ALABAMA INTERFAITH REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP
According to the North American Drought Monitor, there are an estimated 33.1 million people living in drought areas throughout Mexico; that’s about 26% of the entire population. Without water, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay healthy, pursue education, water crops, feed livestock, and make money. Water scarcity induced by climate change impacts local economies, with costs of up to 6% of the nation's GDP. Additionally, not having enough water has been linked to increased social conflict and sometimes even domestic violence, which leads to people fleeing their country out of fear for themselves and their families.
The majority of our partner families – about 33% – are from Mexico. Most are seeking asylum due to persecution, criminal and political corruption, and/or a credible fear for their life. We can also assume they have experienced climatic hardships as well. As a board member of the ALIRP Direct Support Committee, I recently had the opportunity to ask our Mexican partners about their experiences with climate change and droughts. Here’s what they shared with me: Droughts and Floods Create a Cascade of Issues Although it may seem that droughts and floods are extreme opposites, they are connected. Researchers have defined a relationship between both hazards and air pollution. Air pollution may be responsible for retaining atmospheric moisture, effectively prolonging drought periods and inflicting heavier downpours, causing flooding. All of the Mexican partners I interviewed reported a high incidence of droughts. One partner explained, “With no rain or natural bodies of water nearby, we began having wildfire seasons, burning foliage and wildlife.” In contrast, another partner added, “Of course we felt the loss of our crops due to drought, but sometimes we would still experience the loss of our crops after flash foods – our crops would rot – it felt like we couldn’t win.” When crops supply grew scarce, livestock fatality increased, leaving rural Mexicans with very little variety in food choices and few nutrient-dense options, which are necessary to build a resilient immune system and protect against chronic disease. In this way, the effects of climate change such as drought and flash flooding can have a direct impact on a population’s health and wellbeing, and the health and well-being of Mexicans are negatively impacted by these events. The Impacts of Climate Change are Felt Across Occupations Research has shown that the release of Greenhouse Gases, or effectively, carbon dioxide, increases the temperature of the earth’s surface. The occurrence of heatwaves, however, has increased due to the downward change in atmospheric pressure, and these heatwaves are amplified and prolonged. Although farmers were highly impacted by climate change, the general consensus was that the heat waves were intolerable to people who worked in outdoor settings and facilities without proper ventilation or air conditioning. The inaccessibility of potable water made working outside even more dangerous due to the increased chance of experiencing heat-related illnesses like heat stroke. One partner complained, “the heat in Mexico almost felt twice as hot as the summers [in Alabama].” The Underdevelopment of Infrastructure Impacts Access to Water and the Quality of Air Infrastructure and development can have a significant impact on how climatic shifts and weather events are experienced. Lack of infrastructure can exacerbate issues like air pollution and water quality. For example, some partners recalled that the absence of paved roads coupled with severe drought events would decrease the quality of air as cars passed by or gusts of wind lifted the dirt. Additionally, the absence of centralized waste disposal services created respiratory health hazards: “There was litter everywhere, rotting food and animal carcasses would just make your eyes water” one partner reflected. “It's not like we wanted to live like this, we just didn't have a way to dispose of trash, so we burned and buried what we could. But some things just don't stay buried under dry dirt and burning trash had its own risks.” The release of extremely small solid particles, otherwise known as “particulate matter,” can cause cardiac and respiratory problems. These health outcomes coupled with the inaccessibility of quality healthcare in rural settings propose disastrous consequences. One partner recounted a wildfire in 2012 that destroyed a significant portion of her village and killed two people, leaving friends and family devastated. “It was up to [the residents] to extinguish this fire because we had no fire department, and this water...we would purchase from a truck hauling potable water,” she added, “ it was awful.” Conclusion The effects of climate change on Mexican migration are complex and significant. As Greenhouse gases and global temperatures continue to rise, so do extreme weather events leading to crop failures, food insecurity, ambient air pollution, water scarcity, and eventually, the displacement of entire communities. Although currently being a victim of climate change is does not merit a claim for asylum, it may contribute to a migrant’s decision to flee Mexico, often to the United States. This situation calls for the prioritization of reducing Greenhouse Gases and the expansion of rural and urban infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of climate change and support vulnerable communities. Take Action You can take action on this issue by becoming a volunteer with ALIRP's Direct Support Committee and helping displaced individuals right at home. If you feel moved to do so, you can also donate to ALIRP or just share this article. Lastly, stay informed on climate action by visiting the United Nations Climate Action webpage.
