Immigrants – Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy

Jasmin’s Journey to Charlotte and her Green Card

Posted on June 28, 2024

Many people go through their schooling years with the intention of going to college. Obviously, you have to work hard and get good grades. But what if you do that and then find out during your junior year of high school that you are not eligible?

That is what happened to Jasmin. See, Jasmin moved with her parents and sisters to the United States with a Visa when she was three years old. She grew up in Los Angeles and never thought she was very different from the classmates she grew up with.

So, with a college aspiration ingrained in her, what now?

Jasmin worked with a nonprofit legal organization in Los Angeles to receive her Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, which allowed her to apply to and attend college.

Jasmin was excited to be accepted (and received a full ride scholarship) to the University of California, Irvine, where she double majored in film/media studies and educational science. During summer school, Jasmin met her future husband Adonijah. After graduation from UC Irvine, they both found jobs in the mortgage industry.

Once 2020 happened, they were both working remotely and living in a small apartment across from Disneyland (and tolerating the nightly fireworks). They got engaged (he proposed on the beach with their dog Barbie) and they decided they wanted to start their married journey together in a new city. They chose Charlotte because it was an affordable up-and-coming city, and they were both able to transfer their jobs here.

They got married and then moved across the country, to Charlotte, in 2021.

They talked about getting Jasmin’s DACA renewed. Jasmin talked to three different lawyers in Charlotte, and they were all very expensive, even though it was an easy case because she did not have a criminal background. Adonijah had just lost his job and they couldn’t afford the legal fees to renew the DACA, so Jasmin’s mom suggested looking for a nonprofit legal organization like the one she used in California. Jasmin found the Advocacy Center and talked to Ruth Santana.

“Ruth was super helpful, thorough, quick and easy to work with” in helping Jasmin get her DACA renewal.

Jasmin soon decided to get an adjustment of status so she could visit her extended family in Juarez, Mexico. (Without the adjustment in status, she was only technically allowed to visit those family members if they were very sick or to attend a funeral.)

Jasmin called Ruth, and they determined that she met the qualifications to move forward with an adjustment in status petition. To do so, Jasmin had to prove her marriage was real. Besides completing the paperwork, she provided 230 dated pictures with her husband, along with proof of two apartments and one house with both of their names listed. Jasmin’s best friend and sister both wrote letters of support, and Jasmin and Adonijah each wrote letters about how they met and why they got married. (They wrote these separately and then enjoyed reading these together later!)

The entire process to apply for both the residency application and the petition together and then receive approval was seven months. Jasmin received her green card in early April and celebrated her citizenship with her family.

Jasmin currently works in human resources for an affordable housing development company. Jasmin and Adonijah own a house in Charlotte, and they are enjoying life here with their two dogs.

Jasmin shared, “Many people feel intimidated when reaching out for assistance or engaging in conversation about their immigration status. The Advocacy Center, however, exudes an atmosphere of warmth and approachability that instantly puts one at ease. My encounters with the Advocacy Center have consistently been positive, providing me with a seamless and reassuring experience. I had nothing but a great experience with everyone at the Advocacy Center; it was a smooth ride.”

One Morning in Charlotte Immigration Court’s Pro Bono Room

Posted on March 27, 2024

The line starts around 10:30, after people have made their initial appearance in court. They come in, one or two at a time, to discuss their specific circumstances and inquire about next steps. Some clients are from Venezeula; some are from Mexico; one American woman comes in with a man from Haiti. Everyone seems to have a manila folder with a stack of papers to go through. Many conversations are had, along with a few tears. Lots of back and forth—usually calm and occasionally elevated. Frustration is coming through, and patience is needed.

Most of the questions revolve around terminology, paperwork and next steps. It’s hard to move forward in the process when unfamiliar terms are thrown at you with no explanation. Plus, many documents are only shared in English. As for the next steps, that depends on where everyone is in the process.

The advice to most: you need a lawyer to be successful. Most leave with additional paperwork: address change forms, lists of immigration lawyers, etc. If children come in with their parents, they also receive a page of stickers.

It is a time fraught with a lot of unknown variables. Our pro bono services are there to help people understand what is happening, along with determining the next steps to move forward successfully with their lives in a new country.

Advocacy Center hours in the Pro Bono Room are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. The Charlotte Immigration Court is located at 5701 Executive Center Drive, Charlotte, NC on the fourth floor.

