Bench-Pressed
A Judge Recounts the Many Blessings and Heavy Lessons of Hearing Immigration Asylum Cases
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It was my work as a judge that changed the course of my emotional and spiritual life and prompted me to write this book. At no time during law school, judges' training courses, or thirty years in the legal profession did anyone ever say to me, "Listen with your heart as well as with your ears and your mind," or "Give careful thought to what is just, then try with all your strength to do it." But the job of being a judge required me to hear many asylum cases brought by applicants from all over the world, and I knew, even as I was hearing the first case to come before me after I was sworn in, that I would never be the same again. That first case, and all the ones which came after it, were not cases at all but were living people with their faces pressed up against the glass of the United States, and it was in hearing them tell me what happened to them in their countries, how they got to my country, and how much they wanted to stay here that gratitude, humility, and the ability to really listen finally took root in me.
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About the Book
Every year, thousands of people seek asylum in the United States because they have been persecuted in other countries due to their race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion. In seeking refuge and protection, these immigrants must rely on the American court system to help them achieve safety from the great harm they have suffered.
In her unique and compelling judicial memoir, Susan Yarbrough, a former US immigration judge, highlights five significant asylum cases that she heard and decided during almost eighteen years on the benchcases that profoundly changed her not only as a judge, but also as a person.
Yarbrough recounts heartrending testimony described against the background of the countries in which the persecution took place, following each account with personal reflections on how she was emotionally and spiritually transformed by each person who testified. From Josué Maldonado, persecuted in El Salvador because of his religion, to Daniel Quetzal, an Indian from Guatemala who was tied naked to a pole and tortured because of his political opinion, the cases that the author shares provide an unforgettable glimpse into the lives of courageous people who risked everything for peace and freedom in the United States.
Bench-Pressed is the story of five asylum seekers and the judge who was irrevocably changed by the intersection of her life with theirs.
About the Author
Susan L. Yarbrough, JD, practiced law in New York and Texas before being appointed to a judgeship on the United States Immigration Court, where she served for almost eighteen years. Now retired, she lives in Texas, where she enjoys reading, writing, walking, swimming, gardening, volunteering, and being with friends.