With record numbers of undocumented immigrants coming to the United States every day, there is a lot of fear, anxiety, and anger being voiced in our cities, the media, and the government. In this clamor it can be hard to remember that in the end, immigrants are our neighbors—brothers and sisters in need. And these, our newest neighbors, face many challenges just to survive in a new country.
The Church has always known this and has heeded God’s word to us about our immigrant brothers and sisters. This is the word that Fr. Scott Leet hears as he helps migrants seek asylum and legal status.
Currently the parochial vicar at Church of the Good Shepherd in Inwood, Manhattan, Father Scott dedicates one day a week at Cabrini Immigration Services in Washington Heights. “With all of the duties I have at Church of the Good Shepherd, my pastor, Fr. Tom Faiola, very kindly allows me to dedicate every Wednesday to work at Cabrini,” he says. “To me it is amazing how God integrates our experience in such a way that they feed and support each other to make us better ministers. The work I do at the church influences the work at Cabrini and vice versa. Each helps me to empathize with those I am ministering to.”
Cabrini Immigration Services is a non-profit, faith-based community organization that offers a broad range of services to immigrants and their families. There is legal aid for the undocumented, scholarships for the college-bound, and food pantries for the hungry. Founded in 1999, the agency is run out of the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in Washington Heights by a team of staff, volunteers, and professionals who offer their services at deeply discounted rates or even free of charge, depending on the need.
Father Scott, who was formerly an assistant district attorney for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, brings his professional skills to Cabrini. “Low-income immigrants in New York City seeking legal help are vulnerable to scams and other abuses,” he said. “My background in the law and the expertise of other lawyers at Cabrini allows us to help them avoid all that.” He offers his expertise in three areas: initial legal consultation, legal services for asylum, and legal support for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
Guidance
When they first come to Cabrini, immigrants seeking legal counsel are first given a free consultation by one of the agency lawyers like Father Scott. In 2023, Cabrini conducted 964 consultations. Attorneys provide each client with information about their rights, screen them for immigration relief eligibility, and inform them about their legal options. Clients also meet with a social worker who assesses their social service needs.
Usually, Father Scott interviews clients at the Cabrini offices, but sometimes he does so at Good Shepherd. All immigration law services are provided in Spanish and English, and Father Scott has become a fluent Spanish speaker. “Interviewees come from all over, but currently mostly from Venezuela,” he says. “Sadly, in most cases, we determine that there is not a viable case for asylum, but we keep trying, and often we are able to help those that qualify.” Once an individual has been found to have a case for asylum, Father Scott and others get to work guiding them through the legal morass ahead.
Father Scott, who was trained as a trial lawyer, has come to understand the complexities of immigration law thanks to Cabrini. “In the DA’s office, I dealt largely with criminal cases that did not completely prepare me for this. But study and the advice of my colleagues at Cabrini have been invaluable,” he says.
Asylum requirements are very rigorous. Applicants must plead their case, which means proving that an immigrant or a family member was persecuted in their home country. Economic hardship is not considered a valid cause. They must file within a year of arriving in the United States, but all too often, this doesn’t happen. “People who make claims when they reach the border have a ‘credible fear evaluation,’ ” says Father Scott. “These Spanish speakers receive a packet—in English.” Many immigrants simply do not understand the documents they have received. Thus they do not file the paperwork, they miss the filing deadline, and they become ineligible for asylum automatically.
Triumph and Heartbreak
Father Scott devotes a portion of his time aiding youths seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Qualifying youth under 21 years of age with parental problems may be eligible to seek asylum. Father Scott shared one particular story, both joyful and heart-breaking: “A 19-year-old young man came in after being abandoned by his father. He came with his mother, who was in deportation proceedings. In October of 2023, after a seven-to-eight-month process, his juvenile status was approved.
“His status is now like a DACA recipient,” he said. “He has permission to work and will wait four to five years for a visa, after which he can get a green card and then citizenship.” He points out how bittersweet these triumphs can be: “Sadly, this young man will never be allowed to apply to take care of his mother.”
An Unconventional Path
The Holy Spirit has taken Fr. Scott Leet down an unconventional path into service.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree from DePauw University in 1989, he took a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, site of the 1981 Marian apparitions. A chance encounter with our Capuchin friar Fr. Oliver O’Connor (d. 2008) led to Scott’s introduction to the Province of St. Mary. He pondered his call while serving for two years in the Peace Corps in Zaire (today known as Democratic Republic of the Congo). Immediately upon his return to the U.S., in 1993, Scott joined the Capuchins. During his initial formation, after completing two years of theology at Seton Hall University, he felt called anew. He wanted to practice law. “I had a desire to see justice done, to help those voiceless that get caught up in our legal system.”
Scott graduated from Fordham University Law School in 2001 and passed the New York State bar exam the next year. He began his career with the New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney’s Office in New York City. “I originally wanted to be a defense attorney, but I was convinced by a mentor that as a prosecutor, I could serve as a gatekeeper to keep people out of the system that did not belong there.”
With the Manhattan District Attorney’s office he prosecuted over 1,200 cases. He served in several different units, including welfare fraud, sex crimes, domestic violence, and homicide. He concluded his career as the bureau chief of the trial division in the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York. He was also an adjunct faculty member for nine years at Fordham Law School.
Eventually, he felt drawn to the Capuchins again, and he returned to the Province in 2015. During his formation he stayed for extended periods in Bolivia and Guatemala, immersing himself in the cultures of Latin America. He professed his perpetual vows in 2020. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 25, 2022. Now, he brings his 13 years of experience as an attorney and his love for all of God’s people to the immigrants who come to Cabrini Immigration Services.
Though not a conventional path, Father Scott feels that his vocation as a lawyer, friar, and priest was meant to be. “If I look back on my life arc I can see God’s hand,” he says. “There is no question in my mind that I needed to study law. I needed the 17 years outside the Order to serve as I do now. When I look back, it is incredible to me. God has shown me so much in my path.”