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According to the UNHCR [1], Guatemala is the country with the tenth-highest number of applications for asylum worldwide; 10% of our partner families fall into this category. Countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are also partially encroached by the “Dry Corridor.” The “Dry Corridor” is a region in Central America that consists of a tropical dry forest. For most people, placing the words “tropical” and “dry” next to each other would sound counterintuitive due to the vibrant, biodiverse connotations that precede the word “tropical” and the harsh, barren illustration that the word “dry” conjures. Both assumptions are mostly true: the “Tropical Dry Forest” of Guatemala offers the greenery and biodiversity of a tropical forest in combination with the intermittent rain cycles of a desert.
These rain cycles are growing more and more unpredictable as the years progress, lengthening their dry seasons [2]. For many Guatemalans, farming is the main–if not the only–way to secure food for themselves and their families. In fact, many families plan for their annual farming season, a season in which their crop yields (mainly beans and corn) must last them a full calendar year [3]. During this farming season, rainfall is supposed to be consistent enough to cultivate a proper environment for the entire farming process, from seeding to harvest. However, because of the longer dry seasons and sudden floods, many families experience the loss of their crops with some families losing up to 75% of their harvest [4]. Changes seen in climate, weather, and regional temperature can have dramatic impacts on communities and crops. The United Nations World Food Program reports that in January 2019, 15% of people in the Dry Corridor said they had plans of migrating due to food insecurity [5]. This number, however, is expected to grow as the effects of climate change continue to increase globally. In fact, the “Dry Corridor” makes up 45% of Guatemala and has grown 25-30% in the past decade [6]. Guatemala, in conjunction with governmental and non-governmental organizations like Catholic Relief Services and the United States Department of Agriculture, has worked hard to ensure Guatemalan families can expand their resilience threshold and avoid having to leave their home country due to climatic stressors [7]. Unfortunately, the accepted definition for refugees and asylum seekers excludes families seeking to escape the Dry Corridor due to climate stressors [8]. Advocates have pushed the UNHCR to expand the guidelines of what makes someone a “refugee” to include those displaced due to the effects of climate change. Greenhouse gasses (GHG) are major drivers of global climate change and contribute to the dysregulation of natural weather patterns; a process actively intensifying the conditions of the Dry Corridor [9]. It is imperative that the world’s highest GHG emitters – the United States, China, India, and the European Union – take serious steps toward meeting the goals outlined by the Paris Agreement [10]. As of 2022, the previously mentioned nations are responsible for more than half of historical emissions of GHG and fall short of meeting the Paris Agreement [11]. Finally, global authorities on migration must prepare for the estimated 200 million persons that will be displaced due to climate change by 2050 if a significant reduction of GHG emissions is not achieved [12]. As a professor of global health at UAB, I mentor a lot of students on projects and research that deal with international and global issues. In the past year, I’ve seen a surge of interest in climate refugees and climate change. Climate refugees (sometimes referred to as climate migrants) are people who are displaced and leave their home due to an environmental disaster like flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts. Climate refugee is not (yet) a legal term; it’s a scholarly term. Academics and advocates use this term to highlight the distinction from a refugee being forced to leave their home as a result of conflict versus a refugee being forced to leave their home because it was destroyed in an environmental or climate-related disaster.
Recently, I collaborated with one of our Master of Public Health Students, Kerry McCulloch, on a health needs assessment of migrant shelters at the US-Mexico border in Nogales (Sonora, Mexico). Kerry asked migrants why they had left their home and were seeking asylum in the US. The primary reasons for leaving were to escape violence, particularly criminal violence (67%) or armed conflict (58%). I also encouraged Kerry to include a few environmental reasons that people might leave their home based on research around climate refugees. A very small sub-sample emerged; just around 13% selected climate-related reasons, specifically floods, hurricanes, and landslides. Although the numbers are small, they do highlight the fact that environmental and climate-related reasons are not distinct from conflict-related ones. Climate may be as much of a driver as political persecution is for many people seeking asylum. Climate may also be the tipping point for some people; “the last straw” so to speak. In Kerry’s study, we found some correlation and significance among these climate-related issues and family reunification, a motivating factor for seeking asylum. In other words, some of the asylum seekers Kerry spoke with are the second wave of family members crossing the border. Maybe their spouse, sibling, or cousin had already crossed and started the legal process, and those waiting at the border plan to reunite their family while also leaving because the floods, hurricanes, and landslides are just getting to be too much. I wanted to share this research note with ALIRP and their climate series because I really do think it’s complicated. The reasons people leave their home are complicated and, often, tragic. We researchers need to do more to understand the role climate plays in people’s decision- making. And we, who advocate for refugees and asylum seekers, need to do more in describing the places where people come from. Where crime, corruption, and civil unrest persist, there may also be weak environmental infrastructure and regularly occurring natural disasters that make it difficult to stay and fight back or to wait it out. The distinction between conflict and disaster may not be so different as we sometimes may think it is. Acknowledgements: ALIRP would like to thank Kerry McCulloch, MPH for sharing your photos with us and we would like to acknowledge the Sparkman Center for Global Health, Moses Sinkala Travel Scholarship which funded Kerry’s research. Dear ALIRP friends and partners,
