Today, Jason* is a typical high schooler who aspires to play soccer professionally or become a meteorologist. But just two years ago, he was running for his life.
It is illegal to be homosexual in the West African nation where Jason was born. When a local vigilante group discovered Jason’s orientation they took the law into their own hands, dragging him and two companions from the house and beating them with sticks.
The last thing Jason saw as he escaped was his friends being doused with gasoline.
At age 16, he boarded a boat and began passage across the Atlantic, leaving his family and everything he knew behind forever. After months they docked in Venezuela where he turned to begging for food in a bus station. Completely stranded in a foreign country, there was nothing for him to do but pray. Three kind strangers noticed Jason praying, and after hearing his story they drove him north through Central America to the U.S./Mexico border. There, Jason waited in line to tell United States immigration officers that he needed help.
Immigration protocol mandates that unaccompanied, undocumented minors like Jason be immediately placed in detention centers. Then, deportation proceedings begin—without a lawyer.
Fortunately, Jason was placed in a Virginia facility served by CAIR Coalition. That’s when he met his attorney, Mari Dorn-Lopez. He told her he feared for his life if he returned home; in fact, his mother and younger brother were already hiding from the vigilantes because of him.
With Mari’s help, he successfully filed for asylum just before he turned 18.
Your support is vital in ensuring we can continue to help other children who, like Jason, are fleeing violence in their home countries and arrive here alone.
Last year, CAIR Coalition provided legal assistance to more than 500 detained unaccompanied immigrant children who are in detention facilities or with long-term foster care families in Virginia and Maryland. From teaching them their rights to representing them before an immigration judge, our team of in-house and pro bono attorneys makes sure each child has an advocate to help them navigate the complex legal system.
“I did not plan to come to America,” Jason said. Now that he’s here to stay, he’s working hard at perfecting his English (he speaks a total of five languages). In the future, he dreams of playing soccer professionally or becoming a meteorologist.
Hundreds of other children in our community still need our help. But we cannot do this work alone.
Your financial contribution will help provide the legal support children like Jason need so they can get back to being kids.
Today your donation will go twice as far. Between now and June 30, any donation you make will be generously matched dollar for dollar up to $10,000.
Will you give a generous gift today to help us protect the most vulnerable children in our community?
With gratitude,
Kathryn Doan
Executive Director
Remember to make your gift by June 30 so we can include it toward the $10,000 match.
*Name changed to protect privacy
