TULSA--Having been physically assaulted and nearly blinded, Joel Lobo fled his home country of India in 2006.He got a job on a cruise ship and followed more job leads until he found himself stranded at a Kansas airport with $300 in his pocket.
Promised more work, Mr. Lobo made his way to Oklahoma, getting $2 or $3 an hour for odd jobs at restaurants.
He lost his home and his family, but in the United States, he is free to practice his religion as he chooses.
Now, thanks to the help of a University of Tulsa legal student and the immigrant law clinic where she works, Mr. Lobo has been granted asylum and is working to rebuild his life.
“When I decided to come to America, that was the right decision,” he said recently. “The people are amazing.”
Michalah Davis, who is going into her third year at the law school of the University of Tulsa, helped Mr. Lobo, including traveling to Houston with him for his asylum hearing.
“It’s definitely the best experience I’ve had in law school and probably life,” Mrs. Davis said.
The Boesche Legal Clinic at the school became an immigrant clinic in 2006. About 10 law students work each semester, with some staying on longer.
Last year, a grant from the George Kaiser Family Foundation created the Tulsa Immigration Resource Network, which, in addition to taking on clients, has a broader goal of offering education and social services to Tulsa’s immigrant community, and promoting their rights and well-being.
Rebekah Guthrie, a recent law school graduate at the university, who now is a legal fellow for the resource network, said she’s seen some horrifying cases and helped people get through traumatic experiences.
She has worked with victims of physical assault and domestic abuse and even young children who have been victims of incest.
Immigrants often are targeted because criminals assume that the victims will be too afraid of deportation to report the crimes.
Knowing that people are receiving the help they need, even if they aren’t able to pay for it, keeps Miss Guthrie going in her work, she said.
“I love helping people,” she said. “We save lives here.”
Mr. Lobo has found a church in Tulsa to attend regularly and has made close friends whom he refers to as his family. He soon will have a cornea transplant that should almost completely restore his sight.
Now that he is free to be an outspoken Christian, he plans to work for a nonprofit agency such as Catholic Charities and help underprivileged people.
He likes Tulsa and has no plans to leave, he said.
“At least I’m not worried about where I will be in two months or four months,” he said. “I can walk anywhere, really. I feel free.”
Elizabeth McCormick, clinic director, said people have misconceptions about the immigrant community and the people trying to make a living in the United States.
“One of the things we tried to do is make it clear that the people we are serving are some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” she said.
Laura Bachman, staff attorney, said legislation reform is needed.
Laws such as Oklahoma’s controversial House Bill 1804, considered one of the strictest immigration laws in the country, serve only to increase fear.
Immigrants who are picked up by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office can be “held like criminals in the Tulsa Jail,” she said.
There is no waiting line that illegal immigrants can stand in to become legal. The process is full of intricacies and red tape, Mrs. Bachman said.
“Everyone assumes there’s just a simple way to become a U.S. citizen,” she said.
People seeking asylum are taking a risk and should have a well-trained lawyer. Those who are represented are 21 times more likely to be granted asylum, but more than 70 percent do not have an attorney, she said.
Mrs. McCormick said immigration law is complicated and ever-changing, and she would like to see more attorneys who specialize in the subject set up in Tulsa.
“One of our underlying goals is to enhance and increase the immigrant bar in Tulsa,” she said. “We will not be able to serve every immigrant in Tulsa.”
Angela Beeson, another University of Tulsa law student who works at the clinic, said the hands-on training she receives creates an enduring educational experience.
“There’s really no way to learn this in a classroom,” she said.
