November 2021

Your gift of support for Catholic Charities' Immigration Legal Services (ILS) is truly a gift deserving of thanksgiving, especially at a time when some of the most vulnerable individuals in our Archdiocese are in more need than ever of life-changing services.

Catholic Charities is the only nonprofit providing immigration legal services in Northeast Iowa. Your donation has helped to provide affordable, family-based and humanitarian immigration legal services to hundreds of immigrants and their families over the past year, across 30 counties in Northeastern Iowa.
 

Yer Vang is the Director of Immigration Legal Services with Catholic Charities, and has over 16 years of experience working with immigrant and refugee communities. "With the generosity of our donors, it has allowed our program to continue to serve the most vulnerable in our community," Vang said.

"It is critical that we continue to provide help and create opportunities of hope for immigrants who have experienced much trauma in their lives. Our ministry truly is a lifeline for many who need help with their immigration status in order to work and put food on their table to feed their families."  

 

One of the primary focuses of Immigration Legal Services is family reunification. For instance, Joanne and her mother, Mary (above). Joanne, a United States citizen, missed her family in Liberia. She hadn't been able to see her mother for more than nine years. After two years of work with the Immigration Legal Services team, Joanne was able to petition to bring her mother Mary to the United States. Mary now has Legal Permanent Residence and has a Green Card. She now lives with Joanne and her family, and is able to see her daughter every day.

Unforeseen challenges like Covid-19 and the derecho did not affect the rising need of those seeking immigration legal services, and the ILS team had to be creative when it rose to meet these challenges.

From utilizing tools such as Zoom, WhatsApp, webinars, to video blogs, with your support the Immigration Legal Services staff was able to pivot to meet the needs of their clients. These solutions will be long-lasting ones for clients struggling to overcome barriers such as transportation, childcare, and work that may prevent them from meeting with an attorney in person. 

In March of 2020, Immigration Legal Services was also able to accomplish an important goal with your generous financial support: hiring a fifth immigration lawyer to help meet the needs of a growing client demand. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, 695 clients were served in 2021, surpassing the 636 clients they served in 2020. 

In the last year alone, Catholic Charities provided $87,000 worth of free legal consultations throughout the community, serving 580 new consults. To put these 580 consultations into perspective, in 2020 there were 320 consultations completed. The average rate for a private attorney consultation is $150. If the client's case is accepted, there is a one-time, nominal fee that is only approximately 10-15% of what a private bar attorney would typically charge. For those clients who cannot afford this fee, it is lowered even further or eliminated if the client is experiencing financial hardship.

Catholic Charities Executive Director, Tracy Morrison, expressed gratitude for the difference that you have helped to make by supporting ArchdioceseOne and Catholic Charities' Immigration Legal Services. 

“It has been heart-warming to see how interested and supportive our Archdiocesan family has been in wanting to help reunite and keep families together, and help individuals who have no place else to turn," Morrison said. "It is critical that our services remain available for the most vulnerable individuals, such as children coming to the US without a parent or guardian, or individuals who have experienced extreme persecution and violence in their home country and are fearful to return. Thanks to many generous ArchdioceseOne donors, we are able to continue.”

Your support for Immigration Legal Services through the ArchdioceseOne special appeal is reuniting mothers and daughters like Joanne and Mary, parents and children, spouses, and siblings. And just as importantly, you are helping to provide a better future for our neighbors and their families. 

Immigration Legal Services serves immigrants no matter their race, religion, or financial capacity. To the left are the countries of origin of the 2020-2021 clients served by Immigration Legal Services.