Resources at risk: St. Louis-area organizations helping immigrants fear restrictions under new administration
- ambale
- Feb 15
- 1 min read
St. Louis-area organizations have been helping immigrants find pathways to citizenship or assimilate for decades. Now, they’re preparing for restrictions.
By Cameron Bopp
Published: Jan. 15, 2025 at 4:52 PM CST|Updated: Jan. 15, 2025 at 4:56 PM CST
ST. LOUIS (First Alert 4) - Organizations and nonprofits in and around St. Louis are no strangers to helping immigrants, documented or otherwise, find pathways to citizenship or assimilate into society.
The Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project (MICA) is just one of those organizations helping people in the bi-state.
“We take clients from all over the world,” Jessica Mayo, co-founder of MICA, told First Alert 4. “They are usually trying to obtain legal status, or we’re working with one of their family members who is petitioning for them to get legal status.”
The nonprofit’s operations are based strategically in the city’s south side on Cherokee Street, “the largest concentration of Hispanic-owned and -operated bakeries, restaurants, groceries and shops in St. Louis,” according to Explore St. Louis.
MICA provides legal representation and other resources to immigrants struggling to pay the fees required to become a U.S. citizen, an often pricey process, Mayo says.
“Hiring an attorney is really expensive just for a consultation with them,” Karina Carbajal, an immigrant from Peru, said. Carbajal came to St. Louis in 2016 on a family visa, she says, and naturalized (officially became a U.S. citizen) in 2022. She is now a board member at MICA, having felt compelled to help others who are going through the “overwhelming” process she went through.
