Catholic Immigration Programs: Navigating the Immigration Landscape

April 17, 2008 - 7:19 PDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

WASHINGTON, D.C. (APRIL 17, 2008) - The Catholic Church has a strong tradition of welcoming newcomers to our nation. The Church has consistently advocated for comprehensive immigration reform and immigrant integration, highlighting the need for an immigration system that is humane and that respects the dignity of all persons.

At the forefront of the Church's immigration work is a network of little-known legal service agencies. These charitable programs serve migrants by providing legal services that enable them to reunite with family members living abroad, to obtain humanitarian status such as asylum or temporary protected status, and to naturalize in order to become full members of our communities and nation. Charitable immigration programs are essential to the Church's work with newcomers.

Across the country, Catholic immigration programs respond to the needs of newcomers with support from the Washington, D.C.-based Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). CLINIC provides more than 173 immigration programs with training and technical support. This year, CLINIC celebrates 20 years of service in the immigration field.

A recent survey of CLINIC's member agencies reveals that Catholic immigration programs provide unparalleled service in a complex area of the law.

"Catholic immigration programs house some of the foremost immigration experts in the country. They provide much needed quality and low-cost immigration expertise to individuals who would otherwise be left to navigate a complex web of immigration laws and policies on their own," said Bishop Jaime Soto, chairman of CLINIC's board of directors. Charitable immigration programs persist in a challenging environment. Many operate on shoestring budgets and have limited resources to assist extremely vulnerable populations. Collectively, this network of programs serves thousands of low-income and vulnerable immigrants each day.

• The majority of Catholic immigration programs serve more than 1,000 clients per year with some larger programs serving in excess of 5,000 clients per year. In response to a growing need for charitable legal services, many programs have established multiple offices to meet community demands.

• In the last year, 84 programs appointed staff to coordinate activities related to planning for a large-scale legalization program. Legalization coordinators organize outreach activities, make public presentations and distribute informational handouts and flyers. In addition, they are tasked with preparing their organizations to manage the increased demand for services that will follow the passage of a legalization bill.

• In addition to immigration legal services, programs provide assistance with job searches, operate food and clothing banks, offer citizenship classes and provide English as a Second Language instruction.

• In their respective communities, Catholic immigration programs have established themselves as reliable sources of information about immigration law. They handle countless inquiries and educate immigrant communities about our nation's ever-changing immigration laws. They play an important role in dispelling rumors or inaccuracies perpetuated by illegal immigration practitioners commonly known as notarios.

• Program staff participate annually in immigration law trainings to remain current on legislative and judicial changes. While some programs are driven by attorneys, the majority are recognized by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), (an office of the U.S. Department of Justice), to represent immigrants before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and in Immigration Court. Catholic immigration programs comprise more than one-third of all agencies recognized by the BIA. Forty-five percent of all individuals accredited by the BIA to represent immigrants work in CLINIC member agencies.

Catholic immigration programs epitomize the words of the U.S. and Mexican bishops in their landmark pastoral letter Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope: "We judge ourselves as a community of faith by the way we treat the most vulnerable among us." The work of these programs is a testimony to the commitment of the Church to assist newcomers. Their work constitutes an important expression of the Church's dedication to hospitality and humanity.

Contact

Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
http://www.cliniclegal.org
DC, US
Melissa Williams - Public Affairs Officer, 202 635-5810

Keywords

Immigration

Category

OTHER

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