U.S. immigration officials say a 20-year-old woman who received death threats after becoming police chief of a violent Mexican border town is seeking political asylum in the United States.
Authorities said Tuesday that Marisol Valles is in the U.S. and will be allowed to present her case to an immigration judge.
Valles is the former police chief of the town of Praxedis G. Guerrero. She had taken leave March 2 to attend to personal matters and was due to return to work last Monday. The town's mayor fired her when she failed to show up for work without giving notice.
When she accepted the job last year, Valles said she wanted people to live without fear.
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Some information for this report was provided by AP.
