PADUCAH — With growing uncertainty around immigration enforcement, more families in western Kentucky are turning to local attorneys, not just to fight deportation, but to understand their legal status before it is too late.
Farmer & Wright law firm in Paducah specializes in bankruptcy, immigration, personal injury, and Social Security disability.
Paducah-based immigration attorney Jonathan Martin, of Farmer & Wright, said his office has seen a spike in court cases and consultations as fear spreads among longtime residents and new arrivals alike.
“What I’ve heard from all of the clients and potential clients is that everyone is scared,” Martin said. “They’re scared either enforcement is going to go poorly or that enforcement is going to come look for them.”
Martin said many of his clients are longtime residents — people who are married to U.S. citizens or have been in the country for years — who want to avoid any conflict. Others are new arrivals seeking asylum or reuniting with family through family petitions. Martin said the uncertainty of the current climate has sparked confusion and anxiety.
“I’ve got moms asking me about, ‘Can they come to school?’ or, ‘Can they show up at court?,’” Martin said. “It’s a legitimate question that a lot of them have, and we have to tell them the truth. Yes, immigration can come to schools or churches to pick you up, but they’re also actively looking for only people with deportation orders for right now.”
Jonathan Martin is an immigration attorney at Farmer & Wright in Paducah.
Martin said the issue goes beyond fear — it’s a system that is overwhelmed and breaking down. He stated that, with millions of asylum and immigration cases backlogged nationwide, delays are increasing. What once took five years can now take seven, and even basic steps, such as applying for citizenship, can take more than a year to get started.
“Things that would have taken a year are now taking two and a half,” Martin said. “So we’re seeing not only an uptick in cases, but an uptick in the length of time these cases are taking, which is why having an attorney is so important.”
Paducah’s immigration cases span a wide range, from asylum seekers to people hoping to bring over a spouse or parent. Martin said he regularly works with clients from across the world, including recent cases from Samoa, Cambodia, New Zealand, Canada, and Mexico.
Despite the complex system, Martin emphasized that most immigrants he works with are just trying to build better lives, whether they’re recent arrivals or decadeslong residents.
“People here, undocumented, the vast, vast majority, are no different than our ancestors who are coming to work and make their lives a better place, I can guarantee you,” Martin said. “People who have problems with immigrants have just not sat down and watched or talked to one to know their story. We’re all people, whether they be immigrants or law enforcement officials, and we need to make this peaceful, because that’s the only way we’re going to get justice, and that’s what everybody wants.”
Reina Lopetegui came to the United States from Cuba as a child. She said her first steps in western Kentucky laid the foundation for everything that followed.
Lopetegui said her father arrived in the U.S. as a political refugee and later brought her and her sister through a petition process. They were settled at the refugee center in Bowling Green upon arrival.
Reina Lopetegui is originally from Cuba, and now serves as a paralegal for Immigration Law Firm in Bowling Green.
“They helped us with English classes and, like, you know, get used to the new life in the United States, because it’s a huge change, starting with the weather, the food, the language, everything was different,” Lopetegui said.
After working for a law firm in high school and later studying paralegal studies at Western Kentucky University, she had a choice about which practice area she wanted to focus on. She decided she wanted to help others who are in the same situation as she was.
She said her job as a paralegal at Immigration Law Firm in Bowling Green is not just a job, it’s a responsibility.
“It just felt wrong to turn my back on my own people,” Lopetegui said. “So I was like, nobody’s going to defend it more than me, because I understand it. I’ve been through it. And I was like, ‘You know what? No, somebody has to do it, and it’s going to be me.’”
Lopetegui said concerns have intensified in recent months, with clients preparing for the worst-case scenario.
“I cannot tell you how many people reach out to me, like, ‘Can you do some type of paperwork in case I’m deported so someone can pick up my kids from school?,’” Lopetegui said. “It’s a hard reality, where, whenever you say goodbye to your kids, when you drop them off, you don’t know if you’re going to pick them up.”
Lopetegui said she supports deporting dangerous criminals, but feels the system has become unfair and discriminatory, targeting people based on skin color, even when they are in the country legally.
“There are more good people than bad, even if it doesn’t look like it,” Lopetegui said. “[Americans] won’t stand for injustice, and I love that. Trust your community, they’re here for you, even if you think they’re not, but they are.”
For more information about immigrant rights or what to do if ICE shows up at the door, visit a previous WPSD/Paducah Sun story.
