Battered Guatemalan wife can stay in U.S.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BATTERED_WOMAN_ASYLUM?SITE=TXSAE&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Guatemalan refugee who is the focus of a long-running debate over asylum for battered women will be allowed to remain in the United States, the Homeland Security Department decided Friday.

The case of Rodi Alvarado Pena had been in the hands of Attorney General John Ashcroft, who said two years ago he would decide her fate. On Friday, he opted neither to grant nor deny asylum to Alvarado, who came to the United States 10 years ago to escape repeated and savage beatings from her husband, a former soldier.

Following Ashcroft's order, Homeland Security spokesman Bill Strassberger said even if Alvarado ultimately is denied asylum, "The Department of Homeland Security will not pursue her removal from the United States."

The new domestic security agency supported asylum for Alvarado in a memorandum to Ashcroft last year. Strassberger said the department, which took over most immigration matters from the Justice Department, is drafting new rules for asylum claims from battered women.