Case #24-0040030 Urgent
Initials & Country of Origin: L.M.C. from Ecuador
Type of Case: Removal Asylum
Language/interpretation needs: Spanish interpreter needed
Date of Entry (and status, if any): 09/19/2023; EWI
Next Hearing: 08/18/2025 (MCH - IJ Ivany)
Current Status/status expiry: N/A; Asylum filing deadline was 09/18/2024 (AHR believes Mr. MC may qualify for an exception to the one-year filing deadline rule because his son was diagnosed with cancer in July 2024 and is receiving ongoing treatment)
Case Summary: Mr. MC and his family are indigenous (Kichwa). Mr. MC’s mother-in-law was working behind the scenes at a mayor candidate’s office as she needed the money to survive. She also had attended a strike of indigenous people in Quito which was televised and where she was specifically seen. She began receiving threats from a group of men who were associated with the political opposition of the mayor’s office she was working at. They threatened to kill her because she worked for him. These threats were not just against her, but against the whole family. They told her to leave the job and made comments that the other candidate had to win. People assumed she supported the candidate she worked for because of her involvement in the indigenous people’s strike, as he was widely supported by the indigenous community. However, she did not actually support him; she only worked for him because it was a job. Mr. MC’s family moved within Ecuador to Santa Rosa, but they were still receiving threats there and they grew more concerned for their children. After they left his mother-in-law behind in Ecuador, she was killed. They believe she was killed by the same men who threatened her because people in their community told them it was the same people responsible.
Theory of the Case: Past threats and fear of future persecution by non-government actors on account of imputed political opinion, race, and membership in a particular social group (family-based)
Commitment: File I-589, gather evidence and testimony, appearances in Court; Work permit (initial and renewals)
Court: Yes
Experience level/case team size recommended: Appropriate for any experience level or team size
Type of Case: Removal Asylum
Language/interpretation needs: Spanish interpreter needed
Date of Entry (and status, if any): 09/19/2023; EWI
Next Hearing: 08/18/2025 (MCH - IJ Ivany)
Current Status/status expiry: N/A; Asylum filing deadline was 09/18/2024 (AHR believes Mr. MC may qualify for an exception to the one-year filing deadline rule because his son was diagnosed with cancer in July 2024 and is receiving ongoing treatment)
Case Summary: Mr. MC and his family are indigenous (Kichwa). Mr. MC’s mother-in-law was working behind the scenes at a mayor candidate’s office as she needed the money to survive. She also had attended a strike of indigenous people in Quito which was televised and where she was specifically seen. She began receiving threats from a group of men who were associated with the political opposition of the mayor’s office she was working at. They threatened to kill her because she worked for him. These threats were not just against her, but against the whole family. They told her to leave the job and made comments that the other candidate had to win. People assumed she supported the candidate she worked for because of her involvement in the indigenous people’s strike, as he was widely supported by the indigenous community. However, she did not actually support him; she only worked for him because it was a job. Mr. MC’s family moved within Ecuador to Santa Rosa, but they were still receiving threats there and they grew more concerned for their children. After they left his mother-in-law behind in Ecuador, she was killed. They believe she was killed by the same men who threatened her because people in their community told them it was the same people responsible.
Theory of the Case: Past threats and fear of future persecution by non-government actors on account of imputed political opinion, race, and membership in a particular social group (family-based)
Commitment: File I-589, gather evidence and testimony, appearances in Court; Work permit (initial and renewals)
Court: Yes
Experience level/case team size recommended: Appropriate for any experience level or team size
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