New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 35

New World Outlook

JFON Imperial Valley founding board members (left to right): Tomas Oliva, Ann Featherstone,
Amber S. Lawless, Kelly Klingbeil Smith, (with Assembly member Eduardo Garcia), Diana
Moreno-Inman, Martha Garcia, Pastor Ron Griffen.
PHOTO: IMPERIAL VALLEY JFON

California

JFON on the Border: Imperial Valley
Celebrates Its First Clinic
provided by JFON Imperial Valley

t was meant to be a desert. Modern irrigation, however, turned the valley
into the second-largest agricultural area in California. An aerial view shows a
vast expanse of light and dark green checkerboards; 80 percent of our nation's
salad greens come from these fields. Take a closer look, however, and see the
weather-beaten faces of men and women, their bodies bent and stooped as
they move through the neat furrows. These are our immigrant neighbors who
make all that lettuce possible.
Much of the work in this valley is agricultural and, therefore, seasonal.
Unemployment hovers at 20 percent, among the highest in the nation. Most
of the inhabitants-80 percent-are Hispanic, some families living here for
generations, even before it was part of the United States.
The town of El Centro-the home of First United Methodist Church and
Imperial Valley JFON-is the county seat.
First UMC El Centro, led by Pastor Ron Griffen, is a busy, active church
whose members strive to make a significant difference in the lives of people
around them. "Your better life awaits," is the promise you find on their website. "You don't have to watch others change humanity; you were born to do
this, too."
Kelly Smith is the site attorney. She was volunteering her services, part time,
for the church's occasional immigration legal clinics when she first heard about
National Justice for Our Neighbors. It was almost a moment of divine revelation:
NJFON provides exactly what Smith and Pastor Griffen needed if their clinic was

SUMMER 2017

going to expand and grow. They began
the process of joining the JFON family.
The community was abuzz with
excitement and enthusiasm about
this new endeavor. Nowhere was a
JFON site more desperately needed.
The launch of the newest JFON
site-and the only one in close proximity to the Mexican border-was a
great success. Their first volunteer
training attracted 12 people and more
are signing up to attend the next training. Three local attorneys also volunteered their legal services.
Three other UMC churches in the
area are interested in holding immigration legal clinics. Pastor Griffen
says part of Imperial Valley JFON's
eventual goal is to open more clinics,
going everywhere and anywhere people need immigration legal services.

Founded in 2016, JFON Imperial Valley is
the newest JFON site in the United States.

Southeastern Michigan

Bringing Lina
Home
by JFON Southeastern
Michigan

s an interpreter for the US forces in Afghanistan, Nazim took
precautions to shield his wife and
two young children from the violence he encountered almost daily
from the Taliban. He knew he had an
important job to do and he wanted to
help his country.
The threats and attacks increased,
however, and Nazim's home and
family became targets too. Fearing
for their lives, Nazim applied for the
Special Immigrant Visa available to
Afghans and Iraqis who provide crucial aid to the US Armed Forces.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open