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Immigration Panel Restricts Gender-Based Asylum ([link removed])
Sex or Gender Alone Cannot Define a “Particular Social Group”
Washington, D.C. (August 27, 2025) — A recent ruling from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in Matter of K-E-S-G-could make it harder for people claiming domestic or gender-based violence to gain asylum in the United States. A new Center for Immigration Studies report ([link removed]) analyzes the decision, which found that sex or gender alone – alone or in combination with nationality – is not sufficient to constitute a “particular social group” (PSG) for asylum eligibility under U.S. law. The Immigration and Nationality Act allows asylum for those persecuted due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a PSG.

In this case, the asylum seeker claimed she feared returning to El Salvador due to abuse, arguing her persecution was due to her membership in one of these broad social categories – “Salvadoran women” or “Salvadoran women viewed as property.” The BIA ruled that these categories do not meet the BIA’s requirements for asylum protection. Her claim was denied.

“The court’s ruling in K-E-S-G- doesn’t address the key legal hurdles in gender-based asylum cases – like whether the persecution is committed on account of purported PSG, whether the government is ‘unwilling or unable’ to protect its nationals of such harms, or whether it’s reasonable to relocate within the home country,” said Elizabeth Jacobs, the Center’s Director of Regulatory Affairs and Policy and author of the report. “The primary legal issue with gender-based asylum claims isn’t just whether gender alone defines a valid PSG.”

Key highlights from the ruling:
* The BIA found that broad categories like “Salvadoran women” or “Salvadoran women viewed as property” are too broad to meet the legal definition of a PSG.
* Sex or gender alone, despite being immutable characteristics, do not meet the “particularity” or requirement because these groups are “overbroad”.
* The Board's decision aligns with its own precedent but diverges sharply from the European Union’s approach, which has begun to recognize gender-based PSGs.
* Asylum protection remains possible in cases involving more narrowly defined groups, including those involving female genital mutilation, which the BIA specifically distinguished in its opinion.

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