The mountain of paperwork to apply for asylum

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — On Monday News 4 profiled one of the approximately 550 asylum seekers brought to Erie County from New York City.

Argenis Torres traveled from his native Venezuela to the U.S. border and requested asylum. Now he and other asylum seekers staying in local hotels are waiting for the process to play out.

“Sometimes I do feel frustrated, but it’s mainly because I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Torres said through an interpreter. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen in court or with immigration.”

You may be wondering what exactly is taking so long. It turns out the asylum process is a long, complicated road, with a seemingly endless pile of paperwork.

Irene Rekhviashvili, an attorney for Journey’s End Refugee Services, showed News 4 a box full of documents for just one asylum seeker.

“We need to make sure that, you know, there’s no doubt in the judge’s mind who is the adjudicator of asylum cases that the person is telling the truth, and they meet the elements of asylum,” said Rekhviashvili.

Journey’s End is one of the agencies helping local asylum seekers navigate the process.

“It’s one of the most difficult parts of an asylum case, trying to get evidences,” said Rekhviashvili.

That includes documents from their home country. Documents the vast majority of people escaping violence and fearing for their lives don’t think to grab.

“Most people don’t leave their countries ready for an asylum case in the United States,” said Rekhviashvili. “Most people what they’re thinking about is how can I find safety and which direction do I go?”

Some retrieve evidence from their phones. Others contact family members back home. Then there’s a separate lengthy process to get permission to work in the U.S.

“People hope that once they get here, they could at least work while they’re waiting for a decision,” said Rekhviashvili.

Groups like Journey’s End are helping as many as they can.

“We provide free attorneys but we’re a limited number,” said Rekhviashvili. “We’re a nonprofit with limited funds.”

Add to that the limited number of judges to hear the cases and you start to see why the process drags on for so long. But Rekhviashvili says for those who win their cases, it’s worth it.

“You can really see the calm that goes over them once they win and it’s a very rewarding experience to be part of that process,” she said.

There is a bill in the state legislature called the Access to Representation Act. It would provide people who legally request asylum with the right to free legal representation for the asylum process and work authorization.

Erie County stopped accepting any new asylum seekers from New York City last fall, when two of them were charged with sexual assault. Those cases are still making their way through the system.

The Erie County District Attorney’s Office says there have been no felony charges filed against any asylum seeker since those two cases.

Most of the asylum seekers are staying in Cheektowaga. Police there say they consider the number of non-felony complaints in that time to be “low,” with seven arrests for shoplifting or traffic violations.