After I was simply 17 years previous, I needed to go away every thing I knew—my household, my buddies, my dwelling.
I grew up in North Kurdistan, the place my folks stay underneath Turkish occupation. Consequently, my identification and political views had been harmful. I grew to become a goal of the Turkish authorities for standing up for my folks, and for our rights. Talking out meant dealing with threats, violence, and even imprisonment. I used to be continually anxious about whether or not I’d be focused by the federal government subsequent. I didn’t wish to stay in concern anymore. So, with nothing however a bag of garments and a coronary heart stuffed with hope, I left my dwelling to hunt security and stability.
I got here to the USA alone, with out household or anybody to show to. I used to be a young person making an attempt to determine the way to survive in a spot that felt prefer it may swallow me complete. However what scared me essentially the most wasn’t being alone—it was the uncertainty. It was not understanding how I might make it, not understanding if I might keep protected, not understanding if I might have a future. Within the American immigration system, I’m referred to as an “unaccompanied minor.”
I didn’t have the luxurious of getting somebody to information me by the immigration course of. The immigration authorized system felt like an impenetrable wall. I didn’t know the place to go, who to belief, or the way to even start. The loneliness was overwhelming. There have been nights once I questioned if I had made a mistake, if I used to be too removed from dwelling, too removed from security.
However then, one thing shifted inside me. I spotted that if nobody was going to assist me, I had to assist myself. I made a decision I might combat—not only for me, however for each lonely, scared, and misplaced immigrant who felt the best way I did. I made a decision that once I grew up, I might grow to be an immigration lawyer. I wished to be the individual I couldn’t discover once I wanted assist, who would stand beside those that had nobody else, and assist them discover hope once they couldn’t see it.
As we speak, at 19 years previous, I’m nonetheless a highschool pupil. I’m doing every thing I can to keep up my grades and put together for the longer term. Daily, I work slightly more durable, as a result of I do know that my dream is greater than simply me. It’s in regards to the folks I’ll someday assist—those who come to this nation in search of security and a greater life, similar to I did. I wish to be the lawyer who holds their hand by the robust instances, who helps them navigate the system when it feels unattainable, who listens to their tales and fights for them with every thing I’ve.
My journey hasn’t been straightforward, but it surely’s made me stronger. It made me consider that irrespective of the place you come from or what you’ve been by, you deserve an opportunity to stay a lifetime of dignity and freedom.
Just lately, I used to be launched to a corporation referred to as the New York Immigration Coalition. They’re at present combating for 2 payments to go within the state legislature –the Entry to Illustration Act and the BUILD Act. I traveled from my dwelling to Albany with them to combat for these payments, assembly with Meeting Members and Senators and telling my story at a rally within the State Capitol.
These items of laws are what folks like me in New York desperately want, which is assured authorized counsel in immigration court docket. For 2 years, I couldn’t discover a lawyer who might tackle my asylum case. I’m grateful to the neighborhood who helped me discover a terrific lawyer, however I shouldn’t have been navigating this method alone for therefore lengthy. This laws would have created a a lot simpler pathway to seek out authorized help, and would create the correct infrastructure for immigration authorized providers in New York to offer the assistance that others like me have to navigate a sophisticated immigration authorized system.
Each morning, as the varsity day begins, I stand with my classmates to pledge allegiance to a rustic that guarantees “liberty and justice for all.” These phrases are a name to motion, a reminder of the beliefs this nation strives to uphold.
I maintain onto the idea that liberty and justice usually are not simply beliefs however rights I’ll declare right here in America. At some point, I’ll stand alongside others who’ve walked an identical path, guiding them towards the protection and hope that I’m nonetheless combating to safe for myself.
