Hilario Medina (not his real name), a 73-year old immigrant, crossed the Southern border of the United States in 1968. He came with no money, no family but a strong work ethic. Practically illiterate, he spent all of his life as a farm laborer. Back when Hilario crossed the border, it was quite easy to obtain a social security card. All one had to do was to go to the nearest Social Security Administration office and apply for one. That is what Hilario did, and he got it.
He worked long years, got paid by check, and the Social Security Administration dutifully deducted money from those checks for his retirement. Hilario is a good man, kind, simple, humble, and hard-working. He never had any problems with the law. He got married and raised a family in Texas. After a long life in the fields, Hilario got tired and the time came for him to retire. Unfortunately, because of his lack of legal status, he could not collect his retirement benefits.
Hilario found out about the ISAAC Project (Immigration Service and Aid Center) and contacted us for help. After hearing his story and analyzing his case, we determined that he was eligible for a benefit called “Registry,” by which a person who entered the United States without inspection and admission since January 1, 1972, who never had any problem with the law, never left the country and can prove his physical presence in the country since that date, may obtain legal permanent residence (or green card). ISAAC represented Hilario, filed for this benefit and obtained a green card on his behalf.
The ISAAC Project was born in 2006 as an effort of the Christian Life Commission, a ministry of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, to love and serve the immigrant community in Texas. One of the greatest needs of the immigrant population is legal immigration services at low cost. Many of them cannot afford an immigration attorney. This need is exploited by “notarios” or “immigration consultants,” as we call them in Texas. These individuals are not authorized to practice immigration law and they scam immigrants out of thousands of dollars in exchange for filling out immigration forms but do not have adequate knowledge of immigration law or a license to practice. As a result, immigrants sometimes are deported. At the very least, they are robbed of their hard-earned money.
The Board of Immigration Appeals, a branch of the Department of Justice, has created a process that grants recognition to churches, social and charitable non-profit organizations in order to offer legal services to the immigrant community. It also grants accreditation to the staff of those organizations to provide legal counsel and act as immigration attorneys without having to have a law degree. Offering this kind of help as a ministry is an enormous privilege, and one that is only possible in the United States.
The ISAAC Project received both recognition and accreditation for myself and my wife since 2013. We have provided legal immigration services to hundreds of immigrants in San Antonio, Texas, and we have helped other churches and ministries obtain BIA recognition in Texas, Florida and Virginia.
How do we do our ministry? Immigrants who need our help make an appointment to come and talk to us. They tell us all about their migration story. We analyze their case, provide solid legal counsel and screen them for immigration benefits for which they may be eligible. If their case can be helped, we fill out the appropriate legal forms, conduct the application process and become their attorney of record before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Why do we do this? Because we are compelled by the love of Jesus Christ, who reminds those who follow Him in Matthew 25:31-46 that one day we will stand before his throne to give an account of how we fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, looked after the sick, visited those who were in prison, and invited the stranger in.
The stranger may be lawfully here or undocumented, but God loves that stranger no matter what. Helping immigrants come out of the shadows to become legal permanent residents or to attain legal status by virtue of immigration ministry is a tangible expression of the love of Christ to the strangers among us. Another reason we do this is that we were once strangers ourselves, and someone loved us and provided for us so that we would be made whole. We must go and do the same unto others!
Hilario is one of the millions of immigrants who wait for the Body of Christ to care for their needs. Immigration ministry is a direct expression of the love and service that Jesus wishes for his people to extend to others like him. Those of us who serve them strive to see foreigners through the eyes of Christ, and in casting the look, to see Christ reflected in their eyes.
Jesús Romero is Director of ISAAC Project, a ministry of the Christian Life Commission of Texas Baptists.