Happy Martin Luther King Day. I hope each of you will find some way to honor him today. I wanted to share what I will do today. Since moving to Birmingham in 2019, I have spent every MLK day reading the Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. It is in this letter that he outlines the premise, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." This underscores the civil rights movement and is a principle that we, at ALIRP, also hold as our vision: we envision a world where all refugees and asylum seekers find safety and live with dignity. The Letter from a Birmingham Jail helps me reflect on how far the city of Birmingham has come and how far we have left to go. I'm not sure how many of you have been to the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham but it is worth the trip if you are in the area! It is a place to honor and pay respect to those who suffered through the severe levels of segregation that existed here and that still permeates much of the region. Additionally, near the end of the exhibit hall are sections on the global migration crisis, human rights violations abroad, and immigration reform in the US. So, to further honor Dr. King, I will spend time serving ALIRP by preparing materials for our upcoming grant-writing programs, working with some of our current advocacy initiatives, and articulating plans for our upcoming (annual) strategic initiatives. This year, I found a YouTube video of Dr. King reading his speech and listened to it. Hearing him speak and outline the steps towards non-violent campaigns, I found that ALIRP practices these same efforts which makes me feel more connected to him and his message. Hearing him speak about the violence African Americans experienced here in Birmingham, I am reminded of the violence of our partners at ALIRP, who are seeking asylum in the US from where they came and from the experiences here in our immigration system. Our AmeriCorps VISTA, Taryn, wrote more about this in her series on Navigating Barriers. I am humbled to live here, in Birmingham, where so many people have come through this city to fight for justice and human rights. To walk the same steps and carry on the work Dr. King so clearly outlines and explains in his letter is a true calling. So, today, I will spend my day reflecting on this and putting into action the principles that Dr. King wrote here in Birmingham in the spring of 1963 before Congress passed the Civil Rights law in 1964. Sincerely, Meredith Gartin, Board President Education is a basic human right, enshrined in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1951 Refugee Convention. According to UNHCR, “education protects refugee children and youth from forced recruitment into armed groups, child labor, sexual exploitation and child marriage.” It also strengthens community resilience and empowers refugees by giving them the knowledge and skills to live independent lives while rebuilding their lives and communities. In the United States, the Supreme Court noted in Brown v. Board of Education that “it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he [or she] is denied the opportunity of an education.” Despite this agreed-upon importance of education, especially for refugee and asylum seeking children, the 2022 UNHCR Refugee Education Report indicates that, across the globe, educational opportunities for refugee children are restricted. In fact, refugee children are 5 times more likely to be out of school than other children. Fortunately, thanks to the decision made in the 1982 Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe and the more recent Dear Colleague Letter, undocumented children and young adults in the United States have the same right to attend public primary and secondary schools as do U.S. citizens and permanent residents. School districts are required to provide all children with equal access to public education regardless of their or their parents’ citizenship or immigration status. The right to education, however, is not synonymous with the ease of access to education. Asylum-seeking families often face barriers to enrolling their children in school, including language barriers and difficulties related to processes and documents. Additionally, asylum-seeking students face barriers in succeeding in school as well as accessing higher education. Language Barriers During School Enrollment The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education mandate that “schools must communicate information to limited English proficient parents in a language they can understand about any program, service, or activity that is called to the attention of parents who are proficient in English.” This means that school districts must provide translated materials or a language interpreter for free from school staff or outside translators trained in translation and interpretation. Schools in the Birmingham area do follow this mandate, however, in the experience of several ALIRP Partners, the schools either asked a bilingual teacher to help translate or utilized a telephone-based interpreter as they did not have a trained interpreter on staff. Although this is still helpful, bilingual teachers or staff members are not necessarily trained interpreters or translators and do not have knowledge of the ethics of the interpreter role, including the need to maintain confidentiality. Telephone-based interpreters are also not able to physically go through the enrollment documents alongside the parents, allowing for persisting confusion throughout the process. Difficulties with Processes and Documents “It was really easy to enroll the kids in school in Mexico. But here, you need so many things. It’s difficult if you don’t know what you need, and we had to jump through a lot of hoops and ask a lot of people for help,” expressed *Ana, an ALIRP Partner and mother of two. To enroll a child in Birmingham City Schools, the parent must submit the following documents to the school:
