Bring Luis Home

#BringLuisHome2024

On January 12, 2024 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of State Department v. Muñoz, a lawsuit filed in 2017 by Sandra Muñoz and her husband Luis Asencio-Cordero challenging the denial of Asencio’s application for a green card, which resulted in a forced separation that has lasted almost a decade. You can help unite this family before the court hears the case by endorsing the following letter demanding the Biden administration #BringLuisHome


In the News

Official Sign on Letter

Reunite This Los Angeles Husband and Wife Wrongfully Separated For Nearly A Decade

In October 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal government violated the constitutional rights of Sandra Muñoz when it denied her husband Luis Asencio-Cordero’s green card application without providing a reason. As a result of the denial, Luis was prevented from returning to the couple’s shared home in Los Angeles, and they have been separated since 2015. The denial has also kept Luis apart from his U.S. citizen daughter.

Instead of abiding by the Ninth Circuit’s ruling and bringing Luis home, the Biden administration appealed the decision to the US Supreme Court, prolonging the couple’s separation and placing the rights of millions of families of mixed immigration status in danger of a potential negative ruling. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and arguments are being scheduled for April 2024.

Sandra was born and raised in East Los Angeles, the child of a World War Two veteran and a warehouse worker. She went to Garfield High School and was a member of the math class featured in the 1988 Academy Award nominated film Stand and Deliver. For almost 30 years, Sandra has been an award-winning workers’ rights attorney. Luis is from El Salvador and became an active member of his community in Los Angeles after coming to the US in 2005.

The couple married in 2010 and in 2013 embarked on the lawful process to acquire Luis a green card and set him on the pathway to citizenship. As part of this process, immigration authorities determined that their marriage was “bona fide” and that Sandra would suffer “extreme hardship” if they were separated. The Department of Homeland Security conducted a background check, determining Luis is not a threat to the public and that there is no reason to believe he lacked the right to stay in the US.

The last step in the process is for green card applicants to leave the US and travel to the US consulate in their home country for a final interview. Luis and Sandra booked plane tickets and traveled to El Salvador together in April 2015. They thought their trip would be a brief one, but Luis has not been home since.

To this day, the couple still does not know why a consular official deemed him “inadmissible” to come home. Six months after the interview, the couple received a letter from the State Department which said that an officer determined Luis was planning to come to the US to engage in “any other unlawful activity.” Attorneys asked repeatedly for a further explanation but were given no answer. They tried submitting evidence that Luis has no criminal record beyond traffic tickets, but without knowing the reason for the denial it proved impossible to correct the government’s error. Luis has tattoos which he got in high school, and a gang expert signed a sworn affidavit saying his tattoos were not related to any gang.

Luis and Sandra filed a lawsuit in January 2017 arguing that the denial of Luis’ green card without explanation violated their right to due process and marriage. Well into the litigation, the government falsely claimed, without evidence, that Luis is a gang member. Three presidential administrations—Obama, Trump and Biden—have argued that neither Luis nor Sandra, a US citizen, has the right to a day in court to challenge the denial.

Sandra and Luis followed the legal process in an attempt to strengthen their family unity, but ended up separated without due process. As a result of the Biden administration’s decision to appeal this case to the Supreme Court, the rights of millions in mixed-immigration status families are at risk. A negative ruling would lead to countless unjust family separations and could pave the way for future attacks on immigrants, including after the 2024 election.

The Biden administration must correct this grave injustice by taking immediate action to unite this family in Los Angeles.

#BringLuisHome2024

Sign Here

 

Notable Signatures 

Organizations

  • Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
  • Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
  • Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic, Loyola Law School (Los Angeles)
  • Homies Unidos
  • Socialist Equality Party (US)
  • Father Greg Boyle, Founder, Homeboy Industries
  • Advance Peace Fresno
  • Immigrant Legal Resource Center
  • Young Women's Freedom Center
  • Central American Resource Center –CARECEN of California
  • Secure Justice
  • Immigrant Legal Defense
  • Alianza Sacramento
  • Nikkei Progressives
  • National Compadres Network
  • End Solitary Santa Cruz County
  • NorCal Resist
  • SOLACE San Diego
  • Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice
  • Transforming Justice OC
  • Orange County Equality Coalition
  • Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition
  • South Asian Network
  • Freedom for Immigrants
  • Somos Familia Valle
  • Tsuru for Solidarity
  • Artivists United
  • Youth Justice Coalition
  • Immigrant Defenders Law Center
  • Immigration Resource Center of San Gabriel Valley
  • California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance
  • Ground Game LA
  • Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice
  • Families for Freedom
  • Public Counsel
  • California Immigrant Policy Center
  • Riot of Roses Publishing House
  • Bethesda Repertory Theater
  • Community United Against Violence (CUAV)
  • UCLA Law Students for Immigrant Justice
  • California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice (CAYCJ)
  • Órale: Organizing Rooted in Abolition Liberation and Empowerment
  • Haiti Action Committee
  • South Bay People Power
  • Orange County Rapid Response Network
  • Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants
  • American Friends Service Committee—San Diego
  • Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice


Law firms and attorneys

  • Naser Immigration Law, LLC
  • Sabrina Damast, Esq.
  • Katheryn Seligman, attorney
  • Sara Hundt
  • Julie Rivera-Coo, Attorney at Law
  • Sondra Solovay, JD
  • Daniela Flores, Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition
  • Colleen Flynn, National Lawyers Guild Los Angeles
  • Adriana Brava Law
  • Janeth Arias, Esq.
  • Law Office of Vida Holguin
  • Julia Almazan, Esq.
  • Attorney Michelle Fonseca-Kamana
  • Armando Villegas and Associates
  • Law Office of Kelly Y. Chan
  • Lucia Gonzalez, Attorney
  • Elena Medina, Attorney
  • Mario D. Vega, Esq.
  • Law Office of Gerri D. Marshall
  • Vistas Law Group, LLP
  • Laura Jimenez, Esq.
  • Alma D. Puente, Esq.
  • Cynthia Grande, The Grande Law Firm
  • Belen Gomez, attorney
  • Hugo Gamez, Esq.

