2023
ADVENT GUIDE
“Give us new life, and we will call upon your name.”
In this first week of the season of Advent, we focus on the theme of hope. Christians around the world reflect on the hope signified by the coming Christ-child. Elizabeth Carlson, a supervising senior attorney, reflects on an experience of hope in her work at CLINIC and how this particular asylum case can be a source of hope for others
Reflect
Elena,* a K’iche-speaking Indigenous woman from Guatemala, traveled to the United States with her children in 2015, fleeing years of domestic violence inflicted by her children’s father. Elena was originally assisted by CLINIC’s Motions to Reopen project when she missed an immigration court hearing in 2019, which caused orders of removal to be issued against her and her children. After my colleagues successfully reopened her case, I took over Elena’s asylum case in immigration court.
The case presented a number of legal complications. In addition, reliving her past suffering was extremely painful to Elena.
Elena would often say to me, “my life has not really been a life,” describing all the suffering she endured. On the day of her hearing, Elena prayed for a better life for her and her children — and her prayers were answered. She cried as the immigration judge said, “Congratulations and welcome to the United States”— granting her and her children the permanent protection they so richly deserved.
The grant of asylum does not erase the years of trauma that Elena endured. But it gives her hope —hope that her life can be filled with dignity instead of suffering and that her children can live in safety. It also gives me hope. I hope that, in addition, Elena’s story will reverberate beyond her own case.
CLINIC’s new Mentorship Project, which aims to support our Affiliates more robustly in their most complex and challenging cases, plans to use aspects of Elena’s case as a teaching and training tool for others. In that way, Elena’s hope can be passed on to others
*Name has been changed
Take Action
How can you support immigrants like Elena in your community? Explore the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Welcome Circles initiative, a program to help parishes and communities form support networks for newly arrived immigrants.
A Welcome Circle is a group of 5-20 people who come together to provide wrap around support for a family: housing, time-bound income support, basic necessities, job search advice, orientation to the community, and more.
Learn more by watching the video below.
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