Ugandan Woman Threatened With Female Genital Mutilation is Granted Asylum

A young woman at risk of genital mutilation in her native Uganda won a reprieve after an O’Melveny trial team persuaded an immigration judge to grant her asylum to protect her from nearly inevitable physical abuse and trauma.

O’Melveny’s briefing and evidentiary presentation persuaded the judge to grant her claim of asylum, adopting the arguments of the pro bono team.

The woman was a teenager when she fled to the US from Uganda in 2017 after her father repeatedly harassed her and threatened her with genital mutilation. In 2018, Human Rights First and The Alliance for Children’s Rights sought O’Melveny’s help in filing for asylum with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

USCIS unfortunately referred the case to Immigration Court, and a hearing was held in October 2022. O’Melveny successfully represented the client before the court, securing asylum and her safety in the US.