The ACLU filed suit against Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday over his restrictions on who could claim asylum in the U.S.
In early June, Sessions overruled a previous decision to allow certain asylum-seekers safe haven in the U.S. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 12 immigrant parents and children it says should not be required to return home.
For example, one immigrant woman, whom the lawsuit calls Grace, fled Guatemala in fear of an abusive husband, gang violence and sexual assault.
Traditionally, the U.S. allows asylum-seekers fleeing persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
The Board of Immigration Appeals had ruled in 2014 Grace was a married woman who could not leave her abusive relationship, and therefore qualified as a "member of a particular social group." Sessions' decision overruled that one.
