For the past several months, Jericho Road team members and I have been conducting interviews with asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the U.S. The majority have come from Venezuela, where there has been a collapse of social order, gangs that control parts of the country, and a government that is corrupt and unable or unwilling to protect the rights of its citizens. Others have arrived from Colombia, Ecuador, Mauritania and other countries where living conditions have deteriorated, or where basic human rights are all but nonexistent. Through these interviews, we have explored why they cannot return to their home countries, and why they have decided to flee to the U.S., hoping to start a new life here.
Sadly, asylum seekers have often been vilified and demonized in the news media. Politicians, eager to score political point, have frequently characterized them as representing a criminal element bent on causing harm and disruption once they arrive in the U.S. Some news outlets have done the same in feeding into the fear and resentment that this false narrative fosters. What I have found, however, is a situation that is quite the opposite. What I have discovered in listening to people tell their stories, is that they are humble and seeking safety and stability for themselves and their families. They are eager to work to support themselves, willing to follow the law, and eager to comply with the asylum legal process.
What I have also found, and have sometimes marveled at, is their ability to laugh and live day-to-day even though their future in the U.S. is far from certain. Many live and behave as though they have “arrived”. That is, the safety which they experience here may be a permanent living situation. Some don’t act as though they appreciate that their journey through the U.S. immigration process has just begun for them.
Through the interview process, we have encouraged asylum seekers to tell their individual stories. Some were threatened or physically harmed by gangs, or had family members that were killed in their home country. Some were persecuted for protesting against a corrupt government. Others were victims of extortion by the police or gangs that were free to operate outside of the law. Because the social and political breakdown in their home countries has been so bad, those seeking asylum have embraced the stability and safety here. They are grateful for the basics of life: food, shelter and humane and fair treatment.
Each asylum seeker has a story to tell. They disclose the hardships of life in their home countries. They also often describe their dangerous and difficult journey to the U.S. Most have travelled through Central America and Mexico, entering the U.S. through its southern border with that country. Some tell of walking through the jungles of Central America, or of giving birth during their arduous journey.
Those of us who are U.S. citizens already need to acknowledge that our country is a nation of immigrants. Nearly all of us have ancestors who had stories to tell of their own journey to America and the hardships of starting a new life here. We need to show mercy and kindness to the asylum seekers and other immigrants as they desire only to live here in peace and safety.
-Mark Schaefer
Mark is a retired attorney. He has worked for Jericho Road Community Health Center in a number of different positions over the last ten years. Currently, he is assisting patients in our Asylum Seeker Programs. Mark is dedicated to our patients and clients and he treats everyone with a remarkable level of care and kindness.
