Holy Cross Ministries lauded for legal immigration program

Intermountain Catholic

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Members of the Holy Cross Ministries Legal Immigration Program share the recognition from the Crime Victim Service Award, presented by the Utah Council on Victims of Crime. IC photo/Marie Mischel

MIDWAY — Holy Cross Ministries’ Legal Immigration Program was presented with a Crime Victim Service Award by the Utah Council on Victims of Crime on April 25 during the organization’s 26th annual Crime Victims’ Conference, held at the Zermatt Resort in Midway.

The two-day conference included not only the award ceremony but also various sessions dealing with topics of interest to those who help victims of crime. Nine awards were given; other recipients included State Rep. Jennifer Seelig and Joanna Sagers, commissioner, Third District Court.

Holy Cross Ministries, based in Salt Lake City, was created by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1994. The nonprofit organization has many programs that serve the poor and vulnerable. The Holy Cross Ministries Legal Immigration Department began in 2000 with one attorney; today it has three, as well as five full-time and one part-time Board of Immigration Appeals accredited representatives, all of whom are bilingual.

"One of the great challenges that all of you, as victim advocates, know about is the challenge of being able to give justice to people who may not be here legally," said Reed Richards, chairman of the Utah Council on Victims of Crime, in presenting the award.

These crime victims often are afraid they will be deported, and so are reluctant to interact with the police and others who could give help, Richards said. "Because of that we have an underserved population of people who are not here legally and who are not receiving the services that all of us work so hard to make sure that everyone receives."

This creates a void, he said, "and that vacancy has been filled by a wonderful group of individuals from Holy Cross Ministries. They, a number of years ago, recognized the fact that we needed to work hard to help with the rights of undocumented people in the country."

Holy Cross Ministries helps these victims navigate the legal process and also helps them attain residency through exemptions in immigration law that allow victims onto a fast track to do so.

The Legal Immigration Program focuses on the U-Visa, which applies to victims of violent crimes, and also Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) applications, for those affected by domestic violence.

"To date, after a decade of operation, the program has filed U-Visa applications for hundreds of primary victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes and derivative victims," wrote Holy Cross Sister Suzanne Brennan in her award nomination. "They have provided thousands of immigration legal consultations to additional immigrant survivors of domestic violence under the U-Visa program."

Sr. Suzanne is executive director of Holy Cross Ministries.

"Without the legal expertise and the help in doing that, these individuals are not given the benefits that they’re entitled to," Richards said. "This has been the gap filled by this wonderful group from Holy Cross Ministries Legal Immigration Program."

Brandon Simmons, an attorney with the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic, said his organization refers many people to Holy Cross Ministries.

"In my mind they’re probably the authority on U-Visas and other visas for victims of crime in Utah," he said.

Many attorneys don’t understand immigration law, said Simmons, who also received a Crime Victim Service Award. However, those at Holy Cross Ministries "understand it well, and they understand the practical elements of it, too. They help people through the whole process."