|
Crosier community steps up efforts to serve immigrants
By J.D. Long-García
The Catholic Sun
In a small trailer on the side of Sacred Heart Parish in south Phoenix, Crosier Brother Jim Lewandowski changes lives.
Every afternoon, he sits in the trailer — which he shares with the parish chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul — and reads up on immigration law.
“It seems like this immigration law is always changing,” Bro. Jim said from behind his desk, a sheet of wood atop two filing cabinets. “There’s always something in the mix.”
He helps immigrants know their eligibility for certain visas, learn the steps they need to take to become citizens and issues referrals for other services.
“Many people can’t afford an attorney,” Bro. Jim said, “so we do what we can.”
The parish began offering legal assistance to immigrants at the behest of Crosier Father Timothy Conlon, the canonical pastor and former executive director of the diocesan ethnic ministries office.
“My work in ethnic ministries taught me of the immense and intense need that we have in serving our immigrant populations,” he said.
Fr. Conlon saw Sacred Heart’s location in south Phoenix as an ideal place to offer immigration services. The Crosier community, which is dedicated to serving immigrants, was a perfect fit.
“From the initial discussion forward, we have engaged parishioners and they are supportive,” Fr. Conlon said.
Annie Conway, the parish life coordinator, said information about the services has spread by word of mouth.
“It has picked up so that [Bro. Jim] has appointments every day,” she said. “People have questions they don’t necessarily trust other people with. Since this is the Church, people feel safe.”
Bro. Jim, who consults with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., is accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals. He’s been doing this kind of work since 1995.
He once helped an 80-year-old man from Mexico receive U.S. citizenship. The man had been living in the United States as a permanent legal resident for decades, but he didn’t speak English.
“How in the world am I going to get him to pass this test?” Bro. Jim remembers asking himself. Fortunately, due to his age, the man could take the test in Spanish.
“I would call him every night after supper and ask him questions on U.S. government and history,” Bro. Jim said. “I got his grandson to ask him questions before he went to school.”
The Crosier brother accompanied the elderly man to take the citizenship test.
“He took his time, but he passed,” he said.
Focusing on family unity
Bro. Jim also helps immigrants with family-based immigration petitions for spouses, children, parents and siblings.
“Family unity is one of our priorities,” he said. “I’ve seen the results of separated families. It’s devastating.”
Bro. Jim told the story of a father who was sent back to Mexico, leaving the mother in the United States to raise their children, who were teenagers.
“To keep those children and the family going, she had to work at least two part-time jobs,” he said. “She just wasn’t around for the teenagers. They started acting out, having parties and drinking alcohol.”
Where there’s no parental supervision, he said, there’s no parent-child relationship. Kids will turn to gangs as their social group.
Bro. Jim sees families by appointment. One of the first questions he asks is how the immigrants arrived in the country.
“A larger number of individuals here illegally are overstays — people who came by passport or visa, but didn’t go back,” he said. Immigrants who arrive legally but overstay have more legal recourse than do those who enter illegally.
He also visits incarcerated immigrants on behalf of their families. Sometimes those family members are afraid to visit the jail, but Bro. Jim provides a means for them to communicate.
Crosier Father Tom Enneking, who works as a prison chaplain, also meets incarcerated immigrants.
“Some [immigrants here illegally] get stopped for a traffic violation and wind up in jail,” he said. “It’s just impossible for them to not get deported. Your hands are kind of tied.”
Both Fr. Enneking and Bro. Jim are hoping for comprehensive immigration reform.
“If these individuals have children in the United States, I would hope something could develop around that scenario,” Bro. Jim said.
He would like to see those immigrants who have been here at least 10 years, have not been in legal trouble, have paid their taxes and have been involved in their community, benefit from future reform.
“These people who are honest, hand-working folks should have something to look forward to,” Bro. Jim said. “I always tell them, ‘Don’t give up hope.’”
J.D. Long-García/CATHOLIC SUN
Crosier Brother Jim Lewandowski studies law at Sacred Heart Parish, where he gives immigrants legal assistance.
|
