Hassan, a gay man from North Africa, survived years of severe violence and torture because of his sexual orientation. As a child, he was beaten by teachers for appearing too feminine, tied up and burned by his own father, assaulted repeatedly by community members, and threatened with death after a relationship with another man was discovered. Police participated in the abuse. After seeking asylum in the U.S., rather than hearing the merits of his persecution claim, DHS moved to pretermit his asylum application and designate Uganda as the country of removal under the Asylum Cooperative Agreement framework. Although Hassan expressed fear of being sent to Uganda — where same-sex intimacy is punishable by life imprisonment and, in some circumstances, death under the Anti-Homosexuality Act — the immigration judge granted the motion and denied all forms of protection without ever hearing the substance of his claim. His appeal remains pending.