January 2020 – Kendall Brill & Kelly LLP Attorney Shauna E. Woods secured asylum in the U.S. for a mother and her 14-year-old daughter, who feared for their lives in their home country of El Salvador. The women had been harassed, stalked and threatened in El Salvador by Mara 18, a notorious gang that was believed to be responsible for the rapes and deaths of the mother’s parents and several of the daughter’s classmates. The harassment began after gang members learned that one of their family members was a police officer. When the family sought help from local police, the threats worsened, leading the family to realize they would not be safe remaining in El Salvador. The mother and daughter came to the U.S. in 2016 and sought asylum. In response to the asylum case Ms. Woods presented, the Court determined the two were eligible for asylum, and the government waived its right of appeal to the Court’s decision. KBK, which is committed to pro bono representation, handled this case on a pro bono basis.