Helping people from all over the world

Catholic Charities' Immigration and refugee attorney Carrie Chavez Thompson and case worker Meddie Barrera helped a brother and sister from Burma, who had immigrated to the U.S., reunite with their family. Pictured, from left, are Tabora Paw, Mee Mee, Barrera, Monday Thau, Thompson and Eh Dah. The siblings, Mee Mee and Eh Dah, had been living in a Thai refugee camp for several years. They were reunited in Port Lavaca, Texas.

Contributed Photo

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"Our mission is not only to welcome and serve the immigrants and refugees in our midst, but it is also to educate and advocate for the immigrant and refugee community," Catholic Charities' immigration and refugee lawyer, Carrie Thompson said.

"We consider it a very important and necessary piece of our mission to ensure that the greater community--but especially our Catholic brothers and sisters--understand the Church's mandate to 'welcome the stranger,' and work towards a just immigration system," Thompson said.

Thompson is one of two lawyers who work at Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi. The other lawyer, Kimberly Hall Seger, case worker Meddie Barrera, along with refugee program coordinator Juanita Cardiel, make up the Department of Immigration and Refugee Services.

Thompson and the staff work in the administrative area of the law helping people apply for and receive benefits if they are eligible. Clients are charged a small consultation fee of $25.

The office schedules consultations on Thursdays and collectively they see about 800-1,000 people a year, many who do not have a viable case. If they qualify, Thompson and her staff guide them through the immigration process.

Refugee program coordinator Juanita Cardiel consults with two clients. She finds out if they are eligible for benefits and guide them through the immigration process. Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic

Most of the office's clients are from Mexico. Last year the department helped about 200 clients with document translations or to apply for family-based immigration petitions, adjustment of status, removal of conditions, naturalization/citizenship, renewal/replacement of legal permanent resident cards (green cards), temporary status, legal relief for victims of domestic violence and other crimes, consular processing for immigrant visas, U-visa processing for victims of violent crimes and deferred action for childhood arrivals.

There are many documented workers living in the United States who have a work authorization card but do not speak English. Some of them come from countries that have suffered a major catastrophe and the immigrants were living in the United States at the time. They have Temporary Protective Status and will not be sent back if they can prove they were here at the time of the catastrophe. They will be allowed to stay until their country is stable.

For most of the Spanish-speaking countries, except Spain, it is not easy to travel here legally. In order to get a visa to visit the U.S. a person has to go to an embassy or a consulate.

Thompson said, people from Mexico and Central America know there are employers who will employ them, but they have no legal way to get here. It is really dangerous to try to cross the border illegally and people often die trying, she said.

According to Thompson, if there was a lawful way for people to enter the United States, "most would try to find a way…"

"Maybe if you have a family relation­someone who can sponsor you­ or you have enough money to study in the U.S., or you are extremely intelligent and you receive a special scholarship or maybe you specialize in a field and a company wants to sponsor you for a work visa," she said.

While a large percentage of their clients are immigrants from Latin America and Mexico, in the past couple of years the office has also ministered to refugees from China, Ukraine, Turkey, Greece, Thailand, Cameroon, Canada, South Korea, Burma, Ireland, England, Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan.

When an individual comes to the United States as a refugee they have already been determined to be a refugee overseas, and the definition of who is "a refugee is very technical," Thompson said.

All refugees receive direct assistance from the government when they arrive, a one-time payment to help them for the first two weeks after they get here.

A refugee can apply for food stamps. They can apply for refugee medical assistance for a period of eight months. They could also qualify for refugee cash assistance through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, while they look for a job.

After one-year a refugee can apply for a green card or a permanent resident card, which will allow them to live indefinitely in the United States, unless they commit a crime of moral turpitude, which is defined as "conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty or good morals."

According to Thompson, most of the refugees know enough English to communicate, but in the case of a family from Burma who spoke only Karen, they had to have an interpreter. In some of these cases, the International Office of Migration will send an interpreter and will work out travel arrangements, along with financial assistance.

Many refugees have lived in a refugee camp for at least 10 years, before they come to the United States. "Some families have had children born in refugee camps," Thompson said.

They are not accustomed to many things that Americans take for granted, like recognizing currency, personal hygiene or that it is the law for their kids have to go to school. "We explain to them that they should not be afraid to call a police officer or go up to a police officer," Thompson said.

Unlike refugees from other parts of the world, asylum claims from Central America have not been successful in the past. There are no centers to apply for refugee status for countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. The women and children who are coming from these countries cannot apply for refugee status.

"We know they are having a drug war in Mexico. It's verifiable. There are so many kidnappings and killings, but that's not enough to make someone a refugee," Thompson said.

"It has gotten to be such a crisis that these moms and children are willing to identify themselves and ask for help from our country. It's a complicated, delicate issue. If they can show they have an asylum claim, then they will get a future court date and they may be able to pay a bond, but if they do not have a claim that can be verified they will be sent back."

The immigration attorneys do not see a lot of these people, because they are being detained and because they do not do representation. Catholic Charities does help them with food and goods.

"We are in a discussion to start classes with those at the detention centers like 'Know your rights.' There are women and children in these detention centers who have a credible fear claim, but there aren't enough attorneys to help. It's not something we usually do, because we keep pretty busy, but we are volunteering to help take a handful of these cases," Thompson said.