One day in 2007, an administrative assistant at Dr. Mark E. Steiner’s church forwarded an email about a citizenship workshop organized by BakerRipley and National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), which connects low-income families and individuals to opportunity so they can achieve a better life.
The assistant knew Steiner was a lawyer and thought he’d be interested. Steiner, South Texas College of Law Houston associate dean for students and law professor, went — and he’s been regularly volunteering at workshops ever since.
“It’s a good thing to do,” Steiner said. “It’s nice to spend your Saturday morning doing something to help folks who need some assistance.”
Steiner has taught at STCL Houston since 1995, focusing on American legal history, consumer law and, most recently, immigration law. As a pro bono volunteer, he helps immigrants on their path to naturalization through the monthly BakerRipley/NALEO citizenship forums. He’s also worked on DACA applications since the program was created in 2012, both with BakerRipley and United We Dream.
“DACA wasn’t legalization, but it did allow applicants to get work permits so they could come out of the shadows,” said Steiner.
His volunteer work has been recognized many times, most notably with the creation of the Mark Steiner Award for Immigration Altruism — presented by BakerRipley, NALEO, and the City of Houston Office of New Americans and Immigrant Communities, and Univision. Steiner was the first recipient in 2017.
At the BakerRipley workshops, Steiner typically screens residents for eligibility and reviews completed applications. He also helps determine whether an applicant is able to represent themselves pro se or if they need to be referred to a private attorney when the case is more complicated.
An individual’s actual citizenship interview is almost always conducted in English. Ironically, Steiner said, the BakerRipley team likes that he doesn’t speak Spanish because an applicant’s initial conversation with him is a good gauge of whether the person’s language skills will be high enough to satisfy the eventual government interviewer. Because the team begins preparing applicants a year ahead of their test, they have time to improve their English if needed.
Depending on where the workshops are held, the demographics of attendees will change, Steiner said. At BakerRipley’s Ripley House in the East End, the crowd is overwhelmingly Latino. At centers in places like Gulfton, it’s more diverse — including Afghan immigrants who were interpreters, for example.
Steiner and the BakerRipley team recognize that navigating immigration law isn’t easy, especially in today’s environment of constant changes in law and policies. Also, the citizenship form has gotten longer through the years and the application fee is expensive.
After Steiner’s years of volunteering for this meaningful work, he wants people to know something he has learned about the immigrants applying for citizenship.
“These immigrants were Houstonians long before they arrived here,” Steiner said. “They just want to work hard and improve their lives for themselves and their children.”
