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Domestic violence victim from El Salvador fears deportation

Roxana Calderon left an abusive partner who she says beat her violently and often raped her.

Roxana Calderon fled El Salvador with her three children. She said she feared she was going to die.

"I am very scared to go back to El Salvador because I know he is still there. He told me he was going to kill me, and I was never going to be happy,” said Calderon.

She left an abusive partner who she says beat her violently and often raped her. "He would hit me with his hand or drag me by the hair, and he would say I had to be with him or he would kill me," she said.

She walked for weeks from El Salvador through Guatemala into Mexico and finally into the United States to seek asylum and safety.

"I told myself if I can get to the United States, it will save my life," she said.

She has been waiting for three years to go before an immigration judge. But before she would get that a hearing, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made the decision that no longer allows domestic violence or gang violence victims to seek asylum in the U.S.

"I have so many people coming into my office scared saying what am I going to do? They thought they were safe and on legal ground, and they are not and now they are frightened,” said immigration attorney, Fernando Dubove.

Sessions says the decision was made to stop the flow of illegal immigrants misusing the system, but others say the policy punishes those who need help. "They are doing it because they are generally desperate,” said Dubove.

Roxana Calderon says she fears what will happen to her and her children should she be sent back to a place where violence was a way of life. Calderon’s case goes before an immigration judge on August 1.

Dubove believes the judge will rule to have her deported, but he says he plans on filing an appeal in federal court to keep this from happening. He believes Sessions and this policy will be challenged in federal court and it could take years.

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