What Americans really think about Legal Status for Undocumented Immigrants

Immigration is getting a lot of attention this year as new presidential candidates begin their campaigns for the 2016 election. Many candidates will attempt to communicate their stance on immigration reform in the coming months, signaling its importance to the voting public. If you did not read the Pew Research Center article titled Broad Public Support for Legal Status for Undocumented Immigrants that GAIN posted two weeks ago, here is a summary.

The Pew Research Center has conducted an illuminating survey concerning how the public feels regarding paths to legal status for undocumented immigrants.  The survey was conducted on May 12-18 of this year with 2,002 participants, and the results are stirring the public. Most support a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. About 51 percent of the survey participants said that immigrants contribute much to the United States economy with their hard work, while 41 percent say that immigrants are a “burden,” on society.

This survey’s participants gave President Obama a 37 percent approval rating on his handling of the nation’s immigration policy, some of his lowest approval ratings to date. Furthermore, each demographic has a different opinion on the broader topic. For example, the majority of younger adults are in favor of providing a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants; however, older adults have a more negative view of the issue. Overall, most Americans reject the idea that giving those who came to the U.S. illegally a path to legal status is in essence “rewarding” them for bad behavior. Nearly six-in-ten, 58 percent, say that they do not think of a path to legal status in these terms, while 36 percent say it is “like rewarding them for doing something wrong.”

Board Member Spotlight – Sarah Hawk

Board Co-Chair Sarah Hawk is a crucial member of the GAIN family. She has worked with us for over seven years in several capacities, gracefully guiding the organization as a board member and improving the lives of many of our clients as a volunteer attorney.

In an effort to celebrate  Sarah’s service and support, we would like to give you all the opportunity to get to know her better.

Sarah Hawk is a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins, practicing in the Atlanta and Raleigh offices of the firm. She provides immigration counsel to numerous corporate clients and is a frequent speaker nationally and regionally on business immigration issues. Sarah has been recognized as a Who’s Who in Asian-American Communities and was named to Who’s Who Legal 2010 for her work as an immigration attorney. She is listed in Georgia Super Lawyers – Rising Stars 2010 and she has been listed in Chambers USA, America’s Leading Business Lawyers since 2009 and Who’s Who Legal Corporate Immigration in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Sarah enjoys family time with her husband Shawn Gross, a Director at an Atlanta law firm, and daughter Zoe. Sarah is training to run her 10^th (and final) marathon in New York this November.

How did you get involved with GAIN?

I learned about GAIN and met Cheryl Naja, a current GAIN Advisory Board member and longtime GAIN supporter, when I worked at Alston & Bird. I also met Monica Khant, GAIN’s Executive Director, through our American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) chapter and the local immigration community. Both of these women drew me to GAIN, and I have loved working with them and the GAIN Board for over seven years.

The opportunity to work with GAIN came as a true blessing; my corporate immigration day job has allowed me to contribute my time and energy outside of work to helping the most vulnerable victims of violence and human trafficking obtain immigration relief, all with the support of a fantastic nonprofit organization.

Why is GAIN important to you? 

Many aspiring attorneys go to law school with hopes that they can change the world. GAIN is actually doing that by helping hundreds of immigrants each year who are victims of trafficking and violence. These individuals desperately need pro bono legal assistance, and GAIN is able to provide it.

On a personal note, I was born in the Philippines, which currently is one of the largest source countries for trafficking of young children.

What is your favorite memory associated with GAIN?

I was the Chair for our first Gala two years ago at The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta, which required a huge leap of faith and work. After two “snow/ice” delays, finally seeing the ballroom filled with two hundred attendees and supporters of GAIN was an amazing moment.

What would you like to see in GAIN’s future? 

GAIN has been one of Atlanta’s best-kept secrets for pro bono immigration legal work, and it has grown incredibly in the past few years.

My hope is that GAIN will continue to grow within the legal and corporate communities, and be at the center of pro bono immigration work. I also hope to see GAIN act as a facilitator to coordinate work with university immigration law clinics and other related legal groups in Atlanta and the Southeast.

Atlanta is a large metropolitan areas with a huge need for immigration pro bono assistance, especially for victims of human trafficking. GAIN’s network of corporate sponsors and supporters is critical to our stability and success. We hope anyone who has an interest in volunteering or supporting us will reach out to us at our website.

What a Win – Kilpatrick Townsend’s T-Visa Case

At GAIN, we value the efforts of every volunteer attorney that takes on a case; the work of our volunteers significantly improves the lives of our clients, and this effort deserves celebration. This season, we’d like to recognize the extraordinary team at Kilpatrick Townsend who secured T-Visa relief for a Korean client.

Ji-min came to GAIN with a story all too familiar for many of our trafficking clients. In 2004, she was a nurse in South Korea until she fell into financial hardship. She had co-signed a loan for a friend who later abandoned her, and left Ji-min with a significant debt. While working in salons in South Korea to pay back this debt, Ji-min met a “broker,” a trafficking middleman that arranges employment for migrant workers, who said that he knew of better jobs in the United States. Ji-min still needed to pay money from the debt and agreed. Her broker sent her to Texas where she was told that she would work in a spa.

