Immigration Law Professor to Receive Honorary Degree

Professor Karen Musalo (UC Hastings) will receive an honorary degree at the commencement ceremonies later this month at the City University of New York. Professor Musalo written numerous articles on refugee law issues, with a focus on gender asylum. She was the lead attorney in Matter of Kasinga (fear of female genital cutting as a basis of asylum), which continues to be cited as authority in gender asylum cases by tribunals from Canada to the United Kingdom to New Zealand. Her recent litigation victories include Matter of R-A-, and Matter of L-R-, two cases which establish that women fleeing domestic violence may qualify for refugee protection. Her current work examines the linkage between human rights violations and migration, with a focus on the phenomenon of femicides in Guatemala, and El Salvador, and its relation to requests for refugee protection from Guatemalan women.

KJ