Catholic Charities staff members participate in Mt. Mercy immigration event

CEDAR RAPIDS — Staff members from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque’s Immigration Legal Services (ILS) ministry recently took part in a special event June 15 at Mt. Mercy University in Cedar Rapids designed to provide aid and information to local immigrants.

The Charities personnel were present along with representatives of the Mobile Mexican Consulate of Omaha.

Yer Vang, director of the ILS ministry;  attorney Miryam Antunez De Mayolo; and bilingual legal assistant Lela Udry interacted with a crowd of about 200 people who attended the event in Regina Hall.

Antunez De Mayolo gave two “Know Your Rights” presentations focused on teaching immigrants about the law in Spanish.

Vang and Udry assisted families in completing emergency plans including power of attorney forms for their minor children.

“We believe it’s important to continue to be accessible and to help educate the immigrant community about their rights,” said Vang. “In helping immigrant families prepare for emergencies, we hope to lessen the fear.”

Most of the people had appointments to meet with the consulate, according to Vang. The consulate aided people with obtaining Mexican passports, birth certificates and with addressing other matters.

More information on ILS and other Catholic Charities ministries can be found at catholiccharitiesdubuque.org.

Immigrants meet with staff of Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services ministry and representatives of the Mobile Mexican Consulate of Omaha June 15 at Mt. Mercy University. (Photo by Stacy Sherman/Catholic Charities)