However, Ji-min never imagined the terrible circumstances that awaited her in Texas. She did not know that she would be forced to perform sexual acts in addition to massages until after she was trained. She asked to go home, but was told that she could not leave until she paid off her new debt to her broker. Furthermore, her broker threatened that without immigration status, she would be arrested. Ji-min was told that owed the spa for her travel expenses, room and board, make up, and clothes – she had no choice but to stay. At the end of the day, the spa owner would take all of the money Ji-min earned, and refuse to return Ji-min’s passport to her. With no possibility for escape or self-determination, Ji-min was truly enslaved.

Over the next nine years, Ji-min was transferred to several different spas. Each time she was transferred, many additional fees were added to her debt. Eventually, she arrived in Atlanta to work in yet another spa.

In 2013, Ji-min’s horrific working conditions finally came to an end. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid revealed the unlawful activities of the spa, and rescued Ji-min from her traffickers. Due to her status as a victim of trafficking, Ji-min was able to secure immigration relief through pro bono representation with GAIN volunteer attorneys.

The Kilpatrick Townsend team that represented Ji-min was comprised of Attorneys Jamie Graham, Kathryn Isted, and Amy McCullough. The three worked tirelessly to apply for a T-visa for Ji-min, a form of relief for immigrant victims of human trafficking that provides work authorization, authorized stay in the United States for 4 years, and the eligibility to obtain a Green Card. In May, the attorneys were delighted to hear that Ji-min’s application was approved by USCIS.

Attorney Jamie Graham was acutely aware of the difference between representing a case for GAIN, and her typical legal work. Reflecting on her volunteer experience, Ms. Graham explains, “I prepare patent applications for highly successful scientists who have discovered life-saving pharmaceuticals, vaccines and diagnostic test. While the clients with whom I work are enthusiastic about their discoveries and thrilled when a patent is granted, they don’t reveal their emotions while describing the details of the project, never cry and certainly aren’t excited enough to hug their lawyers when the documents are finally drafted and ready for submission. The GAIN project exposed me to a whole new level of attorney service’.”

For Attorney Amy McCullough, representing a T-visa case represented a professional accomplishment. Identifying human trafficking as an issue of great importance to her, Ms. McCullough was thrilled to volunteer with GAIN, explaining that “as a healthcare regulatory lawyer, although I volunteered at various organizations over the years in an effort to make a difference in this area, I never had an opportunity to use my legal skills to make an impact in a specific individual’s life in any way…This client’s T-visa case was the first trafficking case I worked on and the first time I felt that I was able to use my legal experience and knowledge to make an impact in someone’s life in a truly meaningful way.”

The attorneys also reflected on the strong personal reaction while working on this case. Ms. McCullough’s empathy stemmed from her shared Korean descent, sensing familiarity despite the client’s distinctly different experiences. Ms. McCullough explains that “because we were both Korean and I understood most of what she was saying without a translator, I felt an immediate emotional connection with her and, at times, felt as if I was helping a family member.” Ms. Graham also felt the impact of the experience on an emotional level; “Everyone involved in this project felt our client’s pain as we gathered more and more information on one example of human tragedy that happens all around us without our knowledge. Then we had the pleasure of sharing her tears of joy when the process was behind us. Not only were we enlightened, but many lives were changed around our conference room table.”

GAIN is eternally grateful for the help and support offered by the Kilpatrick Townsend team, and joins them in celebrating the successful approval of their client’s T-visa application!

Thailand’s First Anti-Human Trafficking Day

Two weeks ago on June 5, 2015, Thailand held its first Anti-Human Trafficking Day ceremony. The ceremony featured a discussion concerning the country’s problem with human trafficking and presented awards to journalists, police officers, and government officials who have assisted in exposing cases of human trafficking in the country.

Thailand’s reputation as a source, destination, and transit country for human trafficking has drawn the attention of the international community. Last summer, the U.S. State Department placed Thailand’s seafood imports on a blacklist in reaction to an assessment made evaluating the level of human trafficking that occurs within the country. Shortly after, the European Union threated to place a ban on all seafood imported from Thailand unless drastic changes to the country’s policies illegal and unregulated fishing were made.  According to the State Department’s Trafficking in Person Report (TIP) from 2014, a significant portion of labor trafficking victims within Thailand are exploited in fishing-related industries. The international response served as a stern warning, and presented an economic incentive for the Thai government to combat trafficking.

More recently, on May 5, 2015, thirty-six bodies were discovered near Thailand’s southern border with Malaysia at an abandoned trafficker camp. This incident has intensified international pressure on Thailand to make a change and work harder to stop smugglers.

The Thai government has taken legal steps to demonstrate its commitment to combating trafficking. According to the Associated Press, the junta-appointed legislature in Thailand has now passed a new anti-human trafficking law that orders more severe penalties, and human trafficking-related court cases will get a shortcut in the judicial system to prosecute suspects more quickly.

During the opening ceremony for Anti-Human Trafficking Day, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha demonstrated his intent as the country’s leader regarding human trafficking. “The government is focusing on preventing and suppressing human trafficking and is determined to get rid of men who sell men, so that they no longer have a place to stand on our soil — no matter how influential they are or if they are government officials,” said Prime Minster Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Thailand is moving in the right direction; however the country must be consistent with its law enforcement if Thailand hopes to be removed from the United States’ blacklist and avoid bans from the European Union.