Local Immigration Org Expects Surge in Demand Following Title 42 Repeal

Posted on May 15, 2023

By Ryan Pitkin

With the repeal of the federal public health emergency order on May 11, residents will see a drop in COVID-19 tracking and testing, among other changes, while some non-residents face a more unsure future. Title 42, a provision that has been used to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States during public health emergencies, was also allowed to expire on Thursday.

While the expiration of the order is expected to lead to backups at the Mexican border, it may also lead to an influx in migrants in the Charlotte area, home to the only federal immigration court in the Carolinas.

The Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy (CCLA) is preparing to assist Charlotte-area migrants who may be affected by the ending of Title 42, “adapting to the changing legal environment in order to address the increasing needs of the migrants coming to the area,” according to a release put out by the organization on Thursday.

“With the ending of Title 42 today, the Advocacy Center recognizes the need for urgent support to migrants who may have been impacted by this provision,” said Sharon Dove, director of the CCLA’s Immigrant Justice Program. “We are committed to the protection and support of our community and to defending all immigrants — both the newly arrived and those who have been here longer — in removal proceedings.”

CCLA is offering free legal consultations at its Pro Bono Room in east Charlotte, a small room located next to the waiting room at Charlotte Immigration Court, 5701 Executive Center Drive. The consultation aims to empower someone caught up in the deportation process to make an informed choice about whether to spend money on legal fees, which can be extraordinarily expensive, or learn how to represent themselves “pro se” if that’s what they choose to do.
Read more at: https://qcnerve.com

Statement on the End of Title 42

Posted on May 10, 2023

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy welcomes the expiration of Title 42, a public health law that was manipulated to expel vulnerable asylum seekers at our border since March 2020. At the same time, we express our grave concern that the Biden administration’s “transit ban”, which becomes effective immediately upon the expiration of Title 42, will deny asylum to vulnerable migrants who do not first seek asylum in countries through which they transit on their way to the United States.

With the anticipated surge in migration, we urge the community to consider the humanitarian crisis underlying this fraught political issue. As an organization, we are prepared to adapt and pivot to the changing legal environment to serve the best interests of our clients. We will continue to advocate for policies to ensure fair and humane treatment of migrants and pledge to continue our internal efforts to assist asylum seekers in our community. It is more important than ever that we have sufficient staffing, resources, and coordination among organizations working with migrants on both sides of the border. These efforts will ensure due process and the equitable treatment of all people seeking protection.

Our newly arrived neighbors should know that help is available. As they defend their right to remain in the US, it is important to ascertain whether they are eligible for any form of immigration relief. Immigrants in removal proceedings can obtain this advice, free of charge, from an immigration attorney in the “Pro Bono Room”, a small room the Advocacy Center staffs next to the Charlotte Immigration Court waiting room. The Pro Bono Room consult empowers the individual to make an informed choice about whether to spend money on legal fees, which can be extraordinarily expensive. Immigrants are also provided with guidance about how to represent themselves pro se.

We urgently need community support to ensure that our organization can continue to provide critical assistance to the many vulnerable migrants affected by the end of Title 42. Community donations will enable us to expand our services and support more individuals in need, including those who may have been impacted by the policy changes. Please donate to help us ensure that no migrant is left without hope.

It shouldn’t take 5 years for the US to help protect NC immigrants like Santos | Opinion | The Charlotte Observer

Posted on April 3, 2023

By Sharon Dove

In 2000, Congress created the U visa to provide protection from deportation and work authorization for crime victims brave enough to come forward against the individuals who violently abused them.

The U visa was designed to help non-citizens who are victims of crimes in the U.S., such as trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault, and have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse. Congress intended for them to receive a U visa within months of applying, but applicants now wait an average of five years for the promised protection.

During the extraordinarily long wait, U visa applicants — already struggling against the trauma left in the wake of violent crime — must fight grinding poverty and keep the government’s push to deport them at bay.

Many do not make it. Some are deported during the wait, some give up hope and return to their home country.

At the Center for Legal Advocacy in Charlotte, where I direct the Immigrant Justice Program, we have a client named Santos who has a young son. I am not using her full name to protect her identity. Her story illustrates by this five-year wait matters to all of us — why it matters to communities across North Carolina.

Santos called the police after 14 years of abuse that she and her children endured by her boyfriend.

One night, Santos’ boyfriend beat her with his fists and an electrical cord. Bleeding and bruised, she thought her boyfriend intended to kill her. The police arrested the boyfriend and a criminal prosecution ensued.