Many asylum seekers do not have the complete set of documents required to enroll their children in school for a number of reasons. Not all asylum-seeking children have birth certificates; UNICEF estimates that “237 million children under age 5 worldwide currently do not have a birth certificate.” Additionally, asylum-seeking children do not have the accepted form of immunization certificate upon arrival to the U.S.; Alabama only accepts the state’s own immunization record, and those who have out-of-state records must go to the health department to have their records copied to Alabama’s system. Many asylum seekers do not have photo IDs, and even fewer have withdrawal papers from their home countries’ school districts. There are exceptions to some of these required documents: According to a Dear Colleague Letter, “a school district may not bar a student from enrolling in its schools because he or she lacks a birth certificate or…chooses not to provide a social security number.” Although this workaround does often benefit asylum seekers attempting to enroll in school, it does not remove the confusion and difficulty that the list of required documents causes for those who have few or none of them. Barriers to Success in School Once asylum-seeking students finally make it through the enrollment process and find themselves in the classroom, they often face barriers to educational success including language barriers and lack of access to educational resources. Most asylum-seeking students do not speak English, which is typically the only language spoken in U.S. schools aside from foreign language and ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. ESL classes can be a huge help for students who do not speak English, that is, if their schools have them. The Equal Educational Opportunities Act mandates that, under civil rights law, public schools are obligated to provide students with an equal educational opportunity regardless of race, color, sex, or national origin, and that educational agencies must “take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs.” Despite this mandate, many schools (including some in Birmingham) have momentarily paused the offering of ESL classes due to teacher shortages. In addition to language barriers, asylum-seeking students also run into barriers when they do not have access to necessary and required educational tools such as computers, tablets, and internet access. In 2020, the United Nations estimated that 1.3 billion school-aged children could not log onto the internet at home. With a large quantity of school work requiring internet access and virtual learning tools – especially after the pandemic – the lack of access to the internet prevents students from participating in the classroom and achieving the same level of education as their internet- and technology-equipped peers. Inaccessibility of Higher Education In 2011, the Alabama legislature passed the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act (known as HB-56) which prohibits undocumented students from enrolling in Alabama’s public colleges and universities and from receiving certain educational benefits like in-state tuition, scholarships, grants, or financial aid. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and a coalition of civil rights groups filed a Class Action lawsuit challenging the law as unconstitutional. In 2013, a settlement agreement blocked many parts of the law, however some many parts, including those related to access to higher education, remain in place. Technically, undocumented students in Alabama could still be eligible to attend private colleges and universities, but these institutions often have much lower acceptance rates and much higher tuitions than their public counterparts. Prohibiting undocumented students from attending public colleges and universities not only creates a dead end for their educational pursuits, but also significantly harms their potential for achieving upward mobility for themselves and their families. Breaking Down the Barriers “School enrollment was easy for us, thanks to ALIRP. You helped us fill out the paperwork, communicate with the school, and solve the issues we were having,” said *Selena, an ALIRP Partner and mother of four. “My son even wanted to drop out of school because it was so difficult, but you all convinced him to stay and helped him finish his classes. He ended up graduating with honors.” ALIRP works to assist our Partners in overcoming the barriers associated with enrolling in and succeeding at school in various ways, including:
Seeking asylum in the U.S. is no easy feat, and those who take on the challenge show strength, bravery, and determination every step of the way. Show that you stand with asylum seekers in Birmingham and across the globe by joining ALIRP in our efforts to support them. To do so, consider volunteering your time, making a financial contribution, or sharing this article with a friend. Every action to remove barriers while seeking asylum is necessary, and we hope you will take action today. *All names have been changed to protect the identities of our Partners. In the United States, access to transportation is a form of freedom. Transportation allows people to travel to work and school, to the grocery store, to appointments with lawyers and doctors, and to other community and social activities. Access to transportation is a means to upward mobility and economic progress, but for many refugees and asylum seekers, transportation is inaccessible. The majority of United States residents rely on the use of personal vehicles as their main form of transportation. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that 91% of adults in the U.S. commute to work using personal vehicles, whereas only 5% of adults nationwide commute to work regularly using public transit. This nationwide reliance on personal vehicle use as the main form of transportation presents specific barriers for asylum seekers, many of whom are unable to obtain driver’s licenses due to the lack of necessary legal documents, eligibility stipulations, and language barriers during driving tests. Lack of Necessary Legal Documents In order for a non-U.S. citizen to obtain a driver’s license in Alabama, they must have the following documents: A valid foreign passport with an acceptable visa or resident alien card; Social Security number verification * or letter from Social Security stating ineligibility; and one document from the “secondary” list authorizing presence in the U.S. for more than 160 days. The “secondary” list contains the following documents: Employment authorization document with valid Social Security card; a valid visa (with supporting documents) authorizing presence in the United States for a period exceeding 160 days; a valid I-94 arrival/departure record issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; or an original I-797 (notice of action) issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, showing approval of change of status or extension of stay. These requirements present barriers to asylum seekers on a number of accounts. Firstly, most of the documents on the “secondary” list are not applicable for asylum seekers. Asylum seekers do not come into the U.S. with a valid visa that would meet the requirements for obtaining a driver’s license, many of their I-94 cards do not reflect the proper immigration status for the requirements of a driver’s license, and they would not possess an I-797 until their asylum application is approved and they become an “asylee” instead of an “asylum seeker.” Secondly, many asylum seekers in the U.S. do not arrive with foreign passports. