Author: Bethany Ringdal

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“The same welcome and love you’ve shown me”: A resident’s journey from immigration detention to shelter

** All photos and details used with the permission of the individual.

Photo: Grace Ogihara
A.S. takes a walk at a park near to IAFR Jonathan House, where he’s found safe, stable shelter while seeking asylum. Photo: Grace Ogihara

A.S. didn’t know what would happen when he reached the US to seek asylum. “I thought that they would receive me as a refugee,” he said, “but instead I found myself in prison.” 

A.S. was held in immigration detention for a total of five months. He would remain there unless he had someone willing to welcome him to a home outside his prison walls. But he didn’t know anyone in the U.S. – how was he going to find help?

“I didn’t know how to apply for asylum. After I passed the credible fear interview, the judge gave me the application form, but it was in English and I didn’t know how to fill it out. I was given a list of lawyers’ phone numbers, but you have to pay to use the phones in prison. I didn’t have any funds.”

“I thought too much about what happened back home,” he said. “I kept thinking, ‘Why did I suffer back in my country and come here seeking safety just to be put in prison?”

Photo: Grace Ogihara
A.S. displays the “prison sweatshirt” distributed to him at the detention center where he was held before coming to Jonathan House. Many asylum seekers face immigration detention when they arrive in the US to seek protection from persecution and human rights violations, even though seeking asylum is a human right protected by international and US law. Photo: Grace Ogihara

Thankfully, a group of pro bono immigration lawyers visited the prison one day, and two of them agreed to represent A.S. for his bond release. They then reached out to see if IAFR Jonathan House would sponsor A.S for release from detention.

“I will go on from Jonathan House to live my life. It’s my desire that many asylum seekers after me would be able to receive the same welcome and love that you have shown me.”

~ A.S., Jonathan House resident

Jonathan House believes that access to safe, stable Shelter is critical to survival and recovery from forced displacement. In particular, supporters like you allow Jonathan House to be a just alternative to immigration detention, so asylum-seeking individuals can live in supportive community, with access to the resources they need to win asylum, heal from trauma, and rebuild their lives.

Photo: Grace Ogihara
Every day A.S. walks from IAFR Jonathan House to take free English classes from a local neighborhood organization. He’s motivated to improve his language in order to pursue educational and vocational opportunities in his new community. Photo: Grace Ogihara

Jonathan House gladly agreed to sponsor A.S. out of detention. A local African congregation alerted by the lawyers to A.S.’s situation then mobilized to pay his bond. Nonprofits and church all played a role to secure his freedom.

“Jonathan House is the best place for me,” A.S. said. “They help me at each moment. At Jonathan House I have a place to sleep, food, water, and electricity… Thanks to Jonathan House I’m connected to new lawyers for my asylum case, and to other organizations that give me support with medical care.” He also found a supportive faith community at the church that paid his bond.

A.S.’s dream is to be able to receive asylum so he can live in peace in the US “if God wills.” He hopes that other asylum seekers who remain in detention will also be able to win asylum and be released to freedom.

A.S. thanks Dr. Linus Chan and Maddie Sheehy of the UMN Detainee Rights Clinic for their work in securing his bond and connecting him to Jonathan House. He also expresses his gratitude for individuals like you who contribute to IAFR Jonathan House. 

“I will go on from Jonathan House to live my life,” he said. “It’s my desire that many asylum seekers after me would be able to receive the same welcome and love that you have shown me.”

Photo: Grace Ogihara
Thanks to the contributions of donors and volunteers like you, A.S. and other asylum seekers can go from the isolation of detention to supportive community at IAFR Jonathan House. Photo: Grace Ogihara

*All photos by Grace Ogihara

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FRENCH VERSION:

“Que vous leur recevez avec le même accueil, le même amour que vous m’avez donné…”: Un Résident de Jonathan House Trouve L’Abri Après La Détention 

Photo: Grace Ogihara
Photo: Grace Ogihara

A.S. ne savais pas qu’est-ce qui se passerait quand il est arrivé aux États-Unis pour demander l’asile. “J’ai pensé qu’on me recevrait comme un refugié,” il a dit, “mais je me suis retrouvé en prison.”

A.S. était détenu pour cinq mois en totale. Il resterait là-bas s’il n’y avait personne dehors du prison qui pouvait l’accueillir. Mais il ne connaissait personne aux Etats-Unis – comment pouvait-il trouver quelqu’un pour lui aider?

“Je ne savais pas comment demander de l’asile. Après que le juge a reconnu que j’ai une crainte crédible, il m’a donné l’application, mais je ne savais pas comment le compléter. J’ai reçu aussi une liste des numéros pour les avocats, mais vous devez payer pour utiliser les téléphones en prison. Moi, je n’avais pas du crédit.”

“J’ai pensé trop en ce qui m’est passé dans mon pays,” il a dit. “J’ai pensé, ‘Pourquoi j’ai souffert dans mon pays et puis je suis ici seulement pour être en prison?’”

Grâce à Dieu, un jour un groupe des avocats gratuits est venu en prison. Deux avocats ont décidé de représenter a A.S. Ils ont contacté à IAFR Jonathan House pour voir si on peut recevoir à A.S. dès qu’il soit déchargé du prison.

