www.union-bulletin.com

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Lawyer offers local immigration help
Wendy Hernandez says many who come to her want to be legal residents so they can go to school or work.

By Luis Gomez of the Union-Bulletin



Norma Lopez said she just wants to work and go to school. The only problem is she doesn't have the legal status to do either.

Even after living in Walla Walla for 16 years, being a resident lacks the same power as being a ``legal' resident. Employers turned her away.

``I want to go to school and learn English and maybe work at a day-care center,' said Lopez, 32, in Spanish.

Like Lopez, who came from Michoacan, Mexico, dozens of mostly Hispanic immigrants inundate the borrowed office Wendy Hernandez uses once a month on her visits to Walla Walla to aid those seeking legal status in the United States.

On her third visit Friday to Walla Walla since starting the program, the Spokane attorney met Friday with Lopez and her husband, Abraham - one of about a dozen people scheduled in 30-minute blocks.

Most just want to be legal residents so they can work, she said. Some don't even know if it's possible.

People say, ``I don't have any papers. Can I become a U.S. citizen?' Hernandez said at the Blue Mountain Action Council building.

It all started with a presentation at the Garrison Night
School program last year, said BMAC Program Manager Mary Lou Jenkins.

``She was just bombarded with questions,' Jenkins said.

As a result, BMAC opened the doors for Hernandez to work as a legal counsel, mostly guiding people through the hoops and loops of the naturalization process.

Because immigration law is constantly changing, no ordinary attorney knows the inner workings of immigration like Hernandez, said Jenkins.

``There's a lot of unknowns, a lot of rumors,' Jenkins said.

Immigrants who come to the United States with no knowledge of the law are sometimes misled or cheated, she said. ``They also fear being deported, and they don't feel comfortable talking to just anyone.'

People learn about her through friends and family, all word-of-mouth advertisement. Lopez said she found out about Hernandez through a friend.

Her husband, a naturalized citizen, said Norma Lopez has tried to acquire legal status in the past four years, but it isn't easy because there aren't many people to go to - people to trust.

``There used to be a lot of cheating here in Walla Walla,' he said in Spanish. He said he remembers watching television commercials advising people to avoid scam artists who claim to be legal counsels.

When Hernandez meets the couple she asks if they need an interpreter. They say ``yes.'

What is discussed behind closed doors is private, but Hernandez said she has heard cases of domestic violence and child abuse that can warrant asylum - a form of legal status in the United States.

Another way of gaining legal status is through a family member or an employer, she said.

``They don't know the many ways they can do it,' she said. ``So I explore all the possible ways of how they might (gain) status.'

When asked why she wants to become a U.S. citizen, Lopez said she doesn't want to be a citizen. She just wants to be legal enough to go to work.