Dean Johnson Discusses U.S. Asylum Laws in Los Angeles Times

Dean Kevin R. Johnson commented on United States asylum laws in a September 13, 2008, Los Angeles Times article. In September 2007, the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals denied asylum to a 28-year-old Malian woman who was subjected to genital mutilation as a child. On September 22, 2008, however, the Justice Department moved to expand asylum opportunities for women subject to genital mutilation, and the Malian woman's case is now under appeal. Dean Johnson called the move "a positive step in the right direction," given the system's general lack of leniency for women claiming persecution.

Johnson is dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.