Last one for today

My mother is a licensed clinical psychologist. For the past 6 years or so, she has donated her time working immigration and asylum cases. The transition to ICE after the Homeland Security bill was jarring for everyone working in immigration.

My mom's job is essentially this: the accused's defense attorney hires my mom to perform a psychological evaluation as to whether the person is worthy of asylum or not. This means she listens to their stories of persecution at home, their journeys to the States, and the crime that ultimately led them to ICE custody.

She has seen all kinds of people from all kinds of places. Some get to stay, some don't. She once had a transgender man from West Africa. He had been horribly beaten and subjected to sexual attacks. I don't remember if he got to stay. If they did sent him back, he would be dead now.

There is one story that really sticks out in my mind though. It is about a teenager who left Columbia to come to the US. She was being abused and threatened by her stepfather. Brutally, and often. She walked through Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala. Then she walked all the way through Mexico until she got to Hermosillo. There, she was set up with the coyotes, who promised her passage to Arizona in exchange for money. I don't know where she got the money. I would also assume she was sexually assaulted by Coyotes.

In the dead of night she is loaded into a car and manages to get across the border. About 20 miles inland, the Coyotes she is with notice a rival. A brazen shoot out occurs, and she is left in the middle of the desert in the middle of the night with the carnage. She is found by ICE huddled and crying, scared out of her mind.

SHE IS IMMEDIATELY ARRESTED AS ACCESSORY TO MURDER.

These are the stories of people who struggle to come to this country. They are not always Mexican, they are not always criminals, and they are not looking for handouts.

All they want is to be safe.

If anyone is interested here are 2 of the programs my mother works for:

LIRS

Doctors Without Borders

Also, there is a crazy crazy man who used to work with my mom who started a website where he rants about the Obama administration and how we are all a bunch of commies. Anyway, he also says mean things about my mom (who is a fucking saint, btw) and I maybe kind of want to cut his balls off. Please harass him here