The Wasatch Back has a new nonprofit law firm providing pro bono and low bono legal services to community members who are navigating the immigration system. Wasatch Immigration Project said it seeks to build a legal community in Utah that values and supports immigrants. The project’s cofounders include Maggie AbuHaidar, Karin Fojtik, Laura Rojas, and John Sharkey, who started Wasatch Immigration Project in 2023 and opened its first office in Park City in June. The four Park City-based attorneys previously volunteered their time to work on cases for immigration nonprofits in the Salt Lake Valley and realized that they were not reaching the people who lived in their own community, they said. “No nonprofit was providing immigration legal services to those living in Summit and Wasatch Counties and multiple local nonprofits confirmed the need, so we decided to start our own organization,” said AbuHaidar, who now serves as the project’s executive director. Vice President of Equity & Impact at Park City Community Foundation Diego Zegarra agrees that the project fills a gap in service. “At a time when immigrants’ rights and livelihoods are being jeopardized by hyperbolized rhetoric, the opening of Wasatch Immigration Project could not have been more timely,” Zegarra said. The need for immigration legal services in the Wasatch Back is well-established, the group said. According to the American Immigration Council, nine percent of Utah residents and one in nine people in the Utah workforce are people who have immigrated into the United States. The Wasatch Back in particular is home to a wide range of individuals from all over the world, the group said. The U.S. Census Bureau confirms that the Latine community comprises over 10% and 13% of the populations in Summit County and Wasatch County, respectively. Sharkey, who also serves as the project’s board chair, said, “This is a significant percentage of our community and our workforce, especially in a resort town like Park City. And we know that the ability to secure legal representation can make all the difference.” The American Immigration Lawyers Association reports that people are five times more likely to obtain legal relief and avoid deportation if they have an attorney, the group said. However, according to a study done by the Journal on Human Migration and Security, Utah ranks 44th in the country in its ratio of people with undocumented status to charitable immigration attorneys, at a staggering 8244 to one, the group said. When discussing these statistics, AbuHaidar said, “This disparity creates the opportunity to make a real impact. WIP seeks to change that balance.”The nonprofit said it has been working hard to do so. In the past year, the number of WIP clients has grown by nearly 300%. Many of these new clients were referred by WIP’s nonprofit partners, but the increase is mostly due to bi-monthly consults, which the attorneys provide for prospective clients, according to the group. According to AbuHaidar, since opening their office four months ago, the nonprofit has received over 100 requests for consults, fielded more than 50 and taken on more than 50 new clients. In addition to providing these critical legal services, Wasatch Immigration Project is also collaborating with other local nonprofits, including Park City Community Foundation, People’s Health Clinic, Peace House and Wasatch Latino Coalition to better support community members navigating the immigration system through outreach, education and events. As a result of this collaboration, WIP started organizing quarterly community education events focused on immigration topics. In June 2024, a panel at St. Mary’s Church focused on asylum and drew more than 120 attendees, the group said. In planning its September panel, Evelyn Cervantes, WIP’s director of community outreach, explains. “With the presidential election in full swing, many were concerned with the threat of ICE raids,” Cervantes said. “So, we brainstormed with our partners on how to acknowledge and address this fear.” Together with Holy Cross Ministries and Wasatch Latino Coalition, the project hosted a panel at the Wasatch County Senior Center focused on creating a family emergency plan in case of an ICE arrest. Wasatch Immigration Project said its workload has quickly exceeded the capacity of its four volunteer attorneys and that, as a result, the team temporarily paused consults in August and again in October. To meet the demonstrated need, they said, they’re working hard to recruit additional volunteer attorneys and raise funds to hire at least one full-time attorney. “If you are an attorney looking to volunteer your time, whether you have just a few hours to volunteer or time to see an asylum case from start to finish, please let us know,” AbuHaidar said. “And we can’t wait to participate in our first-ever Live PC Give PC on November 15. It is so exciting to be joining Park City’s nonprofit community for this important day of giving.”To learn more about Wasatch Immigration Project, volunteer your time or make a donation, visit wasatchimmigrationproject.org.The post Wasatch Immigration Project provides immigration legal services pro and low bono appeared first on Park Record.