Page 88 - ACTL Journal Win24
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DISTINGUISHED
PRO BONO FELLOW KIMBALL R. ANDERSON DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF ASSISTING MIGRANTS PRO BONO
When Distinguished Pro Bono Fellow Kimball R. Anderson went to a nearby police station to bail out a client, he did not intend to become involved in the migrant crisis in Chi- cago. By August 2023, more than 18,000 migrants, mostly Venezuelan, had arrived in Chicago. Unprepared for this - ly arrived migrants in precinct police stations across the city before moving them into shelters as space became available. The migrants camped out in front of the police stations in tents, on mattresses, and in sleeping bags on them. The vast majority of these individuals do not speak English and have little to no information on the immigra- tion process in the United States. On October 6, The New York Times reported on the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Chicago. You can read the story at https://www.nytimes. com/2023/10/06/us/chicago-migrants.html
Anderson saw the crowds of migrants—including wom- en and small children—gathered in the searing heat outside the police station at Larabee and Division. They approached him and he felt compelled to help. The mi- grants had crossed the southern border and were loaded onto buses, and sometimes planes, bound for Chicago. Many had no idea where they were being sent and some had been separated from a spouse or partner detained by border patrol agents.
Many of the migrants had paperwork issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when they crossed into the United States. The paperwork allowed them to remain in the United States, released on the own recog- nizance, provided that they report for asylum hearings at specified locations in the future. Most migrants en- countered by Anderson had been instructed by Home- land Security to report for hearings in various immigra- tion courts around the country. Nevertheless, the State of Texas had bussed them to Chicago. The migrants had common questions. ¿Dónde estoy? Where am I? ¿Puedo caminar de Chicago a Denver? Can I walk from Chica- go to (say Denver, where the hearings are scheduled)? ¿Dónde duermo? Where do I sleep? How will I find work?
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Anderson is a commercial trial lawyer; he does not practice immigration law. He does not speak Spanish. He communicated with the migrants using Google
Translate on his phone and with the help of Spanish speaking volunteers.
