Once they've been granted asylum, immigrants often have nowhere to go, and may spend the night in homeless shelters or on the streets
Credit: First Friends
Ilbouto Micheline (left), Sally Pillay, Amira Khalil, and Jill SingletonIlbouto Micheline began listing the countries represented by the little flags lined up on the mantelpiece of the former church rectory where she lives: Cameroon, Guatemala, Ethiopia. These are the places where Micheline’s current and former housemates fled from — immigrants who have won asylum from 42 countries over the past year.
Micheline pointed to the flag of Burkina Faso, the western African nation that she escaped amid life-threatening violence four years ago. Today, she lives in and manages this two-story home known as The Lighthouse, a temporary residence in Jersey City, for those released from immigration detention after seeking asylum to stay in the United States.
Credit: First Friends