RILA's Beginnings
RILA started in 2015 when David Hanke, the rector of Restoration Anglican Church, preached about what it would look like for the church to serve immigrants within our community. David’s specific vision was an immigration clinic. Having started a firm and knowing how difficult it was, I thought, “Well, that’s probably not gonna happen but maybe we can pool together some resources and help an existing clinic.” So, I put my name on the little green card and was put in touch with a group of dedicated servants who shared the same vision. I realized right away that an immigration clinic was going to happen at Restoration, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.
It took about 18 months for RILA to take shape and hold its first clinic. We had a lot of decisions to make during that time frame to include what types of cases we were willing to take. Immigration law is complex and ever changing and we knew, especially as a starting clinic, that we had to focus on a specific area.
In deciding what types we were going to focus on, we kept coming back to the same vision we shared which was the type of immigrant we were being called to serve: the most vulnerable among us -- the immigrant that if not for RILA would be forgotten. And we found that most of the immigrants that fit this description were seeking asylum and had difficult cases. Difficult because they had missed a deadline or despite fleeing certain death their persecution didn’t fit neatly into the definition of what qualifies for asylum. These were immigrants who had been repeatedly turned down by other organizations because their cases were too difficult and time consuming. Those whose cases were most likely going to lose. Those who were being charged five-figure fees from private attorneys that they had no chance of affording. We felt called to serve them. We felt from the beginning, and it holds true today, that every immigrant needs and deserves someone who will listen to them. And so we focused on the ones who were being cast aside and forgotten.
And we knew we didn’t want to have a clinic that simply gave advice and sent them on their way. We wanted to form relationships with people, to show them that someone cared about them and their story. To show them that we are all God’s children and we are all deserving of His justice and His mercy. The best way to do that was to take ownership of cases that could potentially take years to complete, a daunting undertaking for a start-up clinic. It was a huge leap of faith to take on complicated and lengthy cases from the beginning, but in doing so we have formed relationships with immigrant families in our community. We have helped children enroll in school, helped expectant mothers find a safe roof over their heads and stood next to one client as she was baptized. RILA staff has been present in the delivery room to support single mothers with no family because to some of our clients, we are the closest thing they have to a family. And we have been there late at night at the police station because a gang member that murdered a client’s 12-year-old son in her home country showed up at her other son’s bus stop in Leesburg.
That decision to help the most vulnerable has led to what I consider the defining moments of RILA. It’s not the wins – though standing next to someone when they win asylum is an overwhelming feeling, knowing you were part of changing a family tree for generations to come -- or the losses that are important. The defining moment of RILA is telling the most vulnerable among us that we are going to take their case. Telling someone who is distraught, beat down and hopeless that you are going to walk with them until the end, you are going to fight for them and they are not in this battle alone; that someone cares for them and loves them. It’s sitting across from a strong, brave, proud man who courageously stood up to the gangs in his hometown to protect his son and had to flee imminent death and telling him you are going to take his case, that he no longer has to share this burden alone, and then watching that strong tough man cry, say a prayer and embrace you for trying to save his family. That is the moment that defines RILA. It is in those moments that God’s presence is clearly felt by everyone in that room. It is in those moments that the most vulnerable among us feel seen and loved by God.