Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a ruling this week that says victims of domestic abuse and gang violence generally will not qualify for asylum under federal law. Sessions’s ruling vacated a 2016 decision by the Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals that said an El Salvadorian abused woman was eligible for asylum. Although the appeals board is typically the highest government authority on immigration law, the attorney general can assign cases to himself and set precedents. Immigration advocates warn that this decision could threaten the safety of thousands of foreign nationals who have sought haven in the US.