Alejandra is an 18-year-old transgender woman from Guatemala who struggled for her family’s acceptance from a very young age. When Alejandra’s father found out that she identified as a girl, he abandoned the family, leaving Alejandra’s mom to support two kids alone. Alejandra also faced daily verbal and physical attacks. When local leaders decided she should be killed before she could “contaminate the community,” Alejandra’s mother put her daughter on a bus out of Guatemala. Fearing for her life, she headed for the United States, walking most of the way and not resting until she reached U.S. soil.

With the help of the El/La Trans Latina Program, she found her way to NCLR’s doorstep. With the assistance of Cara Jobson, attorney of counsel to NCLR, Alejandra was granted asylum in September 2008.