Report from Jennifer Wilson, member of the JRCLS WIL Committee:
Should we build the Wall?
This question is, as we all know, a subject of heated debate at the moment. Most people have an opinion and are generally convinced that their viewpoint is the correct one. Although I do have an opinion on the subject, my strongest feelings regarding the status of immigrants stem from my week at a detention center for women and children in Dilley, Texas, which provided inspiration as to my own role in the ongoing immigration struggle.
 |
| Lawyers and translators who provided service at Dilley in November 2018 (author of this post on top row, 2nd from left) |
The detainees are women and their children who have made their way from other countries, and who are claiming that they should be granted asylum in the U.S. because they or their children will suffer great harm if they return to their own country.
Most of what the legal volunteers do is to prepare the women to present their stories at their credible fear interview to demonstrate to the interviewer that they have a legitimate reason to request asylum. These women all have a story of fear, but most don’t know how to present their story in any cohesive way, and certainly not in a way to demonstrate that their situation falls within the very specific guidelines which would allow them to seek asylum.
We met with women from countries with the highest murder rates in the world, where domestic and gang violence is pervasive, and where their governments are unwilling or unable to protect their citizens. I met with women who had been beaten and nearly killed by their male partners, who had been controlled and forced into slavery by threats of harm or death to themselves or their children, and who had been regularly raped and prostituted. Many women have been targeted and terrorized by the gangs which effectually run the country.
These situations are fairly typical for the detainees in Dilley, and listening to them day after day convinced me that whatever measures are needed to overhaul our current immigration system, we must keep in mind that many asylum seekers are doing so because of lives which have been unimaginable in their horrors, and that asylum can usher in a new life of hope and purpose, breaking the cycle of violence, poverty and fear. We must have a robust system for controlling immigration, and part of the equation must include generosity and compassion as we open our doors to those who are escaping a hellish existence.
We who attended the outing to Dilley learned that each larger political issue boils down (as always) to individuals--people who have suffered much, who have limited means to protect themselves and their children, and who long for a better life. These people, I believe, deserve to have their stories heard. We were in Dilley to uphold an asylum seeker’s legal rights, as I told one man in Texas who asked if we were in Dilley just to let all the illegals into the country. And ‘legal’ can and should mean a fair and compassionate system for assessing asylum claims, and appointing legal counsel for those who will most likely not be able to navigate the system, as well as ensuring that asylum proceedings are administered in a timely manner.
I was glad to have been part, even if just for a few days, of a project which allowed me to use my training to begin the road to a new life for asylum seekers who have arrived here to escape great suffering in their countries of origin, and who are hoping for a new country of refuge and healing.
Most of what the legal volunteers do is to prepare the women to present their stories at their credible fear interview to demonstrate to the interviewer that they have a legitimate reason to request asylum. These women all have a story of fear, but most don’t know how to present their story in any cohesive way, and certainly not in a way to demonstrate that their situation falls within the very specific guidelines which would allow them to seek asylum.
We met with women from countries with the highest murder rates in the world, where domestic and gang violence is pervasive, and where their governments are unwilling or unable to protect their citizens. I met with women who had been beaten and nearly killed by their male partners, who had been controlled and forced into slavery by threats of harm or death to themselves or their children, and who had been regularly raped and prostituted. Many women have been targeted and terrorized by the gangs which effectually run the country.
These situations are fairly typical for the detainees in Dilley, and listening to them day after day convinced me that whatever measures are needed to overhaul our current immigration system, we must keep in mind that many asylum seekers are doing so because of lives which have been unimaginable in their horrors, and that asylum can usher in a new life of hope and purpose, breaking the cycle of violence, poverty and fear. We must have a robust system for controlling immigration, and part of the equation must include generosity and compassion as we open our doors to those who are escaping a hellish existence.
We who attended the outing to Dilley learned that each larger political issue boils down (as always) to individuals--people who have suffered much, who have limited means to protect themselves and their children, and who long for a better life. These people, I believe, deserve to have their stories heard. We were in Dilley to uphold an asylum seeker’s legal rights, as I told one man in Texas who asked if we were in Dilley just to let all the illegals into the country. And ‘legal’ can and should mean a fair and compassionate system for assessing asylum claims, and appointing legal counsel for those who will most likely not be able to navigate the system, as well as ensuring that asylum proceedings are administered in a timely manner.
I was glad to have been part, even if just for a few days, of a project which allowed me to use my training to begin the road to a new life for asylum seekers who have arrived here to escape great suffering in their countries of origin, and who are hoping for a new country of refuge and healing.
No comments:
Post a Comment