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Where a person is born should not determine whether they live in fear. Yet, that is the reality in today’s immigration landscape. As JFS Greenwich enters its 43rd year serving the community, I am reminded how the work of the agency evolves with the times.
One deep-rooted program is our immigration legal services. For decades, JFS was accredited by the Department of Justice to provide basic citizenship services, assisting families arriving from the former Soviet Union. When we revived our refugee resettlement program in 2021, the need for immigration legal support had grown enormously. JFS now provides high-quality, low-cost—or no-cost—legal services to over 1,700 immigrants across Connecticut.
Two cases from the past month illustrate both the breadth of this work and the profound human stakes involved. The first is Massi:
Massi arrived in the United States after Operation Allies Welcome when his father, a physician in Afghanistan, risked his life to protect women and children during the Taliban takeover. Their family fled under cover of night and rebuilt their lives here in Connecticut, his father as the director of our Immigration Support Services. Massi was working, complying with every legal requirement, and awaiting the outcome of his asylum case when he received a notice requiring him to appear in immigration court. The strange nature of the letter and order to appear within 72 hours caused alarm. The JFS attorney went to court with him in New York.
After passing his interview, Massi stepped outside the courtroom where our attorney quickly realized what was happening. She placed her body in front of our beloved director’s son, before being directed by ICE officers to move, as Massi was shackled and detained in front of her eyes. Within hours he had disappeared into the immigration detention system-first Louisiana, then Texas. For two days we had no idea where he was.
For the next 99 days our legal team worked tirelessly to secure his release, with support from Senators Murphy and Blumenthal and Representatives Meskers and Arzeno. Without experienced legal representation, Massi would still be sitting in detention today—one of thousands whose only “offense” is being born somewhere else.
Then there is Mira, an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor who came to the United States as a child. She spent her entire adult life believing she was secure in her legal status. But as headlines about immigration enforcement intensified, she became frightened. She could not locate her documentation and became terrified that she could be deported from the only country she has called home for more than 80 years.
Our colleagues at JFS Hartford reached out to our legal team after other attorneys declined to take the case. Reconstructing her documentation was complicated, but our team persisted. Just last week, Mira received her replacement Green Card. Our attorney looks forward to accompanying her to her naturalization appointment, when she will finally become a U.S. citizen.
Two people. Two continents. Two entirely different life stories. And yet the same thread connects them: fear, uncertainty, and trauma tied not to wrongdoing, but simply to birthplace. Immigration is often discussed in sweeping political terms. But the reality is deeply human -– every case impacts a human life. It affects people of every age and background -- from a young Afghan rebuilding his life after war, to an elderly Holocaust survivor seeking peace of mind in her later years.
At JFS Greenwich, our role is simple: to ensure that people facing these moments have access to expert legal guidance, compassionate support, and the dignity of being treated as individuals rather than headlines. And your support makes this work possible!
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