US decision on asylum casts a pall over immigrants fleeing gang violence

LOS ANGELES - Rubilia Sanchez knew she had to flee her hometown of Tecun Uman after gangs repeatedly threatened to rape and murder her.

So she took her four daughters and made the familiar, dangerous trek out of Guatemala, through Mexico and into the United States, where she requested asylum. After waiting for four years, she finally got a date to plead her case to U.S. officials: July 26.

But now, her already hazy future - and that of others fleeing gang violence in Latin America - has been thrust into greater uncertainty.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered immigration judges to stop granting asylum to virtually all those claiming to be victims of domestic or gang violence, a move that could block tens of thousands of people from gaining permanent entry into the U.S.

The gang violence that has raged in El