Dear Robert,
“I’m seeking protection, and I believe the U.S. government is saying they don’t care if I go home and am killed.” Joshua, a survivor of torture from Jamaica has spent over two years in a U.S. immigration detention facility. Joshua and his family have been targeted by gang members for their support of an opposition political party. An immigration judge has granted him asylum twice, but he still remains in jail.
There is little doubt that Joshua would be murdered if the U.S. government forces him to return to Jamaica. “It’s not poverty or hunger, why I fled, it was fear for my life.” What keeps Joshua going in the face of such a painful past and such an uncertain future? “Faith and belief in Jesus Christ and praying and fasting,” Joshua says.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) strives to be an answer to prayers like Joshua’s. Survivors of torture who seek protection in the United States are often detained before they have a chance to make their case for asylum or other forms of legal protection. Through LIRS’s national network of service partners, we help torture survivors endure the challenges of immigration detention, help find them legal representation and advocate for a more humane system. We are writing to ask for your help to assist people like Joshua.
Please lift your voice at the LIRS Action Center to urge your elected officials to support legislation that would protect detained torture survivors. And your gifts make it possible to fund services for newcomers who have suffered so much and whose lives are at risk.
LIRS is committed to providing support to individuals like Joshua and to giving a voice to those who are in need your support. Your gifts and your advocacy enable us to continue this important work as we assist those seeking refuge and protection in the United States .
Sincerely,
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
