It is a sad truth that many people are caught between living and staying in their home or dying a bloody death. This is a reality for many people forced to leave their countries. In this current day and age, it can hard to find someone even welcoming, but organizations like New Haven Legal Assistance Association help these people through the complicated and confusing immigration system into a better tomorrow.

“The Stinging Truth” team visited the New Haven Legal Assistance Association and interviewed the team of lawyers that specializes in the kinds of issues that immigrants face. They agreed that immigration law is a complicated business. New Haven was founded by immigrants and has been a sanctuary city for many years. It continues to be welcoming to immigrants now and, hopefully, for many years to come.

Members of the law firm talked to the magazine team about how hard it has become to solve some cases because of the complications that are now entailed. Legal issues became much more of a challenge for immigrants after 9/11. In reaction to security concerns, the federal government created the Department of Homeland Security. Before this time, immigration issues were dealt with through the Department of Justice. Now ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) must work through Homeland Security and there is a way more complicated process to get into the country, gain a green card, and later become a naturalized citizen of the United States of America. Deportation policies are being enacted much more aggressively and legal policies can be hard to understand. The implications for the immigrant community are very serious.

For instance, there are situations where an abused immigrant is afraid to leave a partner or relationship because their partner threatens to report them as an “illegal” to the authorities. This would likely lead to them being caught and, ultimately, deported. But there have been laws enacted to help people with these kinds of situations, which is one example of the way this law firm can assist vulnerable people.

It is almost as if during the past few years some illegal immigrants have become prisoners in their own houses because there is such a fear that they may be deported to their original country, leading to either their death or harm to themselves. Shelley White, Litigation Director at the law office, reported that for some children in the New Haven area, when they go to school, they are in fear that their parents may be be deported while they're at their studies. “Imagine that your neighbors and friends went to work one day and never came back.” She teared up as she described children afraid to go to school, parents afraid to go to parent conferences, afraid to take a sick child to a hospital. Many of these people crossed the border into the United States out of pure desperation to escape danger and terrible conditions, and it is troubling that families do not feel safe in their own homes.This is a huge factor in the pressure on an immigrant to get the visa that may save a life and the welfare of a whole family.

Other lawyers at the firm told us that it seems as though ICE tends to stop people based on their race or by targeting specific neighborhoods for raids. Although it is illegal, there have also been instances where an illegal immigrant has been identified through a traffic stop by a policeman, who has then called ICE.

The legal office also faces another important issue because of the fact that some would-be immigrants applying from outside the country have to wait months, if not years or even decades, to get a visa. As they wait their turn in a long line, time ticks by and their lives are going away without the hope of a better future or reunification with their families who are already in the United States. Immigration lawyers try and help these people to get visas at a faster rate, but the government only issues a limited number of visas each year.

New Haven has always been a welcoming city with many interesting people. Through thick and thin, this city has always been kind to immigrants and is known for being a sanctuary city. This is a topic that matters. It is important to remember that although immigrants are different, they are still people just like us. I think that New Haven has done just this in making immigrants feel welcome.