Individuals

  • Peaches Chung, Loyola Social Justice Law Clinic
  • Doreen Govari
  • Laura Ridolfi
  • John Vasquez
  • Jonathan Cervantes
  • Joaquin E DiazDeLeon
  • Victoria Hirsch
  • Luis R. Cabrales
  • Jerry Tello, National Compadres Network
  • Barbara Grover
  • Stephanie Barrera, CARECEN
  • Rhonda Rios Kravitz, Alianza Sacramento
  • Liza Diniakos
  • Elvira Daza
  • Jonathan Cervantes
  • Alec Peters
  • Jessica Starks
  • Antonio Escobar
  • Sergio Escobar
  • Deanna Leyva
  • Alvin W. Fargo
  • Jacob Lackey
  • Elizabeth Castillo
  • Don Barry
  • Jacob Josefson
  • Marco Mariangeli
  • Rachel Morrow
  • Flor Escobar
  • Susan Rosenthal
  • Darren Southworth
  • Stephanie Barrera
  • Harvey Lichtman, member, United Federation of Teachers
  • Luis R. Cabrales
  • Shirley Ortiz
  • Walter Raudales
  • Alessandra Colfi
  • Margaret Carroll
  • Daniela Flores, Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition
  • Theresa M. Bonpane, author
  • Jill Anderson, PhD
  • Lisa Arnold
  • Tanner Smith
  • Paulina Celaya
  • Linda Tubach
  • Dr. Paule Cruz Takash, Casa Libre
  • Wayne M. Getz, University of California, Dept ESPM
  • Kathryn LaPointe
  • Evan Blake, Socialist Equality Party
  • C. Youens
  • Mónica Perez
  • Heriberto Veliz
  • Gladys Guzman
  • Suzanne Castillo
  • Jennifer B Getz
  • Anthony Akerman
  • Chelsea Bell
  • Kathy Ford
  • Beth Jakubanis
  • Lydia Storie
  • Gay Crawford
  • Jessica Aparicio
  • Noely Loeza
  • Iliana Guzman Castro
  • Judy Campbell Siglin
  • Araceli G. Guerrero
  • Paul R. Vega
  • Verónica Reyes, MFA
  • Catherine Arias
  • María Villa
  • Anna Perez
  • Bert Voorhees
  • Lise Anderson
  • Lizett Arroyo
  • Bicente Vasquez Contreras
  • Dominic Patascil
  • Sivlvia Perez
  • Eva Arrechiga
  • Mónica Vallafana
  • Sylvia Franco
  • Jen Kramer
  • Marisol Ceja
  • Brenda Flores
  • Lorena Vazquez
  • Lesly Garcia
  • Andrea Carcamo
  • Sandra Melendez
  • Xitlali Carroll
  • Mara Marajarrez
  • Jennifer Baidon Carrillo
  • Cindy Pánuco
  • Olga Garcia
  • Lillian Martin
  • Maria Rivera
  • Noriko Nakada
  • Melissa Cruz
  • Marisela Norte
  • David Morales
  • Erica Quintero
  • Mariajulia Urias
  • Liza DuPont
  • Alvin Andrade
  • Judy Perez
  • Martha Patricia Garcia
  • Marjo Maristerra
  • Steve Arredondo
  • Mónica Guizar
  • Sara Moinuddin
  • Guadalupe Diaz Issa
  • Rahul Neuman
  • Christina L. Adams
  • Alicia Junco
  • Claudia Lainez
  • Ziwei Hu
  • Lety Salcedo
  • Jonathan Cohen
  • Eliseo Medina
  • Joshua Bernstein
  • Tatiana Daza
  • Allyson Batista
  • Susana González
  • Nayeli Pelayo
  • Sandra Estrada
  • Monique Alarcon
  • Patricia Licea Guerrero
  • Julieta Hernandez
  • Andrew Rudy Galindo
  • Michael Gomez
  • Erik Gauger
  • Maria Olaguez
  • Sara Campos
  • Julianna Medina
  • Devon Rios
  • Parissa E Florez
  • Cornelia Dai
  • Edith Castañeda
  • Diego Arp
  • Silvia Luna
  • Cinthia Flores
  • Sofia Martinez
  • Nari Igawa
  • Ludy Lui
  • Emily Harris
  • Ruth Adame
  • Cristina Martinez-Thompson
  • Erin McClure
  • Scott McDonald
  • Igor Kagan
  • Nancy Hernandez
  • Lisa Vega
  • Monica De La Hoya
  • Anita García Velasco
  • Gladys Bautista
  • Kyra Andrassy
  • Diana Torres
  • Cynthia Alonso
  • Karla Hernandez
  • Denise Soto Hall
  • Stephanie O’Hara
  • Roberto Saravia
  • Jocelyn Asencio
  • Patricia Anderson
  • Sean Taitt
  • Alan Gelfand
  • Rachel Pody
  • Esmerala Hernandez
  • Kyle Ruiz
  • Cindy Villasenor
  • Roman Licea
  • Melanie Rasic Savarese
  • Lynn Ballen
  • Jennifer Genest
  • Terry Magnatta
  • Fernanda Dagata
  • Vickie Vertiz, UCSB
  • Efrain Romo
  • Daniel Slucki
  • Dr. Adrianne Aron
  • Malaika H Kambon
  • Tanya Kellam