends, fearing that Boer-Sedano would be a 'bad influence' on them."

The court said that the death threats by the police officer - Mr Boer-Sedano said he was stopped nine times in three months in the late 1980s - constituted persecution by a government agent.

Mr Boer-Sedano, who now works as a waiter in San Francisco, arrived in the city on a six-month visa in 1990, and remained for seven years before moves were made to return him to Mexico.

San Francisco's Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has made several rulings granting asylum to gay or transsexual applicants from Latin America where it has found they have been abused by police.

The US state department has reported that in Mexico violence against homosexuals is widespread.