Immigration and the journey to U.S. citizenship can be complex, especially without the right guidance. That’s where the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative (HILSC) steps in. By providing vital legal support, education, and advocacy, they help immigrants navigate the path toward becoming citizens — often opening doors to greater opportunity, security, and a deeper sense of belonging. To better understand their work and the impact they have on the community, we spoke with a representative from the Collaborative about the trends they’re seeing and the challenges they help people overcome.
d-mars.com Business Journal recently interviewed Zenobia Lai, Executive Director of the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative, about what she sees happening with the immigration and citizenship struggle.
Q&A
d-mars.com #1: Can you tell us about the kinds of services your organization provides to people pursuing U.S. citizenship, and who you typically work with?
Lai: Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative helps low-to-moderate-income applicants pay for application fees for the naturalization and certificate of citizenship. The assistance is provided through our regrants to nine organizations that provide various levels of legal assistance in citizenship.
d-mars.com #2: What are some of the most common obstacles applicants face on their path to citizenship, and how do you help them navigate those challenges?
Lai: Financial barriers, along with language barriers, are the top two barriers. The “Give Citizenship A Boost” project helps applicants overcome the financial barrier. There are many ESL classes in the community to help people prepare for the English test portion of the process.
d-mars.com #3: Have you noticed any significant trends or changes in the people seeking your services in recent years?
Lai: With investment from private foundations and Harris County, there is a network of services, from community navigators to legal services, to help people navigate the citizenship process. There have been more people interested in pursuing citizenship, and quite a few are senior citizens who have been in the U.S. for more than 15 years.
d-mars.com #4: How have shifts in immigration policy or the political climate impacted the individuals and families you support?
Lai: We have provided many “Know Your Rights” training and community outreach to inform people of their rights when encountering immigration enforcement.
d-mars.com #5: Could you share a success story that illustrates the impact your team has had on someone’s journey to becoming a U.S. citizen?
Lai: The “Give Citizenship A Boost” project has helped 526 individuals pay for the citizenship application fees, as of end of December 2024, 200 of them have successfully completed the process to become U.S. Citizens.
d-mars.com #6: What roles do partnerships — whether with other nonprofits, legal clinics, or community organizations — play in your work?
Lai: HILSC is an ecosystem of three dozen immigrant-serving organizations that include legal services, law school clinical programs, funders, social services, healthcare and advocacy groups. We believe that by working collaboratively, we are able to tackle challenges that the immigrant community face that no one organization can do well alone. The “Give Citizenship A Boost” program works alongside programs that deploy community navigators to inform people about eligibility requirements for citizenship and connect them with a range of services to help them reach the goal of attaining U.S. citizenship. None of us can do this alone.
d-mars.com #7: How does obtaining citizenship change people’s lives, especially in terms of their sense of security and belonging?
Lai: Citizenship is the ultimate deportation defense. With citizenship, individuals can fully participate in our political process by voting and running for office. As immigrant, citizenship also enables them to petition for family member reunification, in addition to accessing jobs that are exclusively for citizens.
d-mars.com #8: What do you wish more people understood about the citizenship process and its significance to those going through it?
Lai: The process of acquiring citizenship can be complicated, but there are a lot of resources in the community to help you. Check out the Naturalize Now Houston website (https://houston.naturalizenow.org/) to find out about these resources. Many people have done it.
d-mars.com #9: From your perspective, what systemic barriers still exist, and what kinds of changes would make the path to citizenship more accessible?
Lai: Immigrants choose to come to the United States because they believe in our values of equality, liberty and justice. The current citizenship process is costly ($760 application fees) and the requirement of English proficiency has prevented many people who emigrated at an older age from seeking citizenship. We can simplify the process and allow more people to take the civics and history tests in their native language.
d-mars.com #10: Finally, what can everyday people, businesses, and the broader community do to support your mission and help more immigrants realize their dreams of becoming U.S. citizens?
Lai: It is a challenging time for immigrants in this country, any financial support for HILSC will help us expand our ability to reach more people through our Immigrant Resource Hotline, Forensic Evaluations and provide legal representation for immigrants and support aspiring citizens to complete the costly process.
In Closing:
For countless immigrants across Houston, HILSC’s services are more than just legal assistance; they are a sense of hope and empowerment before, during and after the immigration process. Executive Director Lai shared a powerful thought with us, “I don’t use the word ‘naturalization’—it reinforces the idea that immigrants are alien or other.”
Thanks to Executive Director Lai, the team at Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative, and the other partner organizations who put in the work to help people embark on this next chapter of their lives with confidence — and inspire those who follow to do the same. – Kim Floyd
For More Info, To Donate, or for Services/Referrals, Call the HILSC’s General Hotline 1-833-HOU-IMMI (1‑833‑468‑4664) or visit houstonimmigration.org.
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