Nearly 13,000 Afghans have passed through the Fort McCoy military base in Wisconsin since fleeing their native country last summer. When the James H. Binger Center for New Americans staff learned of the need for volunteer immigration attorneys and paralegals to help with the overwhelming caseload, they reached out to the lawyers in the Ft. McCoy Operation Allies Welcome legal clinic, operated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Minnesota Law team aided an estimated 70-95 Afghan guests over three days in late January, says Deepinder Singh Mayell, executive director of the Binger Center, helping refugees understand the complex and often challenging U.S. immigration system, prepare their asylum or special immigrant visa applications, and get connected to a nationwide network of lawyers.
"It's hard to capture the experience fully," says law student Nicole Carter. “We all wanted to be there doing the work but obviously the clients have been through horrible and traumatic things. It felt good to be productive and to help people get further along in the immigration process. They have made a lot of sacrifices and they deserve to be supported.”