18 minutes ago by
Bart Bedsole - bbedsole@kristv.com

Grim Outlook For Immigrants Who Show Up To Hearing


CORPUS CHRISTI - Hundreds of families continue pouring into South Texas each day from Central America, turning themselves in, knowing they won't be detained for long.

Immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are routinely processed by the US Border Patrol, then released to go wherever they have relatives, and told to show up to an immigrations court at a date to be determined.


The "NTA" or "Notice To Appear" they receive is the begining of a deportation process that involves numerous court hearings and can last for years.


Corpus Christi immigration attorney Will Humble III says unfortunately for them, because they entered the country illegally, it is automatically an uphill battle.


"Illegal entry shuts the door on most of the options," he says.


Asking for asylum essentially becomes their only option, but there is a very slim chance of receiving asylum.


"I would say one percent of all these Central American asylum applicants, maybe one percent, are successful in getting some sort of protection," estimates Humble.


In order to receive asylum, one has to prove that if they return to their home country, they will be persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group.


Most immigrants claim part of their reason for leaving their country is the ongoing violence, crime, or drug cartels.


But Humble says none of those reasons are grounds for asylum.


"It's a common misunderstanding, 'I need asylum to escape the crime', but crime doesn't even count. There's crime everywhere. That sounds very cold-hearted, but that's the way the asylum law was more or less deliberately written, so that asylum protection would only go to the persecuted, not to the general crime victim."


However, Humble says even if an asylum request is unsuccessful, the overall deportation process may end 2-3 years after the immigrant arrived.


That may just be enough time to compel these families to make the journey to the US, and at least delay whatever hardships they face at home.


If an immigrant doesn't show up at any hearing in the deportation process, they are automatically ordered to be deported.


Humble estimates about half of these immigrants never return for the hearings, and simply hope they'll never be found again.

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