We filed Santos’ U visa application in December 2015, identifying a son who still lived with her as a derivative applicant. Then, the wait began. Living with the uncertainty of her U visa application status, Santos struggled as a single parent to support her family with a cleaning job that paid only $8.50 an hour. She found the job through an acquaintance who agreed to look the other way at Santos’ immigration status. Santos had no other options. She supplemented her meager income with frequent visits to the local food pantries.

In February 2019, the ground opened underneath Santos when an immigration judge ordered her son’s deportation. By then he was 16. His pending U visa application legally afforded him no protection against removal. As a result, a teenager with a solid claim to status was about to be forced to leave his family and resettle in Honduras.

Our office successfully filed an appeal of the deportation order, which allowed Santos’ son to remain in the United States pending his appeal. Other respondents are not as fortunate. Only 20% of immigrant respondents in the Charlotte Immigration Court are represented by legal counsel. Without legal counsel, it is virtually impossible for an individual to file an appeal.

Five years of waiting ended in December 2020 when Santos and her son received their U visas. Santos proudly presented her work permit to her employer, and her hourly wage immediately increased from $8.50 to $15.50. Her visits to the food pantries stopped. Within months, she was able to sign a contract to purchase her home. Her increased salary and the Social Security Number afforded by the U visa made it all possible.

Santos was lucky to make it to the end of her five-year wait. Many applicants do not share that experience.

It is inexcusable that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services takes an average of five years to provide violent crime victims the protection that Congress intended them to have within months of applying for the U visa. It is our hope that the two federal lawsuits filed by the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Legal Aid of North Carolina, the North Carolina Justice Center, and private attorney Brad Banias will put an end to the delays.

Approximately 170,000 immigrants in the United States are waiting — like Santos did — for adjudication of their U visa applications. These individuals are already cooperating with law enforcement; it’s required to get a U visa. The long delays put them — and our communities — in danger.

Sharon Dove is a Charlotte attorney who is Director of Immigrant Justice Program at Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy.
Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article273642655.html#storylink=cpy

Advocacy Center Files Lawsuit to Fight U Visa Backlog

Posted on March 9, 2023

United by a common cause, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy (Advocacy Center), and the North Carolina Justice Center, are working together to obtain legal relief for immigrant victims of crime amidst significant delays in U Visa application processing.

Over 150 victims of crime have filed suit in Nebraska and Vermont against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) alleging that the agency has delayed the processing of the victims’ U Visa applications for years. The victims have cooperated with law enforcement agencies to prosecute the perpetrator, making them eligible for U Visa legal status in the United States. However, significant delays in the granting of the visas have left victims without justice.

Congress enacted the U Visa for victims of crime in 2000 as a tool for law enforcement and a means to provide benefits to victims of crime who have been helpful to law enforcement. Benefits such as work authorization and legal status help victims achieve financial stability and independence. The years-long delays in processing the applications mean that victims are unable to work and support themselves and their families.

“For the domestic violence victim who just reported the crimes of their abusive partner, the very same partner that paid the rent, it’s essential that work authorization is available as soon as possible, not five years from now,” said Rona Karacaova, Managing Attorney of Legal Aid NC’s Battered Immigrant Project. “These lawsuits will improve public safety and bring financial stability within victims’ reach like Congress intended.”

Legal Aid of NC’s Battered Immigrant Project, the Advocacy Center’s Immigrant Justice Program, the NC Justice Center, and Brad Banias of Banias Law, along with assistance from local counsel, Brett Stokes and Jill Martin-Diaz of the Vermont Immigrant Assistance Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School, filed the lawsuits against USCIS in Nebraska on Jan. 9 and Vermont on Feb. 2, 2023.

The lawsuits seek agency action on the delayed cases, specifically employment authorization, protection against deportation, and travel documents for petitioners abroad in need of re-unification with their families in the U.S. The lawsuits are also the first of their kind brought on behalf of U visa petitioners en masse in Nebraska and Vermont.

“We support the litigation filed by Legal Aid of NC, NC Justice Center, and Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy on behalf of U visa petitioners,” said Sheriff Charles S. Blackwood on behalf of the Orange County, NC Sheriff’s Office. “Any victim who learns it will take years to receive a U visa is likely discouraged from applying. The potential benefits of obtaining lawful status through the process feel too remote and are therefore not an effective incentive to report any crime or voluntarily engage with a law enforcement officer. Reluctance on the part of any portion of the community to report crime jeopardizes everyone’s safety and complicates our ability to protect the most vulnerable members of society.” 

