Some Good News
Reading time – 2:10 . . .
This is Maria’s story. Some facts and names in this retelling have been changed to protect the participants; however, this is a true story about real people and it is a victory on so many levels.
Maria fled Central America after being branded a “traitor” by the violent extremists in her country – call them thugs. She didn’t want to leave, but she and her 6-year-old daughter were both receiving terrifying threats of violence. She left her family, her friends, her country, her way of life – everything she knew – because she had to. And she did the only thing she could think of to protect her daughter: she headed north to seek asylum protection of the U.S. government. She knew it was a long shot, but it was the only option she could think of. Then she got caught up in the Catch-22 that are the immigration policies of the Trump administration.
Fast forward to a group of lawyers looking to do meaningful pro bono work. They found Maria and her daughter and took her case to trial. Here are the words of the lead counsel:
“Last Friday my associates and I accomplished something none of us will forget. We helped our very worthy clients successfully petition the US Immigration Court for a grant of asylum.
“During an emotional final hearing, Maria relayed her terrifying story and brought everyone to tears, including the immigration judge. Her story was so powerful that the Court literally stopped the hearing and granted her asylum—this, the Court said, on the strength of our brief and Maria’s testimony. Returning them to their native country would have been signing Maria’s death warrant, and that little girl would have lost her mother and all ties to her natural family. The tears came again, as everyone realized Maria and her daughter were safe.”
I requested permission from the lead counsel to tell this story. He’s a greatly experienced and highly regarded lawyer, which puts added dimension and depth to the words of his reply:
“The case was the most meaningful experience I have ever had as a lawyer – and only a few life moments top it.”
I’m guessing that the life moments he referred to were the births of his children.
Every day our cruel immigration practices violate the values we claim to hold. We separate children from their parents and put them in separate cages. Then we deport the parents without ensuring a way to reunite them with their children. We leave people in the 
desert with pitifully little to sustain themselves and we do even worse.
But every now and then there is a success story that fills our hearts. Maria’s is one of them.
Kudos to the team of lawyers who took on the behemoth to fight for a scared mom and her little girl. Superman would be proud of this example of truth, justice and the American way.
P.S. It shouldn’t be this difficult to do the right thing.
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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so
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Thanks!
Fine Print:
- Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
- Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
- Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
- Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
JA
Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
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