Refugees seek the comfort of
our shores for many different reasons. Sometimes, armed conflicts or natural
disasters make it dangerous for them for them to return home. In these
instances it is possible for people to enter our country and work under a
Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Jared Jaskot is an intern and Jon Moseley Director of Volunteer Services
for the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland.
However, TPS is not a status that leads to permanent resident status and
therefore it is necessary for anyone being granted TPS to re-register
annually. Getting members of the immigrant community re-registered is just
one of the projects of Catholic Charities’ Immigration Legal Services (ILS),
which also provides a wide array of legal services to the immigrant
community. In addition to legal services, ILS also offers employment
counseling and “English as a Second Language” classes to help immigrants
adjust to living in the United States.
Recently, the Salvadoran community in Baltimore has been particularly in
need of the immigration services provided by ILS. Historically, there have
been a number of challenges to the project. The re-registration process is
complicated and legal advice is of the utmost importance. Immigration law in
itself is complex and attorneys need to receive specific training in order
to equip them to properly assist their clients. Finding a time when
attorneys and their clients can meet together is difficult.
Out of the challenges has risen a very successful collaboration. Volunteers
from DLA Piper, LLP, with other private attorneys from the area, as well as
law students from both the University of Baltimore School of Law and the
University of Maryland School of Law joined to form a legal group to assist
with TPS cases. Patricia Chiriboga-Roby, Senior Staff Attorney at ILS, took
the lead in organizing the clinic and training the volunteers. Almost a
dozen attorneys, as well as a half-dozen law students, underwent a rigorous
training program geared towards giving them a solid basis in the necessary
immigration law. Many of the volunteers had little or no experience in
immigration law. Clinics were set up for two separate Sundays in order to
accommodate both attorneys and clients.
Though their inexperience provided some initial apprehension, the volunteer
attorneys stated that the quality of the ILS staff, training and clinic
design allayed their concerns. ILS provided translators so that volunteers
who did not speak Spanish were able to work with their clients. In addition,
ILS staff attorneys were on hand and circulating among the volunteers during
the clinic to answer questions and help deal with more complicated cases.
The volunteer attorneys noted that the support of the ILS attorneys made
them feel like they were doing much needed work for the clients in a setting
that made them feel comfortable and confident that they could provide
quality legal services.
After the training, volunteers were asked to work at the clinic on a Sunday
afternoon. During the clinic, volunteer attorneys met with individual
clients and helped them with their cases so they might successfully apply
for Temporary Protective Status. The attorneys in the clinic enjoyed the
opportunity to engage in such fulfilling work. Kelly Tubman Hardy, a
volunteer from DLA Piper and a long-time supporter of this project, noted
that it was rewarding to be able to tell a client that she had Joe Finnerty,
a highly respected and experienced litigator, as her attorney. For his part,
Finnerty said that the few hours on a Sunday afternoon was not very
demanding and that other volunteers rendered far more service. This is
Hardy’s third time helping ILS find volunteers. She added that DLA Piper
attorneys always want to help out with the clinic as it is such a positive
experience.
In the two clinic days, 38 TPS applications were filed for clients. This
number represents about one quarter of the total number of Salvadoran TPS
applications filed by ILS annually. The success of this clinic model clearly
demonstrates that volunteer attorneys, supported by law firms passionate
about serving their communities, can work successfully with legal service
agencies to provide high-quality, pro bono access to justice to the members
of our community who need it the most.
Support the legal service agencies in your community. Lend your resources to
the fight. For information about pro bono opportunities in your community,
contact the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland at (800) 396-1274 or (410)
837-9379, or e-mail
jmoseley@probonomd.org.
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