Founded in 1996, our Immigration Legal Services division works to protect individuals and maintain and reunify families in need.
Working to Keep Families Together
Catholic Charities’ Immigration Legal Services (ILS) program is a nonprofit law program providing low-cost consultations and legal representation to immigrants and refugees throughout Oregon and southwest Washington. We also educate the public, immigrant communities, and the organizations who serve them to promote justice for all newcomers and support conditions for their full participation in American society.
We focus on family reunification and assistance to the most vulnerable immigrants and refugees, including survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
“It is necessary to respond to the globalization of migration with the globalization of charity and cooperation, in such a way to make the conditions for migrants more humane.”
– Pope Francis
Our Services
- Family-based applications/visas
- Permanent residency (Green Card)
- Naturalization and citizenship
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
- Survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse (VAWA)
- Visa for crime victims (U-Visa)
- Survivors of human trafficking (T-Visa)
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
- Asylum
- Removal Defense
- Refugee adjustment of status/family petition
We also offer other types of assistance on a case-by-case basis.
Clients enrolled with ILS should contact their representative to make an appointment. Walk-in appointments will not be accepted.
Whom we Serve
ILS provides help to clients with diverse backgrounds and varied needs:
- Families that have been separated
- Survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, stalking, and other violent crimes (learn more)
- Refugees
- Dreamers (DACA)
- Foreign-born spouses or children of U.S. citizens
- Immigrants without criminal offenses who face deportation/removal
- Low-income individuals and families seeking documentation
Center for Removal Defense
In conjunction with our ILS team, the Center for Removal Defense provides high-quality immigration legal services to low-income immigrants and refugees and engages in public education, training, and community outreach to foster migration-positive communities and full participation of all newcomers.
Anti-Human-Trafficking Services
We help foreign-born survivors of human trafficking and their families find freedom, peace, and hope through our wraparound services and robust referral network.
Rural Communities Program
We provide free immigration legal services for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural Oregon.
Articles
