In 2001, Soto Vega returned from a brief visit to Mexico after his mother’s death, during which he said he was afraid to go outside. In 1988, Soto Vega paid a smuggler to sneak him into the United States, and he settled in the Hollywood and Silver Lake areas. Jorge Soto Vega, 38, said he had suffered harassment and violence from family members and authorities in Mexico because he is gay.Īccording to court documents, while living in Guadalajara, Soto Vega was beaten by police with a “metal baton or flashlight” and then robbed, called “anti-gay slurs” and told that he would be killed if he was ever seen again. An immigration judge granted a Mexican immigrant asylum, citing his sexual orientation and the severe persecution of gays in Mexico, the immigrant’s lawyer said Tuesday.
