Legal Counselors and Spiritual Guides

I rapidly perused her text in the middle of a busy day. At first read, it put a smile on my face. It came from one of our program’s clients, a woman who struggles with depression and who surely doubted this day would come.

The gist of the text was simple: a thank you to our immigration legal services team for helping her mother immigrate to the US from Mexico. Several years had passed since she petitioned United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, for her mother to live with her, her husband and their four children. And now, the day had come. Her mother arrived with an immigrant visa in her passport to begin her life as a lawful permanent resident.

Later in the day, when I had time to read the text more carefully, a phrase caught my attention. Just a couple of words, really. In the middle of thanking us – multiple times – for our help, she claimed we had been to her as “spiritual guides” during all the time we filed and waited.

Spiritual guides? Seriously? We didn’t start our Immigration Legal Services program with spiritual guidance in mind. Was there a connection between the law and the spirit?

The genesis of the program dates to the Summer of 2014. My wife Sue and I met Dr. Jesus Romero who directed the ISAAC Project in San Antonio, Texas. His explained that ISAAC was a U.S. Department of Justice Recognized Organization, and that he was a USDOJ Accredited Representative.

His words intrigued us. Carefully he explained how, as a recognized organization, ISAAC was authorized by the Justice Department to provide low-cost immigration legal services assistance to refugees, asylees, and others seeking an immigration legal benefit or relief. His organization was not a law firm, and he was not an immigration lawyer. But he had been trained in immigration law and was qualified under the DOJ’s Recognition and Accreditation program to advise and assist non-citizens and their families as an attorney might do.

For years our Fredericksburg, Virginia-based non-profit, LUCHA Ministries, had explored different ways to serve the Latinx community. We provided many needed services, such as emergency hunger relief, after-school tutoring, women’s empowerment, school supplies distributions, a summer youth program and others, but we felt the need to go deeper and contribute to the long-term success of the Latinx immigrant community.

The Recognition and Accreditation program answered this longing. The USDOJ created the program over 30 years ago for non-profits and faith-based organizations – including churches and other houses of worship – to bridge the gap between economically-struggling non-citizens in need of immigration legal help and high-cost, full-service immigration legal practices. The program allows a non-profit or church to become a “recognized organization” while someone within the church or non-profit agrees to become the organization’s “accredited representative.”

So in the Fall of 2014, I took the lead in applying for recognized status for our non-profit while also signing up for courses, seminars and webinars on immigration law to become an accredited representative. Later, I logged over 100 volunteer hours shadowing immigration attorneys and accredited representatives at Hogar Immigration Services, a program of Catholic Charities located outside Washington, DC in Northern Virginia. I observed legal practitioners at work and got hands-on experience with clients and cases.

Two years later, in the Fall of 2016, after receiving DOJ approval for LUCHA Ministries and myself, we launched our Immigration Legal Services program. Along with serving as accredited representative, I became the program’s director.

Soon, Mr. Bill Botts, Esq. came on board as our immigration attorney. Bill had served many years in pro-bono legal work representing the area’s most poor and vulnerable, work which sparked in him a deep desire to serve the immigrant community. Most recently, a young second-generation Latina, Melani Corral, became our organization’s second accredited representative.

Since September 2016 when our first client requested our services, we have counseled over 270 clients. Though not all clients presented us with cases we were able to accept – mostly because they sought services we were unable to provide – we’ve filed cases for 67% of the total.

The Immigration Legal Services program has helped clients adjust their legal status to lawful permanent resident (informally called “green card holders”). We’ve guided permanent residents through the naturalization process to become U.S. citizens. We’ve helped refugees and asylees apply for their family members to immigrate to the U.S. as refugees or asylees themselves.

We’ve advised U.S. citizens and permanent residents in petitioning for their family members to live permanently to the U.S. We’ve helped people renew their green cards and file for work permits. Our fees are never over more than a couple hundred dollars per case.

A few years back, a client from West Africa came seeking to apply for a work permit, also called an Employment Authorization Document. He had come to the US as a young man and joined the U.S. military, being honorably discharged after his period of service was over.

But he later found himself in trouble with the law and, to top it off, he discovered that when he joined the military, his native country no longer considered him a citizen of his own country. He was truly a man without a country, a legal status, and rights.

He applied several times for a work permit but was denied each time. He said we were his last chance. After learning his story and reviewing his case, we found he had applied under the wrong work authorization category. It wasn’t a hard fix, so we applied for him again. With no job or income, we took his case without charging a fee. Within a few months, he received his work permit. I think we were as excited as he was when the work permit came.

We feared the COVID-19 pandemic would slow our work down. Until March 2020, all appointments were scheduled and in person. Like everyone, we learned quickly to use Zoom to set up and conduct client appointments, allowing us to serve more people since they didn’t have to trek to our office for their appointments unless to provide documentation or sign paperwork. We have continued to use Zoom even though most COVID-19 restrictions have been removed.

Over the years, we’ve served clients from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burundi, Tanzania, Liberia, and Israel. Just under 99% of our clients whose cases have been decided by USCIS were approved for the process for which they applied.

We’ve helped refugees who escaped war and a refugee camp before the chance to make a new life for themselves in the U.S. We’ve advised asylees who’ve witnessed murder and suffered violence in their native countries and in their long journey to safety in the U.S. We’ve looked in the eyes of undocumented non-citizens whom we’ve had to relay the sad truth that they presently have no legal immigration option available to them.

We’ve been legal representatives, counselors, advisors, advocates, cultural insiders…even friends.

But spiritual guides?

Not once have we required anyone to listen to a sermon or take a religious tract or pledge a spiritual commitment to receive our services. Not once have we asked anyone’s faith background as a qualifier for our help; if we ever ask such a question, it’s only to better understand their immigration story.

Not once have we turned anyone away because of their faith or non-faith stance. Not once have we discriminated against anyone based on race, religion, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Not once have we promoted or spoken of our faith unless asked.

Not once.

But we have tried to listen deeply to our clients’ stories. We have asked clarifying questions to understand more. We have tried to be as honest as possible about the chances of their case. We have answered myriads of questions – sometimes more than once – as best as we possible could. We have expected much from our clients as they have expected much from us.

We have filed cases we were confident would be approved; we have walked with clients before and after filing their case until USCIS grants or denies it; and, when requested, we have gladly prayed with clients and spoken of the Hope that is within us.

I wonder, if Jesus worked for a faith-based, non-profit DOJ recognized organization like LUCHA Ministries, that this is how he would welcome non-citizen clients into his legal practice. If so, then maybe we have been spiritual guides.

Maybe we have shown that God cares deeply for “the stranger,” the alien and the immigrant; that God welcomes and receives people regardless of who they are; that God desires no one live in the shadows of fear and isolation; that God cares for the long-term wellbeing of everyone who seeks life, safety, and a chance to provide for their family; that God’s compassion even includes a person’s legal status.

If so, maybe we’ve been, in some very small way, spiritual guides.

Thanks be to God.