Pro Bono Partner Spotlight: Marcela Johnson
Staff Attorney at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, Marcela Johnson, recently volunteered her time and talent with Sur Legal Collaborative to support a survivor of the deadly and preventable nitrogen leak at Foundation Food Group in Gainesville. “I was drawn to Sur Legal’s unique focus on the intersection of immigrant and workers’ rights,” Marcela shared. “I have a background in both employment and immigration law and was excited to get involved with Sur Legal’s important work and support immigrant workers in Georgia.”
The Power of Pro Bono
“It was meaningful for me to help my client and her family achieve peace of mind.“
Marcela was matched with a survivor of the deadly and preventable 2021 nitrogen leak at Foundation Food Group in Gainesville, Georgia. “Despite the risk of retaliation from her employer, my client spoke out against the unsafe working conditions in the poultry facility. She has lived in Georgia for over a decade, working tirelessly in dangerous conditions to support her family. I was honored to assist her in obtaining deferred action—meaning she can safely remain in the United States for at least two years—and a work permit.”
When asked about the impact of her pro bono experience, Marcela shared, “I really enjoyed getting to know my client and her family. It was meaningful for me to help my client and her family achieve peace of mind: living and working in the United States without a work permit or status can be scary and destabilizing for a person’s entire family. Now, with deferred action and a work permit, my client and her family feel more secure living their daily lives.”
Sur Legal and our pro bono partners are honored to work with courageous individuals day in and day out in the pursuit of immigrant and worker justice. “My client’s resilience and dedication to her family were inspiring. She spoke against a powerful corporation and in doing so, risked immigration and employment-related retaliation,” Marcela shared.
Emphasizing the need for more great legal minds to join this movement, she added, “I would highly encourage lawyers to get involved with Sur Legal! The lawyers and advocates will support you throughout the process and you will make an enormous difference in someone’s life.”
Together with essential partners like Marcela, as well as AAAJ-Atlanta, UGA School of Law’s Community HeLP Clinic, and the National Immigration Law Center, we have now collectively secured deferred action and work permits for over 20 survivors after they bravely spoke out against the dangerous working conditions that they and so many others were subjected to. We can’t do this work without YOU! For more information on getting involved with Sur Legal, please contact us at info@surlegal.org.