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) explains that “refugees are persons fleeing persecution, conflict or violence in their country of origin, and therefore cannot, or cannot reasonably, approach the authorities of their countries of origin to obtain a passport, as this might put them at serious risk of harm.” Additionally, those who do attempt to apply for their foreign passports are met with difficulty finding transportation to the consulates in Atlanta and, if they do find transportation, long wait times for appointments. “We had a really difficult time making an appointment at the Honduran consulate,” said *Miguel. “We tried to make an appointment in April but they could not see us until August.” The risk and wait times associated with obtaining a passport makes it difficult for asylum seekers to fulfill even the most basic requirement in pursuit of a driver’s license. Thirdly, per USCIS policy, most asylum seekers, except those admitted with a status called “Humanitarian Parole,” must wait 150 days after filing their asylum applications before they are eligible to apply for employment authorization. The current processing time for employment authorization (EAD) applications based on a pending asylum application currently ranges from 11.5 to 13.5 months. This processing time means that, at a minimum, asylum seekers must wait nearly a year before obtaining one of the documents necessary to apply for a driver’s license. Eligibility Stipulations If an asylum seeker is fortunate enough to have all of the necessary documents required to obtain a driver’s license, there are still additional stipulations that are not well-communicated by administering agencies. One of these stipulations is that one must have 160 days remaining on their immigration status or other legal documents such as work permits to be eligible to apply for a license. “I passed both the written and operational driving tests in English,” explained *Daniel. “But after the test, they told me I needed a minimum of six months left on my work permit to get my license…I only had one month left. I applied to extend my work permit months ago but have not heard anything yet…I am still without a license.” Another avenue to obtaining a driver's license in the United States is transferring an International Driving Permit (IDP) and a valid license from one’s home country to the new state of residence. The opportunity of this pathway is slim, however, because an IDP and license must have been administered by the asylum seeker’s home country before they arrived in the U.S. The United States does not issue IDPs to foreign visitors. As asylum seekers are fleeing their home countries to escape violence and persecution, most leave quickly and do not prioritize obtaining an IDP beforehand. Language Barriers during Driving Tests If an asylum seeker makes it to the testing phase of the application process, they may be presented with additional barriers. In Alabama, written examinations are available in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese. Many asylum seekers, however, speak local dialects or other languages not represented in the list of available testing languages. Additionally, the road skills test takes place in the car with an examiner and is not required to be administered in any language other than English. This presents a challenge for asylum seekers if they do not understand English and are not able to effectively communicate with the examiners. Breaking Down the Barriers “I wish the transportation system in the U.S. was different,” said *Daniel. “Many people who come here know how to drive. They have talent. They should be given permission to drive if they knew how…If they could drive, they could contribute to their families, and to this country.” ALIRP works to assist our Partners in overcoming the barriers associated with accessing transportation and obtaining their drivers’ licenses in various ways, including:
Seeking asylum in the U.S. is no easy feat, and those who take on the challenge show strength, bravery, and determination every step of the way. Show that you stand with asylum seekers in Birmingham and across the globe by joining ALIRP in our efforts to support them. To do so, consider volunteering your time, making a financial contribution, or sharing this article with a friend. Every action to remove barriers while seeking asylum is necessary, and we hope you will take action today. *All names have been changed to protect the identities of our Partners. Learn More How America’s Failing Public Transportation Increases Inequality Automobile Dependency: An Unequal Burden Take Action Become a member of the Transit Citizens Advisory Board of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority Write to your Representatives and Congressmen to advocate for better public transportation in Alabama Join the National Alliance of Public Transportation Advocates to advocate for increased investment in Public Transportation Finding affordable housing is a known challenge for many in the U.S. due to several factors including housing shortages, housing poverty, and underfunded assistance programs. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the United States has a shortage of 6.8 million affordable housing units for extremely low income families. 70% of all extremely low income families spend more than half their income on rent, and over 580,000 people experience homelessness every day. Asylum seekers face unique challenges and barriers to finding housing when they arrive in the U.S. