Immigration’s Internet policy a hurdle for homeless

Ed Koch and Timothy Pratt

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

A new federal government policy meant to make getting immigration services easier may be rough on those who are homeless or for other reasons don't know they can only get to see an official by first making an appointment via the Internet.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as of Nov. 1, no longer accepts walk-in customers, and instead has its officials seeing only people who have scheduled appointments online. Exceptions are sometimes made for those who have traveled long distances or face some sort of emergency, Marie Sebrechts, a spokeswoman for the federal agency, said.

Previously, dozens of people would line up in front of the Las Vegas area office on 3373 Pepper Lane before its doors opened at 7:30 a.m., only to wait for hours inside, sometimes without getting seen at all if there were more customers than officials, Sebrechts said.

But having the guarantee of an appointment beforehand is only comforting if you know about the new policy -- and perhaps more importantly -- if you have access to a computer and know how to use it, according to a local advocate for the homeless.

"It's not like they (homeless) are carrying laptops in their backpacks," said Linda Lera-Randle El, director of Straight from the Streets, a nonprofit organization that works with the homeless.

"It is discriminatory against the homeless and it is unreasonable for the government to assume that advocates will handle this for the homeless. This may be a convenient system for the government, but not for some of the people who need to use the services," she said.

Although the federal agency began phasing in the online appointment system this past summer, Lera-Randle El said she knew nothing about it until she took one of her clients, Roberto Madrigal, to the local office in mid-November.

Madrigal was seeking to replace his permanent resident card, which served as his identification and demonstrated that he was legally in the country, having reached the step below citizenship. He had no other identification and needed the card to look for work.

But Madrigal and Lera-Randle El were turned away and told they had to make an appointment online.

"I have never used the Internet before," Madrigal, 43, said.

"You have to have basic computer knowledge to use the Internet. When you are living on the street, this is the type of thing that can make you feel really desperate," he said.

In late November, Lera-Randle El used her personal computer to access the immigration office's "Infopass" system. Initially messages popped up on her screen saying no appointments were available.

Eventually, Madrigal got a Dec. 27 appointment. At that appointment, an official told him he could not be immediately helped because he did not have any identification. The agency would have to send out for his paperwork and see him again in two weeks.

"The ID was the thing that I went there for six weeks ago," said Madrigal, who lives in a homeless camp 15 miles from the immigration office. "If they had just talked to me then, we could have had this resolved."

Sebrechts said plenty of other people have been able to get appointments under the new policy. Since Infopass went into effect in Las Vegas on Aug. 23 -- first as an option and 10 weeks later as the sole means of getting an appointment -- 7,030 people have used the service to get appointments at the local office, she said.

During the first week in late August, 200 appointments were booked through the Internet. Currently, 320 people are being scheduled Mondays through Thursdays and 44 on Friday mornings, Sebrechts said.

Sebrechts said the Internet was chosen as the sole means of making an appointment because it is the most efficient means available.

Phone banks, she said, are not efficient because they tie up employees and the system often is fraught with busy signals and long waits on hold for callers.

The immigration office's Web site offers appointments in 12 languages, downloadable forms, case status information, a list of frequently-asked questions and news on immigration policies and laws, Sebrechts said.

Malena Burnett, who provides immigration services at a Las Vegas business called Amigo Services, said she thought the new policy was "an effective use of (the immigration office's) time."

At the same time, she said the federal agency should continue to publicize the change in policy, since there are new people arriving in the valley all of the time and some wind up wasting a trip to the Pepper Lane office, near Pecos and Sunset roads.

Burnett said she has added a new service to her portfolio: making appointments online for those who don't have computers. She charges $25 for the service.

But Sebrechts said there are also community entities that offer free access to the Internet to everyone, the homeless included.

"Libraries, community-based organizations and churches offer use of computers and classes on how to use them and the Internet," Sebrechts said, noting her office is currently training librarians in Arizona to help people use the agency's Web site.

Nancy Ledeboer, deputy director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, said more than 400 computers are available for public access to the Internet -- limited to 15-minute express use, one-hour stations and two-hour labs -- and people can use them even if they don't have a library card.

She said that while librarians give brief instructions on basic computer use, novices can sign up for free computer classes at libraries.

As for the issue of computer literacy, Sebrechts said, "These people (immigrants) are not stupid. They may not speak the language (English), but many certainly are smart human beings who find our Web site easy to use.

"The Internet is a valuable and useful tool to learn to use. It empowers people. It's not a bad thing."