Sacramento migrants haven’t applied asylum. Here’s why
More than three months after arriving, asylum still feels far away for Sacramento’s most well-known migrants.
Asylum claims are intended for people who have left their country fearing torture or persecution on the the basis of their race, religion, nationality or political beliefs. But in recent years, migrants from countries with widespread economic inequality have increasingly looked to asylum as a path to citizenship.
Most of the 36 migrants who arrived in Sacramento are citizens of Venezuela, a country that has only recently seen some signs of hope after nearly a decade of steep economic recession. These economic troubles have been coupled with internet restrictions and “attacks and widespread repression” against perceived political opponents, according to a 2023 report from the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela.
Still, the majority of the migrants have not filed their applications, despite receiving free legal advice shortly after they arrived in the capital city on a flight that was funded by the state of Florida at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis. They remain in limbo — unable to legally work and without progress toward an eventual application for a green card and citizenship.
Applying for asylum jump starts the process for receiving work authorization, but can pose potential risks like deportation if the case fails.
The migrants face the same fraught choice that thousands of undocumented people across the country confront as they look for a way to find work and, in some cases, seek permanent residency: Do they have a strong enough case for asylum? And if they do want to apply, how will they pay for legal representation?
Finding an attorney to help with an asylum case is another challenge. Attorneys face ethical dilemmas as they may not want to put their clients at risk or submit frivolous cases, which could affect their legal standing.
“It all comes down to the attorney’s perspective,” said Brian Lopez, an immigration attorney in Sacramento.
For migrants who have determined they want to pursue asylum regardless of a lawyer’s recommendation, there’s a new Sacramento-based online tool that may provide a workaround to any ethical considerations by attorneys and give full agency and consequences to the people seeking asylum.
Still, the tool has raised questions about its transparency and motives among some attorneys in the industry.
Do migrants need a lawyer’s help to file for asylum?
For many, there’s one overarching benefit to filing an asylum application. It’s the fastest way to legally work. Six months after submitting an application individuals can be approved for work authorization.
Mendoza Immigration, a Sacramento law firm, is touting a new self-help tool to streamline the application process. The online tool helps people prepare their own asylum submission packet, which would typically require the an attorney and could sometimes take months to complete.
“Prepare your asylum packet online and qualify sooner for a work permit,”says Elias Mendoza, who is founder of the technology and an immigration attorney, in an online pre-recorded video.
But Mendoza said information, not work permits, was the main motivation behind the technology. He expressed a desire to inform families to make the best decisions regardless of whether they become clients. Mendoza also encourages anyone using the tool to later seek the help of an attorney for their cases.
“Self-help, to me, turns out to be a level playing field tool that allows me to get mass information out to an indefinite amount of people,” Mendoza said.
The tool itself is straightforward. Customers fill out the questions one at a time, attaching documents when necessary, download the completed submission packet, sign and ship. It’s estimated to take between 20 to 45 minutes to go through the questions.
Such simplicity leaves the decision, and consequences, of filing an application solely on the individual. It does not establish a formal lawyer-client relationship. That differs from when lawyers are contracted and sign up to be a preparer as they must weigh whether the court could determine that they had filed a frivolous claim, often called a bad faith claim, that could put them in legal jeopardy.
With the tool, the individual applying can put themselves at risk in some cases. A denied application could lead to eventual placement for deportation.
“In asylum, it’s a guaranteed risk,” said Marcus Tang, an immigration attorney with the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. “So meaning, if they get denied, you’re guaranteed to have a case before the immigration court.”
Tang’s organization is part of a program called Family Unity, Education and Legal Network for Immigrants, or FUEL, sponsored by the city of Sacramento to support its immigrant community. It paired immigration attorneys with the migrants for a consultation and, in some cases, to help them change upcoming immigration hearings.
None of the attorneys, Tang said, committed to taking on asylum cases. He called the lack of pending asylum cases for them a “function of the limited legal resources.”
But even if attorneys had taken on the cases, they still might not have filed cases for the migrants. Lawyers will often differ on what they view as a strong enough case to submit.
