Yesterday, I returned to Tijuana for my second visit to Casa Del Migrante, a shelter that helps recent deportees with no place to go when they arrive in Mexico. Along with 25 other attorneys, I helped screen more than 80 people for immigration relief. Buried among many sad stories of families torn apart and lives turned upside down, we found two potential derivative U.S. citizens, as well several people who likely qualify for U visas or may be eligible for humanitarian parole. The work is heart wrenching - it's impossible to imagine the true consequences of deportation until you sit down with someone and see the tears well up in their eyes as they talk about the relatives still in the United States, desperately trying to find a way to cope with the financial and emotional loss of a loved one. But despite the emotional toll it can take, it's good work. These people need to understand their legal status, even if the only advice an attorney can give is that they have to stay outside the United States for an extended period of time (often 10 years) before they can start the process of legally immigrating. Some of them don't even have that option. My hat is off to my good friend and colleague, Nora Phillips, who organizes these trips, and who is working on a starting a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing legal assistance to deportees. There is still much work to be done, and she's leading the crusade to do it.
Viewing entries tagged
pro bono
I spent my first day as a solo practitioner providing free legal consultations to people in Tijuana, Mexico. The legal fair was held at Casa Del Migrante, an organization serving deportees and refugees. At least half a dozen attorneys from Southern California made the trip. As always, I was amazed at the breadth of knowledge my colleagues possess, and the compassion that they constantly display.
Almost everyone I spoke with had suffered the traumatic consequences of a removal order. Some of them had been deported only a few weeks ago. Many of them still had family in the United States, including young, U.S.-citizen children. Thinking about their broken families was heartbreaking, but hearing their resolve to find a way to continue supporting their relatives, even from Mexico, was inspiring. Some of them will be able to apply for lawful immigration status sometime in the future; a few are even able to apply now. Many of them just needed to know what their options were, even if those options did not include a return to the United States. I hope my advice will help some of them to plan for their futures.