A New Life for Najib
Donation protected
Kirsten and I are sponsoring an asylum seeker, Najib. Najib is in his early 20s and fleeing religious and political persecution in Uganda. He's been held at the Otero county ICE processing center in New Mexico since October. We were first made aware of his situation in November by a local pastor who is very involved in immigration ministry.
We've been speaking with Najib over the phone often since then and, along with our Byzantine Catholic community here at Notre Dame, have been supporting his efforts to be released from the detention center. Because he was able to establish credible fear and had an official sponsor (us), he was legally eligible for release from the center to pursue his asylum case outside of detention. This has taken quite a while and at one point a couple weeks ago, it sounded as though certain new immigration policies might prevent him from ever getting out. But due to a recent rollback of those policies, he has just been unexpectedly released from the detention center on parole on February 4!
We're raising money to cover the cost of Najib's parole bond, which is $7,500. ICE collects this bond as an incentive for parolees to show up for their subsequent asylum hearings and not skip out on their parole. To be clear, Najib is not on "parole" because he's broken any laws; he entered the country legally, having been transferred from a detention center in Juárez, where he spent two months, to the Otero facility outside El Paso.
It is exceedingly difficult to successfully apply for asylum from within the Otero detention center (last year, 3% of cases were approved), so Najib has a much better chance (70%) of being granted asylum by getting out on parole and applying from South Bend, where his case will be processed by the Chicago ICE district. Detainees are also fed and treated very poorly in Otero and have very limited appeal to legal representation, so Najib's release puts him on better footing for several reasons.
We'll be taking Najib into our home this Thursday, Feb. 6, when he flies up to us from New Mexico. We'll help him acclimate to living in Indiana, find a job, continue his education, and complete his asylum application. Najib is a really joyful and energetic person who is deeply grateful for his chance to start a new life in the United States. He's interested in mathematics and computer science, and we hope to get him started on an educational path that helps him develop those interests.
When his asylum application is completed--which could take anywhere from six months to two years--ICE will pay back the $7,500 bond, which we'll give to Najib to help him begin an independent life in Indiana, or wherever he chooses.
We're very grateful for any financial support you'd be willing to provide, and looking forward to introducing you to Najib when we have the chance!
We've been speaking with Najib over the phone often since then and, along with our Byzantine Catholic community here at Notre Dame, have been supporting his efforts to be released from the detention center. Because he was able to establish credible fear and had an official sponsor (us), he was legally eligible for release from the center to pursue his asylum case outside of detention. This has taken quite a while and at one point a couple weeks ago, it sounded as though certain new immigration policies might prevent him from ever getting out. But due to a recent rollback of those policies, he has just been unexpectedly released from the detention center on parole on February 4!
We're raising money to cover the cost of Najib's parole bond, which is $7,500. ICE collects this bond as an incentive for parolees to show up for their subsequent asylum hearings and not skip out on their parole. To be clear, Najib is not on "parole" because he's broken any laws; he entered the country legally, having been transferred from a detention center in Juárez, where he spent two months, to the Otero facility outside El Paso.
It is exceedingly difficult to successfully apply for asylum from within the Otero detention center (last year, 3% of cases were approved), so Najib has a much better chance (70%) of being granted asylum by getting out on parole and applying from South Bend, where his case will be processed by the Chicago ICE district. Detainees are also fed and treated very poorly in Otero and have very limited appeal to legal representation, so Najib's release puts him on better footing for several reasons.
We'll be taking Najib into our home this Thursday, Feb. 6, when he flies up to us from New Mexico. We'll help him acclimate to living in Indiana, find a job, continue his education, and complete his asylum application. Najib is a really joyful and energetic person who is deeply grateful for his chance to start a new life in the United States. He's interested in mathematics and computer science, and we hope to get him started on an educational path that helps him develop those interests.
When his asylum application is completed--which could take anywhere from six months to two years--ICE will pay back the $7,500 bond, which we'll give to Najib to help him begin an independent life in Indiana, or wherever he chooses.
We're very grateful for any financial support you'd be willing to provide, and looking forward to introducing you to Najib when we have the chance!
Organizer
Trevor Anderson
Organizer
South Bend, IN