Lambda Legal and The Translatin@ Coalition, acting as amici curiae, filed a friend-of-the-court brief to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in support of A.P.A., a transgender woman from Mexico, who was appealing the denial of her petition for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The brief (1) explains that identifying and coming out as transgender is complex and can take a long time (2) provides additional information about the particularized dangers of violence for transgender women in Mexico and (3) explains that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) erred when deciding that A.P.A. coming out as transgender was not a change in circumstance sufficient to overcome the statute of limitations for certain claims.
The Eleventh Circuit, upheld the denial of A.P.A.’s petition finding that coming out as transgender is not a change in circumstances for the purpose of statute of limitations exception and that A.P.A. failed to establish pattern or practice of persecution against transgender women in Mexico. Lambda Legal and The Translatin@ Coalition were represented by the law firm of Williams & Connolly and Lambda Legal attorneys.