Asylum Seekers Assistance Program - ELOI Ministries Inc.

Assylum Seekers Assistance Program

Since our Founder is an asylum seeker in the US who has gone through a lot in the process, this has helped us appreciate the challenges faced by the asylum seeker with in the process and thus the desire to help.

How To Support Asylum Seekers

“Asylum” has its roots in the Latin “asylum” meaning “refuge” or “sanctuary”. In modern usage, it refers to a place of safety and protection, often associated with political or religious refugees seeking shelter in a foreign country.In the context of mental health, an asylum is a place of refuge and treatment for individuals with psychiatric disorders. However, the term has also been criticized for its negative connotations and association with outdated and inhumane treatment practices.In recent years, the term “asylum seeker” has become a highly politicized and controversial term, often used in debates around immigration and border control.Overall, “asylum” is a complex and multifaceted term that evokes a range of emotions and associations, from safety and protection to vulnerability and controversy. Under U.S. and international law, individuals may apply for asylum if they are fleeing persecution or other harm in their home countries and meet one of the five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The right to asylum is enshrined in U.S. immigration law and Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The five protected grounds for asylum in the USA are:

These grounds are established by the United Nations Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, which the USA has ratified. To qualify for asylum, an individual must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on one or more of these grounds. Additionally, the USA has also recognized additional protected grounds, such as:

Individuals who can demonstrate a credible fear of persecution based on one of these grounds may be eligible for asylum in the USA.If an individual’s asylum application is approved, they may be eligible for various reliefs, including:

Asylum Status: Granted to individuals who meet the definition of a refugee and are allowed to remain in the USA.
Withholding of Removal: For individuals who do not qualify for asylum but are at risk of persecution or torture if returned to their home country.
Relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT): Protects individuals from being returned to a country where they would likely face torture.
Employment Authorization: Allows asylum seekers to work legally in the USA while their application is pending.
Green Card: After one year of continuous presence in the USA, asylees can apply for a green card and eventually become U.S. citizens.
Derivative Asylum Status: Spouses and unmarried children under 21 may be eligible for derivative asylum status if their family member's asylum application is approved.
Work Permit: Asylum seekers can apply for a work permit while their application is pending.
Social Security Number: Asylees can apply for a Social Security number once their asylum status is granted.

Legal Assistance

It’s very important to have legal advice and representation while in the process of asylum as any minor mistake can be a basis of denial of your claim. So, we work with different partners to provide the legal assistance required and necessary for the process.

Sponsorship

To be released from the detention center under any circumstances, one must have someone responsible for receiving them. This can be a family member or someone else who may decide to just sponsor you. ICE requires such a recipient of a detainee to file some papers with them before a detainee is released. Many are detained for a long time or even get deported for lack of a sponsor and so that’s why we need your partnership to save more lives from the detention centers.

Welfare Support

While in detention centers, an individual need support to be able to communicate with either family or attorney and communication systems are not free in these facilities even though most detainees do not work and hardly have any money to facilitate this much needed communication for both legal and psycho-social support. So, detainees need support with little upkeep/ pocket money to be used for that purpose or even buying some supplementary food from commissary as most times food is very insufficient or inadequate for individual detainees.

Host an Immigrant

You may host an immigrant who has been released from Detention or whose time of living at the immigrant shelter is expired. This involves feeding them and sharing or giving them shelter among other things.Refugees also need the same support besides legal help in some cases.As anyone new in any community, these new Americans need to be treated with dignity and kindness to enable them to heal from the detention trauma and effects thus our humble appeal for support to make this a reality.For more clarity or questions on how you can help, please contact us at info@eloiministries.us.org

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