Legal Aid NC’s Battered Immigrant Project, the Advocacy Center’s Immigrant Justice Program, and the North Carolina Justice Center advocate for immigrant survivors. The lawsuits are intended to compel the USCIS to follow Congress’s intent to protect immigrant victims of crime and provide law enforcement effective tools to investigate and prosecute serious criminal activity.  

Hope for a promising future for clients like Kevin

Posted on December 13, 2022

Kevin greets you with a shy smile and a kindness that immediately warms your heart. His journey to the present has not been an easy one, yet he chooses to focus on the good that has brought him here and the bright future that lies in front of him.

Kevin left Honduras to emigrate to the United States with his stepfather when he was 14 years old, leaving behind his mother and younger brother. His stepfather had encouraged Kevin’s mother, Maria, to allow Kevin to join him for the arduous journey, believing that it would be easier to enter the United States accompanied by a minor.

“It is very difficult to live in Honduras. It’s very poor and there is a lot of crime and gangs. I wanted to come to this country to study and make a better life for my family.”

Kevin’s stepfather assured Maria that he would look out for the young boy, provide for him, and enroll him in school as soon as it was possible. Kevin said the journey was hard, but he and his stepfather survived without any major problems. Shortly after they arrived in the United States, things began to change.

Kevin’s stepfather began drinking and would leave him alone to care for himself in their apartment. He forced Kevin to work a grueling 6-day-a-week job in construction and would not allow him to enroll in school. One day his stepfather left and never returned.

Kevin decided to move to North Carolina to live with his uncle in hopes things would be different, but quickly life settled into a similar pattern. His uncle forced Kevin to work in construction to pay rent and cover other household expenses. He would not allow Kevin to enroll in school. One day Kevin fell from the second story of a construction job, severely injuring his back. Because Kevin was undocumented, his uncle was afraid to take him to the hospital and forced Kevin to recover on his own at home. He eventually returned to work, but he knew it wasn’t sustainable.

Maria connected Kevin with her uncle in Charlotte who assured Kevin that he could support him and would allow Kevin to enroll in school. In 2020, Kevin was finally able to start school, a memory that brings an instant smile to Kevin’s face.

Kevin describes his mother’s uncle and now caregiver as a father figure, someone who has created a home and future for Kevin. It was through his uncle and his uncle’s church that Kevin learned about Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy.

“I would not have been able to afford an attorney on my own because I was not working. My uncle was willing to help me, but he was already helping me with so much: food, rent, and everything. It would have been difficult for him to also pay for an attorney.”

Sharon Dove, Attorney and Immigrant Justice Program Director, connected with Kevin and quickly learned the compelling facts of Kevin’s situation.

Sharon was able to pursue a T-Visa on Kevin’s behalf, a form of immigration relief for victims of human trafficking. Sharon demonstrated to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that Kevin was coerced to enter the United States under false pretenses and was compelled into involuntary servitude. Kevin was granted a temporary visa that will allow him to become a legal permanent resident. It will also enable Kevin’s mother and younger brother to apply for legal permanent residency, a fact that brings Kevin tremendous joy and relief.

“Finding the [Advocacy Center] was like winning the lottery for me. I never thought I could get legal status in this country.”

Kevin eagerly shares that he will graduate from high school this May. Although his mother will not be able to attend his graduation, she is incredibly proud of all that Kevin has accomplished on his own. Kevin modestly admits she admires the strength he has shown over the past few years and his dedication to finishing school. Kevin is not just passionate about learning. He also excitedly talks about his efforts to help other immigrants in the community, assisting those he can as a translator. Kevin looks forward to his future and plans to study medicine in hopes of one day becoming a doctor.

When asked to describe the Advocacy Center, Kevin simply calls it, “la casa de esperanza, the house of hope”.

Help us continue to provide hope for young immigrants like Kevin: support the Access to Justice Campaign today!

Protecting Dreamers: Response to Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Remand of DACA Litigation

Posted on October 10, 2022

On October 5, 2022, a federal appeals court found the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, known as DACA, in violation of U.S. immigration law. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that the program was illegal and remanded the case back to the lower court. The lower court will now consider the Department of Homeland Security’s policy to codify DACA.

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy calls on Congress to take action to provide permanent protection for “Dreamers”, those immigrants brought to the United States as children. Since its inception as a temporary measure in 2012, the legal uncertainty surrounding DACA has left “Dreamers” to live in limbo with precarious immigration status. The fate of the policy should be taken out of the court system and a clear path to citizenship must be created.

