Elvira Arellano, a Mexican illegal immigrant, was arrested and deported this week, sources say. Avellano was facing deportation in 2006 when she sought refuge in a Chicago Church. The 32-year-old mother of one held press conferences from the church pressing for immigration reform. To some Arellano had become a symbol for the immigration rights movement.  According to the Pew Hispanic Center, over 3 million children in the United States have a parent who is here illegally. This means that a child could come home and find that his or her caretaker has been arrested.  Parents and children could be permanently separated if the child is American born and the deported parent decides that the child should stay in the U.S., with relatives who are here legally. Both parent and child miss out on interaction while the child is growing up. The child might only see his or her parent again if upon reaching age 18 the child decides to travel back to family’s home country or if the caretakers of the child choose to travel to that country to visit.

We were moved by this experience, written by Andrea, at Peanut Butter Burrito:

"A bond hearing for me didn’t materialize, but my clinic asked if I could come help with cases anyway. I was there about five hours today, working the phones. Calling the El Paso Immigration Court, calling Catholic Social Services, calling the worlds fastest-speaking Ecuadorian to check with her about documents for her husband’s hearing.

But most of my time was spent making "personal" calls to the family members of men who were still detained. One of the lawyers met with a dozen of them this weekend and asked if there was anything they needed, anyone we should talk to. "We’re doing this legal stuff for them," she told me, "but I wanted to offer to do something human, too." One man almost cried as he asked her to check on his wife and kid and see if they had enough money to pay bills and eat, now that he was gone. Two asked if we would call their mothers in El Salvador and just let them know they were okay. So that’s what I did - I called people’s families and said, "He wants you to know he’s okay. And we’re working on his case."

The lawyer tried to apologize to me that it wasn’t legal work, but I wouldn’t let her. We’re not just lawyers and law students, we’re people. Right? People want their mothers to know that they’re okay. So I called. I called Central America, and talked to a total stranger, and a rooster crowed in the background, and I told her that she might not have heard, but there was an immigration raid in Massachusetts, but he’s okay and he has a lawyer. And hung up the phone, and felt…how do I explain? Frustrated, confused, hopeful, human. (Really glad I spoke Spanish.)

On days like this I think that this is what legal services (and its brother, indigent defense) is really about - it’s about the personal,
letting people know they’re okay and you’re in it with them, even if it turns out wrong. And then I bury my face in my hands, because it’s hard. ICE is moving as fast as they can to deport some of the MA people on Friday. The lawyer I worked with said, "My heart is in freefall." I wanted to cry.

And outside our door, probably the toughest, most tenacious lawyer in the clinic laughed a fake laugh and said to someone, "I just feel so defeated, you know? It’s like they hold all the cards…"

Then she rushed to court. The bond hearings and motions to reopen and faxes and calls and referrals go on. Even if it turns out wrong."

Hogar Hispano, a program of Catholic Charities, is now accepting NEW immigration cases. New clients are accepted Tuesdays and Thursdays only from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The consultation fee is $50.  Attorneys will be available to advise clients regarding permanent residency (green card) through family petitions, consular processing, NACARA, VAWA, TPS applications, naturalization assistance, and work permits. Hogar Hispano is located in the 7-corners area, next to Sears and across the street from Shoppers market. The address is 6201 Leesburg Pike, Suite 307, Falls Church, VA, 22044.

Hogar Hispano provides assistance to immigrants of all nationalities and religions. Services offered include English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, legal counseling and representation, and naturalization assistance.

CITIZEN ASSISTANCE WORKSHOP

CUANDO  / WHEN:  Saturday September 15, 2007
DONDE / Where: Arlington Mill Community Center, 4975 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA. 22206
TIME:  10:00 am to 2:00 p.m.
                                                                                                                                                                      
PRE-REGISTRATION RECOMMENDED:
CALL (703) 534 9805 EXT 237
Ms. Jessica Dumas Vargas   (703) 534-9805         Mrs. Chea (Khmer) (703) 228-1386
Amina Shego (Somali)           (703) 300-8055         Ms. Freshta Nawabi    (Farsi)

PURPOSE: Volunteer attorneys and trained volunteers will be on hand to assist eligible applicants in completing the citizenship application.

GOVERNMENT APPLICATION FILING FEE: $675.00 ( including biometrics for Fingerprints). A personal check or money order payable to BUREAU OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES (USCIS) at the time you submit your application.

WORKSHOP FEE (PICTURES INCLUDED):  $60.00 cash only

DOCUMENTATION YOU MUST BRING WITH YOU TO THE WORKSHOP:

“Green card” (I-551) Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) Card – with A#

All Passports, current and expired: Entry and exit dates from U.S. since you became an LPR
Dates and addresses where worked and lived for the last five (5) years.
Birth dates and data for your spouse (current and former) and ALL children (including adult, adopted and deceased) – Date and place of birth, A#, Green Card, and current address
If the Applicant’s spouse is a naturalized citizen of US bring a copy of the naturalization certificate

Sponsors: HOGAR HISPANO CLINIC, Community Outreach Program (DHS), AFGHAN ACADEMY, JNM, REAP, Catholic Charities D.C. 

Immigrant Workers Rights: If you have a legal right to work, there are laws to protect you against discrimination in the work place. YOU MAY NOT BE FIRED OR DENIED EMPLOYMENT ON ACCOUNT OF ETHNICITY OR NATIONAL ORIGIN. Questions? Please contact Freshta Nawabi at (703-534-9805) Ext.241 or Esmael Husseini at EXT.237

A federal judge ruled last week that a city ordinance which imposes fines on landlords who rent to undocumented workers is unconstitutional.  That city is Hazelton, Pennsylvania. The major of Hazelton, Lou Barletta, pushed for this measure after two undocumented workers were charged in a fatal shooting. Immigrant groups sued, alleging that the rationale for this measure is racist. The lawyer for the city, Kris Kobach, stated that he believes this decision will be overturned on appeal and called the ruling by a U.S. District Judge as going “too far out on a limb.”

In a separate interview, Mayor Barletta attributes a surge in crime rates in Hazelton to the presence of illegal immigrants. His so-called “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” went so far as to declare English as the city’s official language and forbid the translation of documents into another language without official authorization. At Citizen by Choice, we seem to recall a concept known as “overbreadth” of laws, where a law tries to make illegal behavior which is legal. It is therefore no big surprise a federal judge ruled this law to be unconstitutional.