In May 2007, an attack on a U.S. Army unit in Iraq that resulted in the kidnapping of three American soldiers shocked the nation, making headlines for months. The military’s intense search for one of the kidnapped soldiers, Staff Sergeant Alex R. Jimenez, stretched into the following year.
As family members held out hope for Sergeant Jimenez’s return, they were experiencing a parallel struggle: immigration authorities had initiated deportation proceedings against his wife, Yaderlin Hiraldo Jimenez. It ultimately took an outcry from the veteran community to stop the removal of Mrs. Jimenez and enact policies that protect military service members and their families from deportation.
In 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law that created the Staff Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez NYS Military Immigrant Family Legacy Program, a collaboration between state agencies and nonprofits dedicated to helping military service members and their families with legal and other immigration support.
Those seeking help from the Jimenez program come through the New Americans Hotline, where Catholic Charities of New York staff field calls at the organization’s office in Lower Manhattan.
It Starts with a Call
For Dieynaba Diallo, Hotline Team Supervisor for Catholic Charities of New York, the work supporting Jimenez program callers is personal. “Being an immigrant myself, I am really looking for a way to give back to the community,” she says.
Diallo has been with Catholic Charities of New York for 10 years, starting as a hotline counselor before moving into her current role. Her office started working with the New York Office (ONA) for New Americans on the Jimenez program in May 2025.
“The process is very important because we have to untangle a lot of things. People call us sometimes, not even knowing what their status is, or trying to find it out,” explains Diallo. “They don’t know where to go seek help. So, we point them in the right direction.”
“We have seen a lot of people right now falling victim to immigration fraud,” Diallo adds, “so we want to make sure that we provide them with accurate referrals and also general fraud prevention to send them in the right direction to get the help they need.”
As Diallo explains, the Jimenez program partnership introduced a screening process for New American Hotline callers. Those who are active service members or veterans, or their family members, are provided with specialized referrals to organizations that can help them with citizenship and other immigration matters, including ONA Opportunity Centers, many operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and other Catholic Charities agencies, including Catholic Charities of Onondaga County and Catholic Charities Tompkins/Tioga. More complex cases are referred to the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP).
Diallo estimates the hotline has routed about 144 callers to services through the Jimenez program since the partnership started in 2025, 110 of them in the 2026 calendar year so far. She says it’s about an even split between currently active service members and veterans (or their family members).
The Scars of Service: Billy Jawo’s Story
“The reality is that immigrants serve,” says Kelly Agnew-Barajas, Director of Catholic Charities of New York’s Immigrant & Refugee Services Division. “They give of themselves to our military, to different branches of our government, to service, and that’s something that they’re proud of, that their families are proud of, that we should all be acknowledging much more.”
Agnew-Barajas recounts the story of Billy Jawo, an asylee from The Gambia, who came to Catholic Charities of New York in 2013. “At the time he was homeless and lost,” she said.
“We got him his first job, but he did all the rest – went on to graduate from college, was promoted again and again in his field, and eventually joined the U.S. Army,” says Agnew-Barajas.
Jawo served a year on active duty in Afghanistan before returning to New York City and visiting Catholic Charities of New York offices a few days later. “He showed us a scar in the middle of his back, a bullet wound,” remembers Agnew-Barajas.
Their Service Meant Something: A Continuum of Care
Lisa Flores, CEO of Catholic Charities Community Services, which includes Immigrant and Refugee Services as a core program, comes from a family of veterans, including her father. She notes the large proportion of new Americans who make the ultimate sacrifice for the United States.
“There are currently about 50,000 active service members who are not U.S. citizens. And hundreds of these soldiers, like Sergeant Jimenez, have unfortunately lost their lives in the line of duty,” says Flores.
She points out that many of the services and resources provided to callers go beyond their initial immigration concerns. “One of the things that makes Catholic Charities so unique in what we provide to the community is that we can be front and center for assessing and addressing issues that may not even come to us specifically as the presenting issue,” says Flores.
For Jimenez program callers, many health and financial concerns can be addressed through a referral to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or by another Catholic Charities of New York division.
“We see a real enthusiasm when we tell callers that there is a program that helps veterans or people who are active in the military,” says Diallo. “Many of them are used to making calls to hotlines and getting referrals to places where they experience long waits, so this is a way to streamline.”
She adds, “I think it just really helps them to see that they are recognized, and that their service meant something.”
Are you a veteran, active service member, or military family member (child or spouse) who needs help with immigration? Call the New York State Office for New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636.