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) claims that “refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and migrants are particularly vulnerable to a range of human rights violations, including the right to adequate housing.” In trying to find housing, asylum seekers face many barriers including not knowing where to start, the unavailability of safe and affordable housing, and the lack of documents and materials necessary to obtain housing. Not Knowing Where to Start “When we arrived in the US, we lived with an aunt and her family. It was crowded and after a few months, we started to feel like we were overstaying our welcome,” explained *Miguel and *Ana, two of ALIRP’s Partners. “We wanted to find a house of our own, but we didn’t know where to start looking. We didn’t know how to learn about housing that was available…we didn’t have a car or a driver's license to go look for housing…we didn’t know what to do.” This situation is not unusual among asylum seekers. When migrants request asylum after crossing the U.S. border, they may be released from Customs and Border Patrol custody to await their immigration hearings from within the country. When they are released, they may be transported by nonprofit or religious groups, or they may find their own means of transportation to a family member or sponsor already living in the U.S. Once the migrants reach their destinations they are effectively on their own because asylum seekers are ineligible to receive assistance or services, including housing assistance, from the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Lack of knowledge about the housing market in the resettlement country often hampers migrants’ search for housing. Lack of Necessary Documents and Materials In order to rent a house or apartment, renters are typically required to provide the landlord or property manager with a number of documents and materials including valid photo identification, proof of employment and income, background checks, rental history and references, Social Security Numbers, and credit reports. Although required documents may vary from landlord to landlord, the requirements of photo identification and proof of income are typically non-negotiable. The requirement of photo identification creates a barrier for many asylum-seeking individuals who often do not possess identification documents such as passports and photo IDs. In the case of *Nicolás, an ALIRP Partner, the Customs and Border Patrol agent he encountered confiscated his Honduran ID. In the case of *Julián and *Karla, they did not have passports when they fled Honduras and were unable to secure an appointment to obtain one for months due to backups at the Honduran consulate in Atlanta. “We couldn’t open a bank account without a passport,” explained *Karla, “and without a bank account, we couldn’t prove our income or how much money we had.” Asylum seekers face additional challenges proving their income due to the length of time they must wait before applying for and receiving a work permit. Per USCIS policy, one must wait 150 days after filing their asylum application before they are eligible to apply for employment authorization. The current processing time for employment authorization applications based on a pending asylum application currently ranges from 11.5 to 13.5 months. Thus, any work they might do in order to survive and provide for their families likely occurs under the table and without proof of income. Asylum seekers in Alabama must have valid work authorization before they are able to apply for or obtain driver’s licenses or Social Security Numbers. Lacking a driver’s license and Social Security number makes the ability to secure housing even more difficult if asylum seekers do not already have their passports and proof of income. Lack of Safe and Affordable Housing Although an affordable rent for a minimum wage worker would be $377 per month, the Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Alabama is currently $849 per month. This means that, in order to afford this level of rent and utilities, a household must earn an hourly wage of $16.32, which is $9.07 above the state minimum wage. Those with extremely low incomes are the most cost burdened by rent prices: 86% of extremely low income renter households spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs, and 67% spend more than half of their income on housing costs. Most of the asylum seeking Partners served by ALIRP have extremely low incomes and face significant challenges in finding affordable housing. Those who do find affordable housing often only find it in poor condition and in underserved neighborhoods. Miguel and Ana, for example, were only able to find affordable housing in a rural town about 45 minutes outside of Birmingham. Here, they have fewer options for public transportation to alleviate the burden of not having a driver’s license, making it difficult to get to and from work. For Nicolás, in only two years of living in the U.S. he has witnessed two episodes of gun violence merely a few yards from his house. Due to the lack of other viable housing options, he is not able to move his family to safety. These are only some of the difficulties asylum seekers face in finding safe and affordable housing. Breaking Down the Barriers ALIRP assists partners in overcoming several barriers associated with finding and maintaining housing. When a partner reaches out to ALIRP or is referred to us by Alabama’s State Refugee Coordinator, Inspiritus, ALIRP conducts an intake assessment to determine the individual or family’s needs. If housing is determined to be one of their needs, ALIRP assists them in a variety of ways, including:
Seeking asylum in the U.S. is no easy feat, and those who take on the challenge show strength, bravery, and determination every step of the way. Show that you stand with asylum seekers in Birmingham and across the globe by joining ALIRP in our efforts to support them. To do so, consider volunteering your time, making a financial contribution, or sharing this article with a friend. Every action to remove barriers while seeking asylum is necessary, and we hope you will take action today. *All names have been changed to protect the identities of our partners. Learn More Tenants Without Rights: Situating the Experiences of New Immigrants in the U.S. Low-Income Housing Market National Low Income Housing Coalition: The Problem Access to Safe and Affordable Housing Affordable Rent for Low Income Households: Alabama State Report
