Emely

As a single mother, Emely* admired the way her teenage son, Carlos, wanted to get a part-time job at a mechanic shop after school: “He wanted to earn a little spending money. Carlos was a young man that wanted to help his family. He felt that he needed to be responsible and take care of his mom and little sister because he was the only man in the home.” 

A few months into his job, the gangs in Emely’s home country began to harass Carlos, demanding that he join them to sell drugs. When he resisted, several gang members severely beat him, kicking him repeatedly once he fell to the ground.  After this, Emely went to the police for help and filed a report. The gang was quick to retaliate  Soon after the police report was filed, gang members confronted Emely and threatened to take her life and to hurt Carlos’s 12-year-old sister, Kimberly. Emely knew her family had to escape somehow, but she only had enough money for Kimberly and herself to flee. In 2019, they came to the U.S. seeking asylum, with the hopes that Emely could earn enough money for Carlos, who was 18 at the time, to later join them. 

But a little more than a year after Emely and Kimberly fled to the U.S. the gang found Carlos and murdered him.  When Emely learned of her son’s death, she was devastated. 

RILA helped Emely and Kimberly file their application for asylum and attended hearings at Immigration Court with them.  Our legal advocates also applied for a work permit for Emely, so she could support herself and Kimberly while they waited for their final court hearing. And, as with all our clients, RILA did this work at no cost to Emely. 

Several RILA staff members worked on Emely’s case, including Michele Islas, a RILA Legal Advocate, who walked closely with Emely in helping her prepare to tell her story to the judge: “Emely is a mother, and like all mothers she only wants to care for and protect her children. She suffered the most unimaginable terror, the death of her only son. Like many of our clients Emely continued to believe that God's plan was at work and that the death of her son would not be in vain. She is a mother deserving of justice.” 

In May, an immigration judge granted Emely and Kimberly asylum. That morning, Emely left the courtroom with mixed emotions – happy and thankful, but still carrying the deep heartbreak of losing her son, Carlos.  

“I am always first thankful to God, and then to RILA. The whole RILA team is part of us, it's like a family that took me by the hand and helped me,” said Emely. “Today, I no longer fear that I will be returned to my country. When I entered the U.S., I feared something would happen to me or my daughter. Now that I have been granted asylum it's been a blessing. I sleep calmly at night."

*-Names have been changed.