Happy Birthday LIA / 1,000 Cases
This week marks eight years since Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates first opened our offices to the West Michigan community. November 2nd, 2015 was our "day one" of providing immigration legal services, education, and advocacy.
To celebrate, I wanted to share a few thoughts with you about something that we learned of two weeks ago.
On October 19th, LIA crossed another milestone:
1,000 cases approved since we started this work.
One thousand clients who have gotten that phone call of, “Your case has been approved!” from our team.
One thousand people who were able to afford the immigration legal services they needed, who found legal professionals that welcomed them with dignity, that cared for their safety and stability and trauma like it was their own.
LIA's 1,000th case approval was an asylum application for a client who fled Afghanistan in 2021. Their case was made possible through the work of dozens of volunteers and interns, through months of legal work wading through rapid changes and uncertainty from the government immigration agencies, and with deep partnerships with many local organizations and groups.
All of the work we do sits adjacent to trauma, displacement, a desire to find home, crossing borders, and a desire for joy. A thousand times now, we've had the honor and privilege of sharing with certainty that the client's status legally with the state is one major step closer to matching their undeniable status as a human being. This is the work.
One more number I wanted to share with you before continuing work on the Immigrant Rights Summit, and our end-of-year appeals and updates:
LIA has more than 1,200 active cases right now. 1,200 more people in the pipeline today who are waiting for our help. 1,200 people who we believe need, and deserve access to legal services to get to safety and stability, to be free to grow, to invest, create, and build.
We are working as fast as possible because the work is urgent. We're working for relief from suffering, injustice, and uncertainty, but even more importantly - we're working to build hope for the future.
Eight years old and a thousand approvals later, and we do not want any of our now and future clients to have to wait for our help. LIA has grown immensely in the last two years, from the size of the team to the types of cases we accept. More clients achieved Citizenship this year than any year before. More than 130 Afghan clients seeking asylum have received approvals. Just in October, we've filed 40 refugee/asylee family petitions.
On our birthday, I'm writing because you have the power to help this growing group of 1,200 active and waiting clients - to help immigrants access the remedies they deserve and need. When you make a gift, advocate for our work, and support LIA, you're growing the resources available to fuel our efforts.
Thank you for bringing safety and stability to those 1,000 approved clients since 2015. Thank you for understanding what it takes to contend with 1,200 more active cases, and the promise of a community that takes steps to actively welcome and include people from across the globe. Whenever and however you are able to support Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates, thank you, and especially right now as our team works at capacity.
In celebration,
David Lee
Advancement Director & Codirector