HOLLAND, Mich. — The clock is ticking for Afghan refugees who must apply for asylum within 1 year, and nearly 300 are set to start a new life in West Michigan.
To help get them transition to their new lives, a small non-profit legal team in Holland is now is taking charge of providing them legal services for free. At present, over 280 are resettling in West Michigan, including in Ottawa, Kent, and Muskegon Counties, in the greater-Holland/Zeeland area and in the Grand Rapids and tri-cities region.
"We've run clinics before, we've been involved before, but we've never organized or taken on one of this magnitude," said Sarah Yore-Van Oosterhout, "it's really the first of its kind."
Yore-Van Oosterhout is the Founder and Managing Attorney for Lighthouse Immigration Advocates.
In the wake of the crisis in Afghanistan, their group has created the "Operation Afghan Refuge Clinic" (OAR Clinic).
It's designed to give each of the 280 refugees in West Michigan free legal services to transition from temporary humanitarian parole into full asylum status.
"It's going to reduce a lot of confusion and chaos," said David Lee, Lighthouse's Development and Communications Officer, "and it's going to give all of these refugees the best chance to get a silo, become stable, and feel safe again."
The clinic launches on Wednesday, November 3rd, and will kick-off with 90-minute interviews for the all of the clients expected to arrive through spring 2022.
The team wants communities to know these people are just like us, and deserve a new, safe start.
"If I speak in an accent, it's not because I'm stupid, it's because I'm brave," said Sarah Yore-Van Oosterhout, "it's because you were brave enough to move somewhere else and start over again."
The Lighthouse team said their clinic is focused on more than just the legal process, but also helping families transition into a new place.
"The important thing is trying to put ourselves in their shoes," added Yore-Van Oosterhout, "what would we do if all of a sudden our neighborhood was blown up or if we had a terrorist organization that took over and we had no choice but to leave?"
The OAR Clinic will provide over half a million dollars worth of legal services at no cost to the refugees.
Lighthouse expects to take on 40-60% of these cases internally through the asylum filing process. Traditionally, these cases can take upwards of 80 hours of law office time, with legal fees in the tens of thousands of dollars, so they are asking for any support they can get from the community.
They're also asking for people to be welcoming to these families looking for a new start.
"We have a fear of the unknown," said Yore-Van Oosterhout, "a fear of what we don't understand, and if we can start to recognize that that's what's going on inside of our brains, it's going to be a lot easier for us to start breaking down those barriers."
Here's how you can help support the OAR Clinic and Afghan Newcomers:
• They are seeking additional licensed attorneys willing to volunteer pro-bono services for asylum applicants, and will host a training clinic in preparation in early 2022.
• Financial support for this clinic to offset significant legal fees, translation and interpreter costs, and hospitality expenses will be needed as soon as possible. The OAR Clinic will provide over half a million dollars worth of legal services at no cost to refugees. Each OAR Clinic client will have expenses between $360 and $600.
• Volunteers have the opportunity to invest their time to assist with interviews, hospitality, admin and/or data entry between 3 and 12 hours a week.
If you are able and willing to help in any way, please contact David at dlee@lia-michigan.org.
RELATED VIDEO: Local organizations need more resources to help resettle Afghan refugees arriving in West Michigan
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