April 2022

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

"What is the primary goal of Immigration Legal Services?"
To help US citizens and immigrants reunite with family members separated by immigration policies, and assist immigrants to obtain a legal pathway to stay in the United States. Immigrants contribute to our community and economy. We need immigrants to help support our workforce, and immigrants want to do the work, but often they don't have the financial resources to pay for legal services privately, which can cost up to $15,000 per case.

"Why are we helping illegal immigrants who have broken the law?"
We are not helping anyone break the law. A majority of the clients served by Catholic Charities are US citizens or have legal status (approximately 90%). Catholic Charities' immigration attorneys do an initial consultation with each potential Catholic Charities client to determine if they're able to work with them. In all, they're only able to take about 50% of those immigrants they complete a consultation with. There are several reasons why Catholic Charities may have to turn away a potential client, a few of which include if they need a service that Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Dubuque doesn't provide such as criminal defense or family law representation.

"What services does immigration legal services provide?"
They help individual immigrants attain or retain legal status. Normally, the two primary ways Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Dubuque does this is through legal assistance with the green card/citizenship process and helping unaccompanied minors/DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) cases. However, at this time, Catholic Charities immigration attorneys in the Archdiocese of Dubuque are focusing their resources to assist Afghan parolees apply for applications, such as Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Asylum. There are about 250 Afghan parolees currently in the Cedar Rapids area, with potentially more coming.

"Do clients have to pay anything for immigration legal services?"
Yes, but costs are steeply discounted compared to a private attorney/firm. A Catholic Charities client using the Immigration Legal Services program would pay 80-85% less than what they might pay if the same services were done privately.

"Will Catholic Charities be providing immigration legal services or assisting refugees from places like Afghanistan and Ukraine?"
As I mentioned above, immigration attorneys in Catholic Charities Cedar Rapids office are currently assisting Afghan refugees who have been relocated to Cedar Rapids. This work is in addition to their normal Immigration Legal Services caseloads. Thankfully, a couple of local private attorneys in Cedar Rapids, as well as a handful of law sudents from the University of Iowa School of Law, have volunteered time to help with paperwork. However, the time commitment is still great and more Afghans may be resettled in Cedar Rapids. In addition, the Afghan parolee status only lasts 24 months from their initial date of entry, so the work must be done quickly or they may be forced back to Afghanistan if their status is not made permanent. Regarding the Ukrainian refugees, the Department of Homeland Security recently allowed Ukrainians to be granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for those already physically present in the US. In addition, as of April 21, 2022, Ukrainians abroad who want to enter the US may be sponsored by a resident in the US under the Humanitarian Parole process. Official refugee status for Ukrainians will still take time; we are approximately a year or so away from possibly seeing Ukrainian refugees in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, but that could be expedited as well if the US government decides there is a need to do so. 

If you have additional questions about Catholic Charities' immigration legal services, contact Jeff Schneider at [email protected] or by calling (563) 556-2580.