Rodriguez Tornes v. Garland

As a child, Mexican citizen Maria Luisa Rodriguez Tornes (plaintiff) was taught by her mother to submit to men and accept spousal abuse. Tornes’s mother routinely beat her to prepare her. However, Tornes came to believe that women and men were equals and began work as a teacher. Tornes’s husband, Esteban Baron Mata (Baron), abused her severely, often with reminders that Tornes’s role was to serve and submit to him. Eventually, Baron left Tornes. However, Tornes’s family’s religious beliefs prevented divorce. Tornes fled to the United States. Years later, Baron started trying to ascertain her location. Tornes changed her phone number and deleted her social-media accounts. Eventually, Tornes started living with Jorge Hernandez Fernandez (Hernandez). He routinely beat, burned, strangled, and raped Tornes, often in conjunction with declarations that Tornes was his property and was not entitled to opinions. In 2017, the United States government (defendant) deported Tornes to Mexico. However, fearing for her safety, Tornes returned to the United States. The government again initiated removal proceedings. Tornes petitioned for asylum. An immigration judge granted asylum, finding that (1) Tornes’s feminist opinion was a reason for her past persecution, (2) Tornes had a well-founded fear of future persecution, and (3) the Mexican government was unlikely to protect Tornes because it frequently acquiesced to domestic abuse. The Board of Immigration Appeals (board) reversed the asylum grant, concluding that there was insufficient evidence that Tornes’s persecution was because of her political opinion as opposed to merely dysfunctional personal relationships. Tornes petitioned to challenge the board’s decision.