Lopez said he will only take on cases if they have a “reasonable argument” to show that the person meets asylum requirements. Other lawyers, he said, take on cases they know have no chance of winning to either collect money or allow the client more time to stay in the U.S.
“There are some attorneys that will take on a case even though they know it has no merit,” Lopez said. “Scams against this population are very common, unfortunately whether it’s from an unethical attorney, notario (notary) or immigration consultant who just want to benefit economically by telling the person what they want to hear.”
What it looks like to apply for asylum on your own
On a recent Thursday in late August, four of the migrants expressed some frustration in their Sacramento hotel room to Jorge De La Cruz, director of communications for Mendoza Immigration.
De La Cruz got in contact with a handful of the group and was offering the self-help tool free of charge. It usually costs $650.
“They were frustrated because they don’t know what the process is,” De La Cruz said. “They don’t know the law in the United States. All they know is that they’re seeking asylum and they are trying to get help.”
Some of the migrants reported feeling that they had not been given the proper information about the asylum process to make a decision. Others say they were told that filing for asylum would likely lead to deportation.
Aura, a 31-year-old migrant, said she only met with her assigned FUEL Network attorney once and hasn’t heard back from him in over a month. The migrants continue to speak on condition of using only first names, fearing reprisals for their presence in the capital region.
“I can’t speak to other people’s lawyers but in regards to me they haven’t helped me,” Aura said.
Tang said he could not comment on individual cases and that the FUEL Network has not kept up with the specific legal situations of the migrants since pairing them up with lawyers. He also noted that each case within the group differs, with some already being in court proceedings and others still waiting for their cases to get underway.
“It’s kind of an odd wrinkle that applies only to some of these migrants,” Tang said.
De La Cruz and Mendoza differ in that perspective.The firm believes each of the migrants should apply for asylum as that’s the designation they were given to enter the country. They cite that each passed an initial interview at the border to determine “credible fear” of persecution or torture back in their native country. De La Cruz also argues that applying allows them to work during the years of waiting that are soon to follow.
Pending asylum claims, estimated around 1.6 million, before the immigration courts have grown more than sevenfold over the last decade, according to data by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. The wait times for cases to be heard average around currently 1,572 days, or 4.3 years.
“You’re here,” De La Cruz tells them. “Why not take the chance to apply and at least live comfortably?”
The opportunity to work within 150 days of submitting asylum paperwork caught the attention of the migrants. Most are struggling to secure stable work, and are getting by through donations and the support of nonprofit organizations.
“All the time we’re waiting for our cases, we’re going to have a permit?,” asked David, a 27-year-old Venezuelan migrant.
De La Cruz responded affirmatively, and continued to walk the migrants through the tool step-by-step. That day, each of four made their own accounts on Mendoza Immigration’s website, and they planned to finish the application in the coming days.
The self-help tool is among the increasing number of online resources that are aimed toward individuals seeking asylum, said Kevin R. Johnson, dean of UC Davis School of Law. The growth of resources coincides with more people fleeing violence and turbulence in their countries and the backlog of cases pending at immigration courts. Non-citizens seeking asylum also don’t receive a guaranteed attorney, Johnson said, which could be furthering the problem.
Johnson added that such a new self-help tool could prove beneficial to some, but wondered about its widespread use given the complexity of asylum cases. After applying, many cases fail in the years that follow without proper legal support. Tang and Lopez shared similar sentiments.
“It may be of some usefulness, but still it’s a very difficult claim to win on, absent some kind of guidance, for the average non-citizen,” Johnson said. “Particularly when they speak a different language and are from a foreign culture. It’s a distinct second best at having an attorney provide assistance.”
Related stories from Sacramento Bee
Mathew Miranda covers Latino communities for The Sacramento Bee. He earned degrees from California State University, Chico and UC Berkeley. Mathew is a Los Angeles native and proud son of two Salvadoran immigrants.
You May Also Like
Housing town hall helps residents prepare for cooler temperatures | Article
A magic mix to fix children’s diet- The New Indian Express
