NEWS
New Mexico trains non-lawyers to help immigrants navigate legal system
The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions is offering a training program for non-lawyers looking to provide legal assistance to immigrant workers.
The 40-hour program, funded through a $25,000 private grant, coaches legal professionals who aren鈥檛 attorneys on how to help non-citizens with naturalization and work permit applications, said Leonardo Casta帽eda, director of NMDWS鈥檚 Office of New Americans.
The department is seeking to train more professionals to be able to help with what Casta帽eda says is an increase in immigrant workers of all statuses seeking legal counsel.
鈥淚 think there have been so many changes to rules around immigration that I think a lot of people are confused,鈥� Casta帽eda said.
Access to affordable legal services is one of the biggest barriers to citizenship or legal status for New Mexico鈥檚 nearly 131,000 foreign-born workers, he said. Some may qualify for humanitarian visas or green cards, but may not know how to start the application process and don鈥檛 have a legal professional available to help.
鈥淭here鈥檚 certain processes on immigration law that, in theory, you don鈥檛 need an attorney, but they鈥檙e still very complicated legal processes,鈥� Casta帽eda said.
NMDWS just completed its first training with 12 people, he said, and the department has plans to launch a new cohort soon.
The training is required for non-attorney legal professionals, such as paralegals, to become certified through the U.S. Department of Justice to provide immigration services, including naturalization and work permit applications, according to a news release.
Participants don鈥檛 need to have a specific job within the legal profession, Casta帽eda said, but do need to work at an organization that has DOJ accreditation or is working toward it.
鈥淭here is a dearth of low-cost legal services for immigrants 鈥� who really do have an avenue of relief, but don鈥檛 often have access to legal services, either because there are no immigration attorneys in their communities or because they can鈥檛 afford them,鈥� said Marcela D铆az, executive director of Santa Fe nonprofit immigrant rights group Somos un Pueblo Unido. A paralegal with the nonprofit recently completed the NMDWS training.
D铆az said she hears from immigrant workers, particularly in rural parts of the state, who think they may have a legal pathway to citizenship, but don鈥檛 know where to start.
鈥淭here are so many folks in New Mexico (who) are in a range of statuses that could avail themselves of some form of relief if they had access to the legal help and the legal services that they need,鈥� she said.
Immigrants make up around 10.2% of New Mexico鈥檚 population and 12.8% of its labor force, according to an of U.S. Census Bureau data by the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit advocacy group.
New Mexico鈥檚 population growth over the last five years was driven almost entirely by immigrants, according to a September report from NMDWS, leaving the state reliant on foreign-born labor.
鈥淲e know that immigrants can be a part of so many different emerging industries, and so it just makes sense that the Department of Workforce Solutions would be supporting workers in this way across the state,鈥� D铆az said.
