Justice For Our Neighbors: True Stories
When the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was passed, it dramatically restricted the individual rights of immigrants and refugees. It made even more difficult the INS maze through which newcomers must navigate in order to become legal residents or citizens or bring family members to join them.
Why is it so difficult? The laws are so complex that many attorneys and INS officers themselves do not understand them. For most immigrants, English is not their first language; in fact, they may not yet know any English when they are going through the process. It is easy for them to fill out a form incorrectly or to fill out the wrong form. Files get lost. And, sadly, there are many lawyers taking advantage of immigrants by charging huge fees and then giving erroneous advice– or abandoning their clients altogether.
Simon is a legal resident of the United States from the Dominican Republic. He applied for citizenship two times and was denied. His mental illness makes it impossible for Simon to learn English, U.S. history, and civics well enough to pass the citizenship exam. But according to the law, immigrants who are incapable of passing the exam are entitled to a waiver. So Simon applied for a third and final time.
At his interview he was once again denied. With only one interview, one chance left, Simon sought help from UMCOR's Justice for Our Neighbors ministry. The program's attorney began to advocate on Simon's behalf– writing letters, gathering more evidence of Simon's illness– and accompanied him to the second interview.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officer, who was ignorant of the waiver laws and uncooperative, made many demands on Simon that were inconsistent with the INS' own policies. He gave him 30 days to gather more evidence that was impossible to obtain.
After writing more letters to INS superiors, the Justice for Our Neighbors attorney was called to bring Simon back in. This time, they were treated with courtesy by the officer, who was accompanied by his supervisor. The waiver was granted and Simon is now a U.S. citizen.
When Yong Fu immigrated from China, her husband and young son were supposed to follow. The INS officer who opened Yong Fu's case retired shortly thereafter, and the file was lost. Yong Fu got bad legal advice telling her that if she left the country to see her husband and son or try to bring them back with her, she would never be able to return to the U.S. So Yong Fu was separated from her family for five years.The U.S. Consulate in China informed her that if she did not send or bring proof of her green card they would close her husband and son's case and they would never be able to come to the U.S.
Yong Fu sought help from the Justice for Our Neighbors clinic at the Chinese UMC in Chinatown, New York City. The staff wrote letters and made several visits to the INS offices. Her file was found and within a month the INS called Yong Fu in and gave her her green card. She immediately went to China, showed it to the U.S. Consulate and was reunited with her family who are now resettled in the U.S.
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