Staff Spotlight: Miranda Garcia - Paralegal

1. What motivated you to bring your legal skills to a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving immigrants and refugees, and what does CLIA’s mission mean to you personally?

What motivated me to bring my legal skills to a non-profit organization is helping people in need. I believe legal services should be accessible and affordable to everyone regardless of economic and legal status. CLIA’s mission means to me helping immigrants and refugees to continue staying in a safe place they can call home.

2. What are you most excited to accomplish as CLIA’s new Paralegal?

What I’m most excited to accomplish as a CLIA Paralegal is connecting with clients and representing them in their cases. 

3. Being bilingual is a key part of this role. Can you share a time when your language skills helped bridge a gap or made a client feel particularly understood and supported?

A time that my language skills helped a client feel understood was when an individual was ordered to get an evaluation that was ordered by the judge. Afterwards, he was very confused on where to get one and if it was possible to get it done by a Spanish speaking provider. I gave him the name and number of a provider that did evaluations in Spanish. He was very thankful that I helped him even though he was not an appointed client. 

4. This role requires a deep sensitivity to the experiences of immigrants and refugees. What has surprised you or impacted you the most while working with CLIA’s clients?

What has impacted me is how strong and resilient are CLIA clients, many of them have gone through difficult challenges and still manage to move forward with their lives. I admire that they maintain a positive perspective no matter the situation. 

5. How has your background and personal journey influenced your approach to working with immigrants and refugees?

Having a background in working at a public defender’s office with Spanish speaking clients has influenced me in approaching working with immigrants and refugees by taking the time to explain the legal process in a way that they can easily understand. Many do not know how the U.S. legal system works and many times it can be daunting and very overwhelming. Being by their side and building a relationship gives them reassurance knowing that they have someone they can trust and guide them through it.