SPRING VALLEY, NY – Immigrant Hands Attorney’s Gisela Chávez, Esq. and Meri Sukiasyan Ponist, Esq., along with Spring Valley Mayor Alan Simon, handed over the United States residency card to a Haitian family from the Village of Spring Valley, who had struggled to obtain legal status.

Bailey Clerveau, who was born in Haiti and came to the United States with his father in 2015 as a conditional green card holder and was later sent to immigration court after his conditional residency expired in 2018 because he did not renew on time. Clerveau encountered difficulties when wanting try renew his card and was later put in deportation proceedings.

Clerveau’s parents introduced themselves to Mayor of the Village of Spring Valley, Mr. Alan Simon, who directed them to the community aid department run by Immigrant Hands, a not-for-profit organization, that in such a short time in Rockland County, has managed to help quite a few county residents in different areas. “Today we are proud to make a family happy,” said mayor Simon, who created an immigration office that provides free legal service to Spring Valley residents with the help of Immigrant Hands.

Attorney Meri Sukiasyan Ponist praised the initiative of the mayor and the support of the trustees of the Village of Spring Valley, “through which we have achieved great success for this and several families to obtain legal status in the United States without any legal costs”, Ms. Ponist said. Immigration attorney Gisela Chavez commented, “It is our duty to help as much as we can and here is a great example.” Ms. Chavez also recalled the minor who was in immigration detention that she and her legal team from Immigrant Hands were able to represent and assist in getting legal status in the United States. “I want to call on the people of Spring Valley and Rockland County to come together now more than ever to continue to help us achieve the dream of many immigrants who come to this country,” said attorney Chavez, whose organization relies on volunteers.

The parents of Clerveau hailed Mayor Simon whose programs also include food pantry, housing assistance, job search and placement, among others. “Thank you, Mayor Simon,” repeated the grateful parents of Clerveau. Thanks to the hard work of the attorneys at Immigrant Hands, Clerveau’s permanent residency was approved in October 2020 and the immigration court terminated his removal proceedings halting his deportation to Haiti.