Arizona Public Media published an important documentary of the difficulties Central American asylum-seekers face when attempting to find safety in the United States.
The Migration Policy Institute estimates that only around 5 percent of those who seek asylum ever get to the point of even filling out an official application.
Tucson Immigration Attorney Jesse Evans-Schroeder says asylum seekers like Nicol have a nearly impossible road ahead of them.
"Of that percentage, 60 percent are denied, and those are the people who actually made it to a full application," said Schroeder. "What should happen is that she should be screened. She should be questioned about whether she has a fear of returning to her home country — in your case, Honduras. And obviously this woman you have been following should be referred to for an asylum interview, what is called a credible fear interview."
Evans-Schroeder says even getting that far is monumental. Most people cannot prove "credible fear."
