New London — Emma Castillo is working seven days a week as a hotel housekeeper, trying to improve her English and waiting for the day when she will be reunited with her four children.

The 35-year-old Honduran native in 2011 fled an abusive husband who was a member of a criminal enterprise. 

She left in the middle of the night, took a train to Mexico and crossed the border into the United States with about 20 others, sometimes walking in water up to her neck. She was detained for 26 days, settling in New York, then Connecticut after her release. She currently lives in New London.

After years of delays, Castillo was granted asylum on June 27 by Hartford Immigration Judge Philip Verrillo.

Many cannot fathom leaving their children behind, but Castillo thought it was too risky to bring them. She said she was able to arrange for them to go into hiding and leave them relatively safe. She had to move them to different locations after she, and they, started receiving threats. Her husband, who she said refused to go into hiding, was murdered.

"My experience through the immigration process surprised me," Castillo said during an interview in early August. "It seemed so complicated and took so long."

Castillo has been able to work legally and drive while awaiting asylum and soon will be receiving her green card. She said it would take about a year to bring her children, two boys and two girls ages 11 to 18, to Connecticut — a process that involves providing fingerprints, medical records and obtaining passports.

During the interview, she clutched a keychain laminated with a picture of one of her sons. She has FaceTime conversations with her kids, but has not seen them in person for eight years.

The immigration process cost her about $21,000 and included fees for lawyers, interpreters and transportation. She said the first lawyer she hired charged $5,500 and didn't show up for her court date or do any work on her behalf. His incompetence could have resulted in the deaths of her children in Honduras, she said.

Her current lawyer, Jesus Cachaya of White Plains, N.Y., fought "like a lion" for her, she said. She authorized him to speak about her case for this report, but interview arrangements could not be finalized by deadline.

Judge Verrillo granted asylum based on "family membership," a type of relief that has since been limited by Attorney General William Barr, and noted he was not reaching a decision based on Castillo's application for humanitarian asylum and for asylum as a victim of domestic violence.

Verrillo is one of three judges who decides immigration cases in Hartford. According to data compiled in 2018 by Syracuse University-based data-gathering group Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, he heard 408 cases over the five fiscal years ending in 2018, and granted asylum 56.9 percent of the time.

Castillo said Verrillo made it clear in court that he was granting her asylum because she was able to prove the threats on her life and her children's lives. She said she provided "a ton of evidence" during the application process, including testimony from witnesses who were threatened by the same people, and footage of a Honduran newscast about her husband's murder.

Castillo said some of the things that happened to her are too painful to discuss. She lived in New York upon her arrival, where she met and married Roberto Rauda-Santos, a refugee from El Salvador who also has a case pending in immigration court. He works seven days a week in construction, she said, and they are both looking forward to uniting with her children. Castillo said her employer doesn't provide medical insurance, so she pays for coverage by a state subsidized plan.

She said it's heartbreaking to see families separated at the border, but that those who are seeking a better life, and not fleeing persecution, are taking a risk that is understandable but perhaps unwise.

The most recent data from the Migration Policy Institute indicates that in fiscal year 2017, the United States granted asylum status to 26,568 individuals.

New London immigration attorney Marcy Levine, whose caseload includes asylum-seekers from Haiti, Guatemala and Honduras, said courts are scheduling cases for trial more quickly, and that she and her colleagues from across the country are pressed for time and finding the process increasingly chaotic. Convincing judges that cases are credible is "a really steep uphill battle," Levine said.

"We'll have people from their country write declarations, swearing to the information, then the Department of Homeland Security alleges that the documents were made for trial," she said. "Well of course they're made for trial. People don't flee their country with documentation."

The latest data available from the Pew Research Center indicated an estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States and 140,000 reside in Connecticut.

During the past legislative session, the General Assembly passed the Connecticut Trust Act, which restricts law enforcement agencies from detaining immigrants for the federal government without a court order unless they are on a terrorist watch list or have been convicted of a serious felony. Members of the immigrant community remain fearful of large-scale raids such as those that occurred in Mississippi this past week. Locally, Levine and others have reported seeing ICE agents detain people outside of the Broad Street courthouse in New London when they appear in court for traffic violations or misdemeanor crimes.

"Its very important that people make contact with an immigration attorney and be prepared," Levine said.

k.florin@theday.com