À Jonathan House, on croit que c’est fundamental avoir un abri sauf pour pouvoir recouvrir du déplacement forcé. En particulier, les gens comme vous qui supportez la mission de Jonathan House offrez une alternative juste à la détention pour les immigrés. Les gens à Jonathan House qui demandent l’asile peuvent vivre dans une communauté de soutien avec accès aux ressources pour gagner l’asile, guérir du trauma, et se rétablir.

Photo: Grace Ogihara
Photo: Grace Ogihara

Jonathan House a dit avec joie qu’on pouvait accueillir à A.S. du prison. Les avocats a raconté l’histoire de A.S. à une église africain à St. Paul et l’église a mobilisé pour payer le lien. Des ONGs et l’église a travaillé ensemble pour libérer à A.S.

“Jonathan House est le meilleur endroit pour moi,” A.S. a dit. “Ils m’aident à chaque moment. À Jonathan House, je reçois un lieu pour dormir, de la nourriture, de l’eau, l’électricité … Jonathan House m’a connecté aux nouveau avocats pour mon case de l’asile et des autre organizations qui m’aident avec l’assurance médicale.” Il a aussi trouvé une communauté spirituelle à l’église qui a payé son lien.

A.S. rêve à recevoir l’asile donc il peut vivre à l’aise ici aux EEUU “si Dieu veut.” Il espère que les gens qui cherche l’asile qui restent en prison peuvent aussi gagner l’asile et être libérer. 

A.S. remercie beaucoup à ses avocats Dr. Linus Chan et Maddie Sheehy de UMN Detainee Rights Clinic pour leur travail en obtenir le lien et pour lui connecter à Jonathan House. Il remercie aussi aux individus comme vous qui contribue à Jonathan House.

Photo: Grace Ogihara
Photo: Grace Ogihara

“Un jour je quitterai à Jonathan House pour vivre ma vie,” il a dit. “Je désire que les gens qui viennent à Jonathan House après moi, que vous leur recevez avec le même accueil, le même amour que vous m’avez donné.”

*Photos par Grace Ogihara

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“Let the whole person in”: A Jonathan House resident’s perspective on the importance of security

** Photo and details used with permission of the individual.

“Imagine you are alone in a jungle, being chased by wild animals,” Stephen says. “And you come into a clearing with a hut. A man shouts to you from the door of his hut, ‘Come into my house to escape this danger. I’ll protect you.‘

But then as you try to enter the hut, the man says, ‘Okay, wait – you can only enter into my hut as far as your head.‘ So then, your head is in safety, but the rest of your body is still outside, exposed to the wild animals who want to eat you… This is what the US asylum process is like.”

Photo: Grace Ogihara
When he arrived in Minnesota seeking asylum, Stephen experienced homelessness in a dangerously cold winter. Because of supporters like you, he has been able to pursue and receive asylum from the safety and stability of Jonathan House. He now hopes to promote safety and peace for others in his home country through political advocacy. Photo: Grace Ogihara

“I don’t see any government support for asylum seekers in the US,” Stephen continues. “For anyone who declares asylum seeker status, you are on your own. You are rejected. You can’t work. You don’t have a work permit. You’re already fleeing from danger, you basically ran for your life, you come with nothing, and then in the country where you seek protection, there’s nothing to help you.

“For asylum seekers who have traveled thousands of miles, a safe place to stay is the most important thing. This is what I would say to the US government: Let the whole person in.“

All the asylum-seeking individuals who come to IAFR Jonathan House experience the same obstacles as Stephen did: legal restrictions that unnecessarily keep them in a place of extreme vulnerability and dependence while they seek safety from the persecution or trauma they have fled.

Security, the first item on IAFR’s Continuum of Response, is crucial to helping an individual survive and recover from forced displacement. Without access to security, refugees will not be able to survive.

For asylum seekers who have traveled thousands of miles, a safe place to stay is the most important thing. 

Stephen, Jonathan House resident

IAFR Jonathan House steps into the gap so asylum-seeking individuals are protected from outside dangers while they seek asylum in the US. In Stephen’s words, we ‘let the whole person in.’

“Thankfully, I didn’t have to be on the street. I could be on the street if not for Jonathan House,” he says. “With shelter, I have actually been able to move forward. My stress and worry-level decreased.”

Since coming to Jonathan House, Stephen has received asylum, giving him the crucial promise of security that he will not be sent back to persecution and personal danger. He has dedicated himself to learn computer coding so that he can now get a job to rebuild his life here in the US. He is also motivated to use his own sense of security to politically advocate for those still trapped in war and danger in his country of origin.

Through your partnership with IAFR Jonathan House, you make a life-changing impact for change-makers like Stephen by ‘letting the whole person in.’ You help provide security to our asylum-seeking neighbors by making sure they have access to safe, stable shelter.

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Beyond Shelter: A Continuum of Care

Let us introduce you to the IAFR Continuum of Response:

This little diagram is a snapshot of International Association For Refugees‘ theory of change.

IAFR’s mission is to help people survive and recover from forced displacement.

The categories listed on the red line of the diagram are what people need to survive. The categories on the green line are what help people recover from forced displacement.

Jonathan House encompasses both.

Each month we’ll take a look at the different categories of the Continuum by seeing how the play out at Jonathan House. So, stay tuned for stories of real impact in the lives of asylum-seeking residents.

In the meantime, take an in-depth look at the Continuum of Response.

Thank you for your commitment to providing safe, stable shelter and supportive community to our asylum-seeking friends.