Thread: N.J.: Dover group's aim: Help illegals

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Dover group's aim: Help illegals
Immigration center tries to 'level the playing field,' offer aid

BY JAKE REMALY
DAILY RECORD
Monday, March 3, 2008


DOVER -- The Rev. Daniel MartÃ*nez officially opened his Methodist church's new resource center for illegal immigrants in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

The center at the First United Methodist Church is designed to offer undocumented immigrants legal counsel, inform them of their rights and assist them in filing immigration paperwork.

It's the seventh non-profit Eirene Immigration Center to open in New Jersey. They are run by the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. The first center opened in 2000. Other centers are located in Butler, Toms River, Camden, Freehold and Tuckerton.

The immigration attorney for all of the Eirene centers, Adam Solow, said the organization's goal is to "level the playing field as much as we can."

Solow, who is employed by the organization, said undocumented immigrants often are taken advantage of by people posing as attorneys. Some charge exorbitant fees and some give wrong information, he said.

After the ceremony, he started counseling at least four families right there.

Solow said he doesn't make promises to illegal immigrants that he can't keep. He can't necessarily help all of them get green cards, though he has helped some do so in the past. But he can, at least, inform them of their rights and how the system works, he said.

In other instances he'll appear in court during deportation proceedings.

Solow also works full-time at a private immigration and nationality law practice in Philadelphia. He works for the Eirene Immigration Center on weekday nights and on weekends for little compensation.

The Dover Eirene Immigration Center, which is in a classroom in the church, is open from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays and by appointment on Fridays.

MartÃ*nez said the immigrants can ring the bell at the Essex Street entrance and volunteer staff members will assist them.

The staff then would help assemble the immigrants' information and send it to Solow, who can offer advice.

The First United Methodist Church on East Blackwell Street holds one service in English and one service in Spanish each Sunday.

MartÃ*nez, who is bilingual, said about 45 people attend the 9:30 a.m. services in English, and about 65 people attend the noon services in Spanish.

"Not helping them (illegal immigrants) is, in my eyes, not an option," he said.

The center's mission is "to reach out to the immigrant community from a Christian perspective," according to church literature.

The center will help immigrants with family petitions, naturalization, employment authorization, and updating their immigration status.

There is a $75 initial consultation fee for assistance at the center, but then there are no additional charges, MartÃ*nez said. Other attorneys charge anywhere from $150 to $2,500 for the initial fee, Solow and MartÃ*nez said.


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