Salvadoran woman who fled MS-13 gang violence as minor obtains asylum

Client(s) SG

Jones Day recently helped obtain asylum for SG, a native of El Salvador, who fled her country at the age of fourteen after enduring escalating sexual violence and threats of violence from members of the MS-13 gang based on her status as a young girl in her community with no MS-13 affiliated family members. SG’s attempts to find safety internally in El Salvador had been unsuccessful and her she and her family were unable to secure any protection from Salvadoran law enforcement, leaving her with little choice but to leave the country and seek safety elsewhere.

Jones Day successfully argued that SG had a well-founded fear of persecution on account of a protected ground and that the Salvadoran government was unable or unwilling to protect her from the persecution that she feared. On July 16, 2026, the USCIS Houston Asylum Office granted SG asylum in the United States, allowing her to remain safely with her young son and continue building her life free from the threat of the gang violence that she escaped.