What are some of the main reasons people call the hotline?

People call because they’re looking for any form of immigration relief they might qualify for like family petitions, asylum, TPS (Temporary Protected Status), DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) renewals, or naturalization help. With the new administration and the raids, we’re getting more calls from people detained or family members who need help fast. We can’t give legal advice from the hotline, but we do the full intake to see what we can find. It’s very basic sometimes. People just want to know if there’s hope, and we’re the first ones to listen.

How busy is the hotline these days?

The phone doesn’t stop ringing. We cover all of Nebraska and some southwest Iowa counties with just three of us — it’s myself and two access specialists. Each intake takes about 20 to 25 minutes from start to finish. We try to give everyone fairness and equity. Right now, we have our regular hotline and the new detainee hotline running at the same time, so it’s constantly ringing.

What are you hearing on these calls lately?

We’re taking more calls from people who are detained or family members calling for them. If there’s a big raid in the community, we see an influx. The new administration has created more generalized panic, so people are also calling in fear for what the recent sweeping changes mean for their own immigration status.

How does your own experience shape the way you do this work?

I’m a daughter of immigrants. Growing up, you see how your parents or family members are treated — you hear things, and everything’s just negative. So for me, what drew me to this is being that gateway, that first point of contact. I always teach the team: speak to everyone like you’re speaking to your own family. People cry sometimes even if we can’t help. They just say thank you for being kind and listening, because sometimes that’s all they need. I couldn’t do this for my own family back then, but I can do it for others now.