RILA is a Team Sport

By Mel Chang, Director of Operations

Earlier this year, RILA’s leadership team discussed what sort of core values each of our staff members and volunteers embody: Compassion, Committment and Collaboration. The Compassion was evident; concern for the immigrant, the poor, and the most vulnerable is what draws most people to RILA in the first place. And we’ve seen the Commitment many of our volunteers dedicate to our clients – from late night phone calls to delivering groceries and diapers to even temporarily housing them.

But I think our emphasis on Collaboration is what makes serving at RILA unique. Asylum law itself demands many hours over three-to-five years. The initial asylum application takes several meetings with a client where a team captures an immigrant’s biographical information, family history, and story of why they are seeking safety in the United States. Additional applications are filed so the immigrant can find legal work. And when the asylum seeker’s final hearing is scheduled, there are more meetings with the client, family members, and witnesses. Our legal advocates are gathering evidence from multiple sources here and abroad. Teams of attorneys devote 30-60 hours just to write a brief. And our staff then prepares the client for the final hearing itself and sits with the client before a judge or asylum officer.

So yes, RILA needs to collaborate with volunteers to help with the workload. But it is a privilege to walk alongside a client and each other to pursue God’s justice for a family. I'm not an attorney, so I can’t write the moving stories of our clients in our legal briefs. I don't speak Spanish so I can’t translate a police record. But I can send reminder emails to our volunteers. A lot. And I take joy knowing that God can use my gifts and talents to help the most vulnerable in some small way. And I think hearing our clients' stories and bearing some of their burden can transform our community’s view of asylum-seekers – who are no longer strangers but our friends and neighbors.