For one Salvadoran family, Aug. 13, 2020, marked the end of a four-year-long escape from deadly violence at home to safety in the United States. That’s when an immigration judge in Baltimore granted asylum to Juana*, which will allow her and her family to remain permanently in the United States.
“She was crying and she was thankful and they were happy,” remembered Andres Meraz, the HIAS attorney who represented Juana. “They knew what it meant.”