Allison Argueta
Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project
California, USA
A month into working with Esperanza, I’ve gotten the opportunity to interact with respondents one-on-one due to my role in the Access to Asylum Project. I review the first four pages that is required of every respondent before they are placed with a volunteer. These pages are basic information about the respondent, their spouse, if they have children, their immigration status, etc.
Sometimes, some of them fill out more than the four pages. Beyond the four are details surrounding the reason why they’ve left their country. Some are fleeing gang violence, some have received death threats, some have been assaulted, some have lost family members, and some have a long history of persecution. But not all of them will obtain asylum.
But all of these respondents do share these experiences with us extensively. They do relive whatever has happened to them. Some have forgotten, cannot recall a specific detail we are asking of them. And some of them remember too much, for the sake of their application, to try meet the threshold of a “well-founded fear of prosecution” without knowing the result.
Many folks, even before they get into contact with Esperanza, have been in detention centers for long periods of time, have been jobless or work too much, have moved around within the U.S. due to court decisions. Their trauma compounds.
I’ve spoken with people who have mental health issues, some who cannot read or write, some who have sought out asylum in other countries before arriving in the United States. I think of all of these different factors as I review the applications of these respondents. They are their own advocates in a time where they are being forced to relive their trauma in order to stay in a country to avoid more persecution.
Keeping this in mind while reviewing asylum forms or speaking with respondents has been quite difficult and emotionally taxing. There are always deadlines to meet, documents to be filled or re-filled, and more questions to be asked.