California immigration lawyer heads to Poland to help people stuck in Ukraine, refugee camps
Some people who are stuck in Ukraine or recently fled the violence to Poland need help from immigration experts.
Patrick Kolasinski, a Modesto attorney who specializes in immigration law, got on a flight Thursday to Warsaw with a plan to assist people who are eligible to come to the United States or are desperately trying to return to their home countries.
Kolasinski said he will make contact with Polish Consulate officials on behalf of clients, and also will lay the groundwork for fellow immigration attorneys who are trying to assist people amid the turmoil.
“We have a whole team of lawyers who can help people in whatever way they can,” Kolasinski said.
Civilians from many different countries, including exchange students, foreign workers, people on business trips and even tourists, were trapped in Ukraine by the Russian invasion, he said. Many of them fled to neighboring countries in Eastern Europe. Poland has taken in more than half a million refugees, most of them women and children from Ukraine.
As embassies were shut down by the conflict, an informal group of immigration attorneys started sharing information on Facebook a week ago, Kolasinski said. The group quickly grew to more than 400, most of them attorneys from the U.S. and some from law firms around the world.
“We thought it would be helpful to have someone in Warsaw to figure out what is going on,” Kolasinski said.
The Modesto lawyer was the logical choice. He lived in Poland as a child and speaks the language, plus he has contacts in government circles.
As his trip was quickly planned out, friends and colleagues noted that humanitarian supplies were sorely needed in Poland and Ukraine. All sorts of donors from Modesto to Sacramento and the Bay Area sent about 200 pounds of supplies and gave $6,000, Kolasinski said.
Humanitarian aid packages, marked “Pomoc Humanitarna” in the Polish language, were packed up in the attorney’s Modesto office just hours before his flight Thursday evening. The items included warm socks, thermals and other relief supplies for refugees.
Some of the donated items could be used on battlefields in Ukraine or in street fighting, such as, tourniquets and heavy-duty carabiners for transporting the wounded.
Kolasinski said he promised his family he would not risk his life by going into Ukraine. He will try to make a visit to Krakow for legal business during the 10-day trip. A second trip is planned for April.
“It’s heartbreaking,” he said of the ongoing conflict. “The last time there was a land invasion in Europe was 1939. Over a million people have been displaced.”
Kolasinski, who helps immigrants in the Central Valley with legal issues, said he doesn’t know any Americans who are trapped in Ukraine. He is trying to help clients who hold U.S. Green Cards and were in Ukraine for whatever reason when Russia’s military invaded the sovereign country Feb. 24.
Another group are Ukrainian people with family ties here who were in the process of coming to the U.S., he said. They had been scheduled for required interviews in Kyiv, but those appointments were canceled when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale attacks.
Modesto attorney’s client trapped in Kyiv
Kolasinski said one of his clients is trapped in the capital city of Ukraine. “We are trying to figure out how to get him out because he is a Green Card holder from the United States,” the attorney said. “He lives here permanently. He was just there” on a visit.
Kolasinski expects he will be in contact with the office of Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, for assistance with clearing hurdles. He said immigration lawyers often have complaints about U.S. embassies and consulates, but they have been impressed with the diplomatic staff response during the crisis.
The legal expert said he’s aware of consulate officials from the Western nations to India, Malaysia and Nigeria who are trying to get their people out of the war zone.
The Polish people have welcomed the refugees streaming across the border from Ukraine. Some, including a cousin, have taken refugee families into their homes, Kolasinski said.
The Modesto attorney was born in Indianapolis and lived in Poland as a young child until he was 6 years old. His family moved from Europe to South Africa and then to Denair in Stanislaus County.
“I wanted to get the word out that good is happening along with the tragedy,” Kolasinski said.
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 9:48 AM with the headline "California immigration lawyer heads to Poland to help people stuck in Ukraine, refugee camps."
