by the Journey to Asylum team
Journey to Asylum is part of the UUSC’s Congregational Accompaniment Project for Asylum Seekers (CAPAS). Every month, the CAPAS congregations gather on Zoom to share lessons learned, resources, and support! It’s been a wonderful way to be in fellowship with UUs doing similar work. Some congregations are supporting individual asylum seekers in congregant homes, one congregation has a house on campus like ours, another is renting an apartment for their asylum seeker. One congregation is journeying with a mother and baby, most are hosting single individuals, and one congregation is supporting two unrelated asylum seekers. So, our situations are all different, but many of the challenges are the same and the sharing has both reassured our team and given us valuable information.
On a recent call we learned about an organization called the Asylum Seekers Advocacy Program (ASAP), which had filed a lawsuit against the previous administration’s changes to the work permit rules. The new rules made asylum seekers wait a full year after submitting their asylum application before they could get a work permit. The lawsuit received a stay from a judge, meaning that anyone that is a member of ASAP could apply and receive a work permit under the old rules, which allowed them to apply after six months. After learning about this from another CAPAS congregation, we spoke with M’s attorney who confirmed the information. We helped M apply for membership in ASAP. She was quickly approved and will now be able to apply to receive a work permit in March rather than waiting until September. Here’s to the power of the CAPAS network!