A few years ago my wife and I attended a gathering hosted by the York Diversity Forum, to discuss the issue of immigration in Maine, at the York Public Library. The guest speaker was a representative of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP), a non-profit group based in Portland that specializes in providing pro bono legal assistance to immigrants.
We were quite impressed, and decided to make a donation to ILAP (we're long overdue for making another, I must confess). As a result, we receive ILAP's quarterly newsletter, The Immigrant Beacon. The Fall issue came in the mail recently, and the first story immediately caught my eye.
"Trafficking Victim Finds Safety in Maine", reads the headline.
"After fleeing civil war and surviving years of indentured servitude, Halima has finally found safety and security in Maine. With ILAP's help, she now has legal status and the ability to move on with her new life," the story begins.
Halima's family first fled civil war in Somalia, ending up in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Many members of her family were killed in the camp, and she was sent to live and work with a family friend. That "friend" turned out to be a monster.
Rather than working as a maid, the family "treated Halima as a slave and refused to feed her, to let her leave the house without their permission, or to have any contact with her family." Halima had to work long hours and was subjected to continuous abuse. "She was forced to sleep in a closet and had to scavenge the kitchen for food after everyone went to sleep."
This nightmare lasted for years.
Eventually her "host" family moved to the United States, and they took Halima with them, but "the abuse continued".
Then her fortunes changed. "Eventually, a neighbor discovered what was happening and one day she helped Halima to escape." She met a woman from Maine who offered her a place to live. Amazingly, considering her past experience with such offers of "assistance", Halima trusted the woman and went to live with her in Maine.
Soon she was put in touch with ILAP, and encouraged to "explore her options". The trouble is, Halima could not risk being sent back to Ethiopa, the place from which she entered the United States, because the family she fled had told her they had "powerful connections" there and had "threatened to kill her in the past." Somalia wasn't an option either, because of the civil war and the fact that her family was no longer there.
Fortunately, ILAP lawyers understand the subtleties and intricacies of the US's byzantine immigration laws, and helped her qualify for a "T" visa, a special status for victims of trafficking. ILAP represented Halima, for free, and she was successfully granted temporary legal resident status. "In three years she will able to apply for permanent resident status, and later for citizenship."
Halima still lives in Maine, where she learned to speak English, made friends, volunteers, and recently, married.
"Halima is finally able to have control over her own life, without fear of threats, abuse or deportation," the story concludes. "She is grateful to live in safety and she is happy to be a contributing member of our community in Maine."
This story has a happy ending. ILAP performs an invaluable service to humanity, and I'm proud to support it.
But did Halima have to endure so much Hell before finding that which we all covet: control over her own life? Do immigration restrictions promote trafficking and slavery? Are such restrictions necessary?
I hope to answer these and other questions in Parts 2 and 3.
