An Asylum-Seeker Struggles With The Legal System
NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro follows up with a woman from El Salvador who’s navigating the complicated process of applying for asylum in the U.S. without a lawyer, and talks with lawyer Judy London. Here is the end of the story:
GARCIA-NAVARRO: The last time I spoke to our asylum seeker a year ago at the border, she was about to get on a bus to what she hoped would be a new life. This is what she told me then.
(Speaking Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Speaking Spanish).
GARCIA-NAVARRO: She says that she – her dream for this country is that her son can study, that he would be fine and safe and that she can find a job to support him.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Speaking Spanish).
GARCIA-NAVARRO: She says she feels good. She’s still worried about what’s going to happen. But the only thing she doesn’t want is to go back to her country.
The day after her court date I called her up one last time. She said ICE had already been in touch. She’s hoping to find a lawyer to appeal to reopen her case. But she and her son could now be deported at any time.
KJ