Feds reverse course on Minn. immigration office move

Immigrants who apply for green cards or take their citizenship tests can continue using a Twin Cities office conveniently located near a bus line.

Federal officials on Tuesday abandoned a plan to move the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office from its current location near the Mall of America to far-west Bloomington. The plan drew the ire of immigration attorneys and members of Minnesota's congressional delegation.

Over the past several months, as construction continued on the new building, attorney John Keller often thought the deal was done, and that there was nothing he or other legal-service groups could do to stop it.

"On the other hand, rarely have I ever worked on an issue where so many people, if not almost everyone we talked to, agreed with our position," said Keller, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.

The new site is three miles from the nearest bus stop, which would haave posed major challenges for immigrants who rely on public transportation.

"It just cannot work for extremely sensitive legal meetings," Keller said. "We've had clients who've been put in deportation meetings because they've missed an interview."

But even though federal officials with the General Services Administration admitted they made a mistake, they had already signed a multi-million-dollar contract to lease the building over 10 years.

Last November, Keller and about a dozen other attorneys rallied to persuade the government to reverse course. They even traveled to Washington to make their case.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who helped broker the meetings, said the government's gaffe in choosing the new site would have had a grievous impact on immigrants who are trying to navigate an already complex system.

"These are people who have immigration issues, who are trying to be citizens, who are doing everything they can to do the right thing, keep their families together, and do what's right legally," Klobuchar said. "They want to be able to access the people they're supposed to work with so they don't mess something up. And many, many of them don't have cars."

Klobuchar, U.S. Sen. Al Franken and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, continued to put pressure on the General Services Administration. They also introduced legislation that would require the agency to place immigration offices near public transportation.

The GSA says it will find other government tenants for the building under construction, and that it will likely rebid the contract for the future immigration office later this year, after consulting with the community.

In the meantime, the immigration office will likely remain at its current location near the Mall of America for a few years.

Mai Neng Moua, who chairs the local chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said she hopes the federal government will consider community input when selecting the new site.

"It's not something I can do by myself, or a bunch of lawyers know how to do, but I believe with the community, we can help the GSA locate a location that would be suiting," she said.