by Adam Delezenne
Emilio came to us at the Southwest Legal Clinic with his sister and her young children. He had just arrived about a month ago at her doorstep after making the long journey from their native Guatemala. Emilio is 16 years old.
They come from a community ravaged by poverty and violence primarily driven by a changing climate. Average temperatures are rising, and rainfall has become increasingly scarce. This means that the crops they grow in his agricultural mountain village have a harder and harder time. Consequently, agricultural workers have less work, and farmers have a more challenging time feeding the community. With everyone having a hard time making ends meet, gang activity has increased. There are many parts of Guatemala where the gangs act as the de facto government. Emilio’s father was killed a couple of years ago by the gang.
It has become common for young men who don’t want to join the gang to go elsewhere to find work, sending money home to support parents, siblings, wives, and children. Usually, this happens when they are a bit older. In desperation, Emilios’s mother sent him away at only 15 (he had a birthday on the way) to make the journey north. He came north to find his sister in the Detroit area. A friend paid for his journey through Mexico. Emilio was apprehended at the Southern Border and later released by Customs and Border Protection with an order to appear in court in Detroit.
While his story is heartbreaking, it does not qualify him for asylum. Those driven from the communities for economic and environmental reasons are not granted asylum in the United States. But we are representing him because it seems that he could qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. This is a unique status for persons under 18 who can be considered abandoned by their birth parents.
The process is not simple and involves multiple petitions in different courts. First, a local court must find that he is not cared for by his biological parents and assign guardianship to someone local. In this case, his sister is ready to be his guardian. With guardianship established, we can then go to Immigration Court to ask the court to recognize his unique situation and close any removal proceedings in process. Finally, we will file a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to grant him Special Immigrant Juvenile status. This status gives him the ability to become a Legal Permanent Resident.
We’re relieved we can offer Emilio a legal path for a future without the fear of gangs or deprivation. And, because we don’t charge huge fees for our services like many attorneys, this solution is within the reach of a penniless refugee. We are committed to filing all the necessary petitions, appearing before several judges, and walking with Emilio for however many years it takes to complete the process. And, we can offer this help without asking for a crippling monetary sum from Emilio and his family because donations from our community of supporters make up the difference.
The Southwest Detroit Immigrant and Refugee Center provides free and low-cost legal services to those who need them most in the Detroit area, with a focus on recent immigrants and refugees.
We were founded in 2014 by Kevin Piecuch, our Executive Director,
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Photo by Perry Grone on Unsplash
