the US to escape abuse from which
his mother couldn’t protect him.
“We were able to get him special
immigration juvenile status for
children who have been abused,
abandoned, or neglected. He was
placed with a foster family with whom
he’s very happy,” Castañeda reports.
But the number of children
seeking assistance far outweighs the
resources available. “It’s heartbreaking
to take calls from children and only
be able to give them phone numbers
for other possible sources of help,”
Castañeda says. “You have to try not
to be consumed by this job so that
you can keep going for the long term.”
Despite the emotional
challenges, this is where Castañeda
wants to be. Born in Arizona and
raised in Nogales, Mexico, she’s been
determined to work with detained
persons since childhood, when she
helped her uncle in a Nogales soup
kitchen that served people who had
recently been removed from the US.
“This is what I want to do,” she
says, “and the Florence Project is the
logical first step.”
Bringing divided
families together
Since he opened the Law Offices
of Robert D. Ahlgren and Associates
more than 40 years ago after a long
stint in legal aid, Bob Ahlgren (JD ’68)
and his colleagues have seen a stag-
gering 135,000 clients when family
members are included. The 13 attor-
neys at the firm—including several
other Loyola law grads—represent
individuals, families, and businesses
in a variety of immigration matters,
including family- and employ-
ment-based cases, defense against
removal, US citizenship, and appeals.
The firm’s clients come from all
over the world, shifting by country
according to global events. And over-
whelmingly, what brings clients to
Ahlgren’s offices is word of mouth.
“We see quite a number of peo-
ple who have heard of us from family
members, or who come back to us,”
Ahlgren says. “I think that’s because
we operate with several really strong
principles: We always tell the truth
to potential clients. If we can’t help
them, we tell them why. And we get
to know them and the towns and
countries they come from. Because
of this, word gets around that we can
be trusted.”
About half of his firm’s clients
are persons seeking green cards who
have family members who are lawful
permanent residents or citizens of the
US. and are seeking green cards for
themselves. “We have husbands and
wives, parents and children, brothers
and sisters who want to be together,”
Ahlgren relates. “Especially when they
come from cultures in which family is
very important, it’s very satisfying to
be able to unite family members.”
The firm’s decades of specializing
in this field translate to a long-term
knowledge base of constantly chang-
ing immigration law. For instance,
through a little-known and now-
changed law that gives persons born
in the western hemisphere priority
on the waiting list for a green card,
Ahlgren was able to help numerous
families who were grandfathered into
this law avoid a 10- to 15-year wait.
“It’s good to have knowledge of the
past in immigration because there
are so many shifts in this area of law,”
Ahlgren says. “Sometimes I’m jealous
of divorce attorneys!”
Of the national controversy
over comprehensive immigration
reform, Ahlgren comments, “There’s
a lot of work to be done and, in many
parts of the country, not enough local
people who want to do it. Immigrants
go where there are jobs, and the
country needs to do something to
regularize that reality. We need laws
and we need controls, but they have
to be reasonable.”
Refuge for the
persecuted
MatthewWalter (JD ’07) had
always been interested in internation-
al affairs, and pro bono efforts
during law school got him interested
in public service. When he saw a
listing for an asylum officer on the
Office of Career Services job board,
he applied—and began his career
with the US Citizenship and Immi-
gration Services’ (USCIS) Refugee,
Asylum, and International Operations
(RAIO) Directorate.
Walter was a beneficiary of
Loyola’s Loan Repayment Assistance
Program, which helps new graduates
in public interest jobs with their
law school loans. “That made a huge
difference for me right after law
school,” he says.
The RAIO’s charge is to
provide protection, humanitarian,
and other immigration benefits
throughout the world while com-
bating fraud and protecting national
security. Based in Washington, DC,
Walter is currently in the Refugee
Affairs Division. He spends up to half
his time on four- to six-week “circuit
rides” to various global locations. In
refugee processing centers sponsored
by the United Nations and several
nongovernmental organizations, he
interviews persons who usually have
been recognized by the UN as refu-
gees under the Convention relating
to the Status of Refugees.
“Many of the refugee
applicants around the world have
been through severe hardships.
They face ongoing and continuous
threats,”Walter says. “This program is
a big part of what we as Americans
value: providing a place of refuge.”
To be accepted for US refugee
status in one of approximately
70,000 annual spots set by the
president after consultation with
Congress, applicants must establish
past persecution or well-founded fear
of future persecution based on
a protected characteristic such as
race, religion, or ethnic group. After
interviewing applicants, Refugee
Affairs staff make recommendations
on whether refugee status should be
approved by the USCIS.
Because Walter hears so
many shocking, moving tales, a
tough part of the job can be not
knowing the end of the story, he
says. “Sometimes news comes back
through the pipeline. We recently
heard about a refugee who’d told us
when she was a child that she wanted
to go to the US to become a doctor.
We just learned she’s been accepted
to medical school.
“We see applicants for a short
period of time, but that time can
have a huge impact on their lives and
those of the generations that come
after them,” he adds. “It’s very reward-
ing being a part of that.”
■
Access to justice
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9)
“Especially when they come
from cultures in which family
is very important,
it’s very
satisfying to be able to unite
family members.”
—ROBER T AHLGREN (JD ’68)
Robert Ahlgren (JD ’68),
with firm attorneys Katie
Vannucci (JD ’07, left),
Leah Duckett (JD ’99), and
Tess Feldman (JD ’12),
has dedicated his law
practice to representing
individuals and families in
immigration matters.
Maria Woltjen
(JD ’87) advocates
for unaccompanied
immigrant children
detained by the
federal government.
Matthew Walter (JD ’07,
sightseeing in Egypt on
a day off) interviews
individuals across the
globe who are seeking
US refugee status.
10
LOYOLA LAW
FALL 2014
11