As Sharon Dove, Immigrant Justice Program Director shared:

“One thing we hear ‘Dreamers’ tell us is that they can’t take anything for granted. They can’t get attached. Their lives here are not permanent. And that’s just a terrible way that we make them live.”

This new court ruling will leave the current injunction in place, allowing those currently enrolled in the DACA program to renew their status. However, new DACA applications will not be approved. Those impacted by this decision are encouraged to contact their immigration lawyer for assistance.

If you believe “Dreamers” deserve a clear path to citizenship, urge your members of Congress to act to develop permanent protections for immigrant youth:

One year after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Afghans in Charlotte are in legal limbo | Axios Charlotte

Posted on August 31, 2022

By Danielle Chemtob

Afghan refugees find ‘different world’ in Charlotte — and a new set of challenges | Charlotte Observer

Posted on August 29, 2022

BY DJ SIMMONS AND WILL WRIGHT

Americans watched the Afghan government fall from afar. But for Bahroz Mohmand, the moment marked the high-stakes culmination of a plan two years in the making to relocate his family.
“Because of me my whole family — my brothers, my sisters, my parents, my in-laws — most of them were at risk,” said Mohmand, who worked as a translator for U.S. Special Forces. “Working for the army in Afghanistan was not easy. You’re basically putting your family and their life in jeopardy by working for them.”
Now, safely in Charlotte, Mohmand fears for his family’s future. Their work permits are set to expire in 2023, and the uncertainty of that leaves him wondering what will happen.
“If their work permits expire, they’re, of course, not going to let them work anymore, and then they’ll have no income and (will) be put on the street,” he said.
Tahira Askira, Mohmand’s niece, recalled the tense days in Afghanistan before she was evacuated last year.
Askira said she was out grabbing groceries with her mother and sister when they heard the Taliban took over the country. Soon, the day descended into chaos. “People were shouting,” she said. “Everybody was looking for a way to get back home.”
Askira was fearful. She heard from adults what life was like under Taliban rule. For two days, they were stuck at home as Taliban fighters surveyed the streets, looking for people.
Mohmand feared the worst. Through his job as a translator, he was given a pathway to citizenship and emigrated to America in 2012 through the Special Immigration Visa program for Afghans.
The program, however, didn’t guarantee their families similar avenues. And interpreters’ jobs often placed targets on their backs, as well as their families, Mohmand said.
Mohmand also garnered a higher profile after being invited to the White House in 2018 for a Medal of Honor ceremony for a soldier he worked with. During the ceremony, he was individually recognized by then-President Donald Trump.
While the moment was one of his proudest, it also placed his family directly in danger.
As Askira fled the airport with her family, all she was able to grab was a backpack full of a few belongings. Meanwhile, Mohmand stayed on the phone with the family and used Google Maps from his home in Charlotte to help them navigate to and through the Kabul airport. Askira spent almost two nights sleeping outside the airport before they were able to get inside.
“I was running the operation basically,” Mohmand recalled. “I was telling them where to go.”
Now in America, they face hurdles applying for asylum.
GETTING SETTLED
Rebekah Niblock, a staff attorney at Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, said applying for asylum is one of the more complex areas of immigration law.
Refugee resettlement centers such as the Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency contacted the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy to assist the influx of Afghan families. The center soon undertook the task of creating a program to link Afghan families to pro-bono attorneys who could help them with their asylum cases.
For Niblock, the case with Mohmand’s family is even more personal. Her father, a builder in Concord, has helped to house members of Mohmand’s family and is Askira’s neighbor.
”I feel the family is meant to be here,” Niblock said.
Niblock said a bill in Congress called the Afghan Adjustment Act could be key in helping these families have a direct path to citizenship. The bipartisan legislation was introduced in Congress in August and would allow Afghans with temporary status to apply for lawful permanent residence.
“There’s precedent for the bill,” Niblock said. “If you think about the Vietnamese coming to our shores, we passed similar legislation to allow them to have more of a direct path to residency and citizenship status.”
Asylum cases could take years, Niblock said. Currently a special provision allows Afghan refugees to have their cases heard within 45 days of filing.
“But that means you need to have everything ready,” Niblock said. “That entails a detailed statement, corroborating evidence, sitting down the client and asking very difficult and traumatizing questions.”
Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article264677989.html#storylink=cpy