The Asylum Process: Background Seeking asylum is a legal process by which people who have fled their home countries can apply for a protected status that allows them to remain legally in the U.S. Those with credible asylum cases must provide evidence to prove that they were either harmed or threatened due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Although the asylum process can provide a pathway to lawful permanent residence for some, and provides the hope of living with safety and dignity for many, the asylum system is largely flawed and inefficient. Asylum seekers must overcome numerous barriers and many remain stuck in legal limbo for years. According to the American Immigration Council, immigrants who arrive at a U.S. port of entry without proper legal documents are subjected by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expedited removal, “an accelerated process which authorizes DHS to perform rapid removal [deportation] of certain individuals.” A person who is in removal proceedings may initiate the defensive asylum process by requesting asylum as a defense against removal from the U.S. The defensive process takes place in the presence of an immigration judge at the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in the Department of Justice. A person who is not in removal proceedings and arrived in the U.S. no more than one year prior may apply for affirmative asylum through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the DHS. Both of these processes present numerous barriers for those navigating them. Among the barriers and difficulties associated with the affirmative and defensive asylum processes are backlogged and disconnected systems, difficulty finding a trustworthy attorney, varying rates of asylum approval across the country, access to translators and interpreters, and high legal and attorney costs. Backlogs When individuals apply for asylum via the affirmative process, their application is sent to USCIS and is received by one of only 5 service centers. According to the FY 2021 USCIS Annual Statistical Report, USCIS received 61,800 applications for affirmative asylum in 2021 and processed 38,200 of those applications, meaning 23,600 asylum seekers remain in legal limbo while they wait for USCIS to process their application. USCIS claims that a decision should be made on asylum applications within 180 days after the date it was filed “unless there are exceptional circumstances,” however in July of 2022 USCIS announced significant processing delays with no estimation of a decision timeline. TRAC found that in 2021, the processing and decision times due to these backlogs averaged 1,489 days, or about four years. For the defensive asylum process, there are backlogs in immigration courts under the DOJ. These backlogs were created and worsened by staffing shortages, paper-based processes, and policies and political actions such as increased interior deportations, the Migrant Protection Protocols (also known as “Remain in Mexico”), Title 42, and a large influx of unaccompanied minors and migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua at the border. TRAC’s Immigration Court Backlog Tool indicates that as of November 8, 2022, there are 1,936,504 asylum cases in the backlog, and the average wait time for a defensive asylum decision is 54 months, or about four and a half years. Disconnected Systems An overview of the asylum process will demonstrate the numerous steps and agencies one must go through when applying for asylum. Migrants must navigate U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the Department of Justice, which all have their own distinct processes and policies. Navigating complex agencies like these is especially difficult when one is in a foreign country and does not know how the agencies’ processes work. Untrustworthy Attorneys & Fraud In the defensive asylum process, asylum seekers are not guaranteed or provided legal counsel. However, the likelihood of asylum being granted is increased if the asylum seeker has legal representation. This means asylum seekers must find their own immigration attorney, which can be particularly difficult in a new country where one does not have the means to research and find an attorney, let alone a trustworthy one. This leaves many asylum seekers in a vulnerable position that allows dishonest attorneys and unauthorized immigration law practitioners, also called notarios, to take advantage of them by taking their money and harming their immigration cases. Although there are some lawyers associations attempting to spread the word about notarios, as well as some mechanisms to report instances of fraud and scams to the Department of Justice, these reporting mechanisms cannot undo the harm that the fraud has already done to asylum seekers and does not prevent others from defrauding asylum seekers in the future. Varying Asylum Approval Rates Across the Country Depending on the state in which a migrant is applying for asylum, their proceedings could look and end differently. Although courts are intended to be unbiased, one lawsuit filed by several immigrant rights agencies claimed that immigration courts are affected by “pervasive dysfunction and bias.” One example they cite is “the Enforcement Metrics Policy, which gives judges a personal financial stake in every case they decide and pushes them to deny cases quickly.” The 2021 TRAC Report from Syracuse University found that the likelihood of one’s asylum petition being approved or denied in court depended heavily on which state and region in which the asylum seeker was petitioning. For example, in 2021, 65% of all applicants were granted asylum in New York, while only 9% of all applicants were granted asylum in Georgia. In addition to which city the asylum seeker applies in, other factors can also influence the outcome of their case, including their race, nationality, age, gender, and language. The variation of approval rates in immigration courts across the country causes great uncertainty and forces many asylum seekers to make difficult decisions about where to pursue their case. If they have the ability to choose, they must decide between living in a state where they might have a support system but a low likelihood of being granted asylum, or a state where they might have a higher chance of being granted asylum but no support system. High Legal & Attorney Costs Although there is technically no fee to file the asylum application with USCIS, the fees charged by immigration attorneys for filing the asylum application and