La Casita offers legal services to immigrants at minimal cost. Attorney Tatiana Durbak provides legal counsel for La Casita's clients

Ever mindful of Christ's call to welcome the stranger, National Ministries helps to transform the lives of immigrants through La Casita, a ministry that grew out of needs identified at Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Trenton (First Hispanic Baptist Church of Trenton, N.J.) and now serves wayfarers from around the globe who have landed in the United States and struggle navigating their new world.

National Ministries has supported La Casita, which provides legal services to immigrants at minimal cost, with funding totaling $60,000. Also supported by American Baptist Churches of New Jersey (ABCNJ), this not-for-profit organization lives out its cornerstone conviction that all immigrants should "have access to expert legal counsel, have the opportunity to present their cases, and have their questions answered honestly."

La Casita served 173 clients from 30 countries in 2006, the year it was founded. With leadership provided by ordained American Baptists the Rev. F. Salvador Orellana, executive director, and the Rev. Dr. Jose L. Ortiz, associate director and former longtime director of Hispanic Ministries for National Ministries, La Casita reflects the Christian ideal of—and American Baptist commitment to—compassionate concern for justice and supportive fellowship.

The vision that became reality in La Casita began within the small membership at Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Trenton, which includes immigrants from 13 Latin American countries. More than half of members are newly arrived and, says Ortiz, have been "in need of assistance to be able to survive and move ahead in this alien and complex environment." Prior to La Casita, church members and others within Trenton's large Hispanic/Latino community had few reliable and trustworthy options for assistance in immigration matters.

Ortiz describes the situation the church and Orellana, Primera Iglesia's pastor, felt compelled to confront: "Some who call themselves immigration experts charge exorbitant fees and offer hope to clients in cases when there is no favorable solution to their problems. Often clients in need hear the statement, 'Give me $2,000 and I will open your case,' to be told later, 'I couldn't do anything for you.'" In a Hispanic/Latino community where the unemployment rate is 18.8% and 24% are poor, Ortiz says, this is devastating.

Ortiz was part of the church board and then the church meeting that approved La Casita. Initial funding came from a collection made the very day the congregation approved the ministry. Later, La Casita asked for support from Ken George, National Ministries' national coordinator of Direct Human Services, who responded with a $10,000 grant the first year. Another request to George resulted in One Great Hour of Sharing funding from the American Baptist Churches USA World Relief Committee totaling $50,000 over three years. Both requests were channeled through Dr. Lee Spitzer, executive minister of ABCNJ, which also has supported La Casita financially.

La Casita and its staff hit the ground running. "We made a decision to start this ministry by the end of January of 2006," Ortiz says, "and by Feb. 27 we had established an office with telephone service, computer, Internet access, the appropriate office materials, and a part-time attorney with extensive expertise on immigrant legal issues. That first day we had two clients: the first had no money for services, a sign of the community's dire need. But from day one we have been growing steadily, adding clientele and increasing the hours of our attorney and her secretary."

The extent of need for La Casita's services is sobering, and growth continues to come quickly. "In addition to the premises where our office is located and where the bulk of the services are performed," Ortiz says, "we also have contracted with Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton, where our attorney serves one day per week."

Read a real-life La Casita story about Peter—a young man who now sees a future framed in opportunity rather than fear and persecution.

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