The Importance of this work

“Thank you” she said for the fourth time. One of the most polite women I had ever met kept thanking me for doing my job. This LGBT woman from Honduras, full of fear and anxiety, was so grateful to be able to sit in the same Starbucks I nonchalantly came to every morning. I listened to her story. She fled from Honduras for her life for being a lesbian. My client had remained quiet about her sexual orientation her entire life and she was almost grateful to be able to tell her story. The backlash of her community in Honduras if they found out her orientation was a death sentence. Her friend was murdered and tortured. She was scared she would be next.
This was one of my first asylum cases years ago. I remember feeling hopeful, ecstatic, and excited to be in this country that could save this woman’s life. Part of filing an asylum case is looking up the country’s conditions. I spent hours upon hours researching and kept finding news articles about violence and torture against the Gay, Transgender, and Lesbian communities in Honduras. Human Rights watch named the Honduras murder rate as one of the highest in the world with the LGBT community the most vulnerable. [1]
My Client never wanted to leave Honduras. In fact, she was a brilliant teacher there with a wonderful job, family, and friends. However, word got out about her sexual orientation, and her life changed. Death threats against her life rapidly ensued. Her family stopped speaking to her. Her friends turned against her. She was physically and violently attacked repeatedly, and her fears of being killed became very real. Imprisoned in her home, she was too afraid to grocery shop, work, or even go to the hospital. Her days alive in Honduras were numbered leading her to flee for her life to the United States.
Over the years, I have seen this Client thrive. She is married to a lovely woman, working, and is a wonderful addition to this country. Every year at Christmas, she brings our entire office treats and hugs everyone. I have seen her smile return. She has given as much to this country as it has given her.  Seeing people coming to the United States from Honduras fleeing for their lives and being sent back to their deaths is heartbreaking. For many, the journey to get to our U.S. Borders is a scary and dangerous one, but is their last option for survival. For many of us, waking up, drinking our coffee, and going to work is a chore we grumble about. However, there are a group of people in this country — asylees — that take it as not only a privilege, but as a wonder that they are alive. Coming to the U.S. is not a privilege for many of them, it is the choice between life and death. When our United States of America looks at these most vulnerable and brave, welcoming them with open arms, that is the country that I am most in love with. Anything else is a tragedy.
(June 2018: "The only way parents can quickly be reunited with their children is to drop their claims for asylum in the United States and agree to be deported." Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, testifying on Capitol Hill.)

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