Mila Roller

As a Chuck Green Fellow, I worked with Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN). VLN’s mission is to protect and promote the basic human needs of people in poverty through the power of legal volunteers. I specifically worked with their Immigration Legal Services Program. I believe that all people deserve to understand the legal systems and processes they are navigating. VLN’s focus on advising low income Minnesotans on their legal issues aligns with my belief. 

For most of my fellowship, I worked alongside my supervisor to create the Minnesota Family Preparedness Manual. The manual provides in depth information about how to prepare for deportation while protecting assets and family. It includes guidance on how to collect property from apartments, terminate leases, sell or give away cars, and handle debt. It also details an individual’s ability to delegate parental authority to another person using a form called a DOPA. In researching for the guide, I compiled information from Minnesota statutes and legal fact sheets to provide accurate guidance specific to the State of Minnesota. After completing the manual, my supervisor and I created and presented a Continuing Legal Education Seminar for legal professionals about the issues discussed in the manual. 

Alongside my research, I worked in VLN’s legal clinics. I completed intake with clients to identify the specific legal questions they would ask VLN attorneys. In those conversations I came to understand some of the issues immigrants in Minnesota face. I also assisted attorneys on asylum applications and work authorization forms. I facilitated intake and check-in for a DOPA clinic, in which clients met with family-law attorneys to fill out, sign, and notarize forms to delegate parental authority for their children. Additionally, I interpreted in a work authorization workshop with Spanish speaking families. 

I am so grateful to have worked with VLN this summer. I absolutely loved getting to work with and learn from my supervisor Glen Drew, the Immigration Legal Services Program at VLN, and the community members seeking legal services. As someone who is interested in a future career in law, I learned so much by working alongside attorneys in legal clinics and completing research. I developed a better understanding of the complex legal field of immigration and of how legal non-profit organizations serve communities. I also want to thank the Chuck Green Cohort and our cohort facilitator, Rothin Datta. This experience would not have been possible without their support and guidance.