representing clients throughout the process can range anywhere from $5,000-$20,000. The amount owed to the attorney can depend on the size of the law firm, whether they charge a flat or hourly fee, the client's family size, the difficulty of the case, and the geographical location. Pair this major cost with the 180 day period that asylum seekers must wait before applying for work authorization – not to mention the significant backlogs in EAD processing time causing many applicants to wait up to a year to receive a work permit – and asylum seekers are put in an impossible situation: high fees due and no viable way to pay them. Interpretation services present an additional cost associated with the asylum process. Although federal law requires an interpreter to be present for an immigration hearing if the defendant does not speak English, courts typically only have a limited number of interpreters for Spanish and Mandarin, the most common foreign languages among immigrants. If an asylum seeker speaks a language for which the court does not have an interpreter, the law firm must charge the asylum seeker additional fees to secure the services of a private interpreter both for the one-to-one work between the lawyer and client as well as during court hearings. This issue drives the legal cost for asylum seekers even higher, especially for indigenous migrants from regions like Central and South America who speak local languages and dialects. Breaking Down the Barriers
The mission of the Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership (ALIRP) is to support refugees and asylum seekers through education, advocacy, and direct support. We envision a world where all refugees and asylum seekers find safety and live with dignity. To make our vision a reality, ALIRP works to remove some of the barriers to seeking asylum by advocating to elected officials for the improvement of asylum application processes and systems. ALIRP also makes an effort to educate the public on these issues to empower individuals and other community groups to join the advocacy efforts. In addition to advocacy and education efforts, ALIRP also provides direct support to asylum seekers in Birmingham to help them navigate legal and financial barriers. We do this by providing our partners with:
Seeking asylum in the U.S. is no easy feat, and those who take on the challenge show strength, bravery, and determination every step of the way. Show that you stand with asylum seekers in Birmingham and across the globe by joining ALIRP in our efforts to support them. To do so, consider volunteering your time, making a financial contribution, or sharing this article with a friend. Every action to remove barriers to seeking asylum is necessary, and we hope you will take action today. On Tuesday, October 25th, both ALIRP and ALIRP Board Member, April Jackson MacLennan, were honored at Global Ties Alabama's Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. The theme was "Celebrating Global Pathways of Leadership and Citizen Diplomacy.”
Global Ties recognized ALIRP and April with awards for their organizational and individual contributions in raising awareness on the importance of citizen diplomacy on a local scale and welcoming international professionals on exchanges to Alabama’s education, business, arts and STEM sectors. ALIRP was recognized for its work with Global Ties, assisting and advocating for Afghan and Ukrainian families resettled within Alabama as well as educating, advocating and providing direct support services for refugees, asylum seekers and others seeking humanitarian immigration relief. ALIRP’s Executive Director and Immediate Past President, Dr. Lynda Wilson, was recognized for founding ALIRP and her tireless work on behalf of immigrant communities. April was recognized for meeting with and presenting on U.S. Constitutional Law history, U.S. Rule of Law and Separation of Powers, and U.S. Refugee and Asylum law with professionals from countries in the Balkans, Caucuses, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, most recently Poland, Ukraine and Hungary, and legal professionals from Mali, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria and other Subsaharan African countries. These programs were facilitated by Global Ties Alabama through the Congressional Office for International Leadership, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Global Ties Alabama is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to promote international relationships through citizen diplomacy by coordinating multicultural events in Huntsville, providing information about immigration and naturalization services and by hosting international visitors to Alabama. Climate change intensifies regular weather seasons. For example, when hurricane season begins, we see more intense Category 5 hurricanes rather than the historical Category 2 level hurricanes. In areas that experience regular monsoons, there are more intense rains and flooding. This was the case for Pakistan last month.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that over 7.6 million people have been displaced by the recent floods brought on by climate change. During the evacuations of Afghans over the past year, Pakistan welcomed many Afghan refugees into their country. So, those affected by this climate disaster included Pakistani residents and refugees. One early report by the UNHCR estimates that 1.3 million Afghan refugees are in Pakistan and over 400,000 were in the districts most hard hit, and more recent reports estimate that the number is more likely to be twice that. When we look at the global trends for displacement, a term we use to describe people who must leave their homes and are unsure if they can return, the numbers are staggering. More and more people are being displaced, internally, by climate disasters. The Global Report on Internal Displacement published that, in 2021, 23.7 million people were displaced due to climate-related disasters versus 14.4 million people displaced from conflict and violence. Often, we hope that people can return to their homes once the weather stabilizes and the flood recedes. There is a growing concern, however, that more and more people will find it harder to return home and rebuild, making them climate refugees. Anytime people are forced to leave the safety of their homes, it is devastating. Recognizing the role climate plays in this is essential to all of us, globally. |
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