Heather Lyons
After nearly 30 years of marriage, Sarah* thought she was in a happy relationship. Sarah, who is from Kenya, met her husband in her late 20s. Even while facing the difficulty of being from different tribes, the two fell in love and decided to marry. Sarah always knew that her husband’s tribe practiced female genital mutilation, but her husband swore to protect her and their future children from the practice. Yet, when their eldest daughter turned 17 years old, her husband backpedaled and told Sarah that it was time for her and their daughter to be “cleansed” through female genital mutilation.
Sarah resisted, but her husband insisted that the village elders deemed it necessary. Two women from the tribe visited Sarah and told her they were there to prepare her for the procedure. Sarah decided she had to escape. She told her husband that she was going to a religious conference with her two daughters in the capital. Instead, Sarah took her daughters to her sister’s house and then went to the US embassy to get a visa to come to the United States. Sarah hoped to gain asylum so that she could then bring her daughters to the United States and find safety together.
I learned about Tahirih’s work through Rachel Strong, our pro bono partner at Howrey. Howrey has a very active pro bono practice, and Rachel encourages new associates to work on behalf of asylum applicants. The law firm has partnered with Tahirih to take gender-based asylum cases for the past few years.
We first applied for asylum with the Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services. However, we faced a setback when asylum was not granted outright and the case was referred to immigration court for further review.
Then, I distinctly remember that during the time we were awaiting the hearing before the immigration judge, a violent conflict erupted in Kenya over disputed elections. Understandably, Sarah was upset and very worried about her family. Moreover, we had to quickly find accurate information about the situation in her village and update our briefs to convey how the unfolding crisis impacted her asylum claim.
By working through the immigration process with Sarah, I have learned a lot about dealing with unanticipated roadblocks. For example, as is common in many asylum cases, a lot of the evidence we had hoped to rely upon was unavailable, and we had to think creatively about how to prove the claims, while also clearly communicating our client’s story to the judge. After spending more than a year advocating for just Sarah’s asylum claim, it really brought home to me how urgent the need for access to pro bono legal services is, and how daunting the system must be for people who aren’t able to get professional help. Fortunately, Sarah was granted asylum in May 2008. Unfortunately, her daughters remain in hiding in Kenya, and Sarah is working to assure their safety and resolve their immigration status so that they can join her in the United States.
I’m thankful to have had the chance to work with Sarah, and to get to know her personally. She summoned amazing strength and independence in order to weather the ups and downs in her case. It is a very rewarding feeling when you are able to help someone find protection from a future of persecution. Knowing that you have had just a small role in that feeling of security makes all the trials and tribulations of the immigration process worthwhile.
*Name has been changed to protect privacy.
