At the age of 24, Executive Director Luis Gutierrez founded LP to address the paucity of high-quality, accessible, culturally- and linguistically-sensitive community resources in his home neighborhood, Little Village. LP’s presence and roots in Little Village and Pilsen make the organization uniquely attuned to the specific needs of the communities. The organization’s programming is designed to serve every generation and strata within the immigrant population, from first-generation parents without English language skills, to the “1.5” generation trapped between the mores of an unknown homeland and urban reality, to second-generation students lacking support for their college dreams, to immigrant victims of domestic violence, trapped by their dependence on a citizen or legal permanent resident abuser.

When LP was founded, it was just Luis, a desk, and a phone. Three years later, LP had two other employees, and was serving approximately five to ten clients a month. That year, however, LP began to see a flood of clients who had heard about LP’s legal services and were nervous about applying for benefits before the expiration of a provision in immigration law known as 245-I, which allowed immigrants who had entered America without papers to pay a $1,000 fine and apply for citizenship.

Through word of mouth about the high-quality and affordability of its services, LP was flooded with immigrants seeking to take advantage of 245-I before it expired on April 30, 2001. Around the same time, the organization received its first grant, from the Chicago Community Trust. These events coincided to set off a period of exponential growth, for the Legal Immigration Services Program, and for LP as a whole.

With the influx of clients and funding, LP began to promote its part-time staff members to full-time, add a full-time employee, and to expand its programming. In 2003, LP launched Teatro Americano to address the dearth of quality arts programming and opportunities in its communities and as mainstream theater’s failure to deal with issues of relevance to the Latino community became apparent to the LP’s leadership. In 2004, LP launched the College-Bound Youth Group (CBYG) as an innovative and challenging opportunity for Latino and immigrant youth uncertain about their educational prospects. CBYG provides low-income Latino and immigrant students in Chicago with the tools and resources to pursue and complete a college degree, as well as opportunities for civic engagement and advocacy around issues that shape their lives.

From those humble beginnings, LP’s budget has grown nine-fold and its staff has grown from three to thirteen. In nearly 13 years of service, our Legal Immigration Services Program has assisted nearly 20,000 immigrants and their family members to attain legal status, reunite their families, protect themselves from domestic violence, and learn about the legal immigration process. Over seven years, Teatro Americano has written and performed 5 original plays and 3 plays by Latino authors about the urban Latino and immigrant experiences to low-income audiences who are often deprived of theater and arts opportunities. In addition, the program has taught theater techniques and the power of theater to address Latino and immigrant issues to hundreds of low-income students through its after-school programs in Chicago Public Schools and other nonprofits and organizations throughout Chicagoland. Finally, for six years, the College-Bound Youth Group has mentored and guided dozens of low-income, disadvantaged youth towards four-year college degrees and vigorously advocated for the DREAM Act. Not only have all of CBYG’s youth successfully gone on to attend college and attain a degree, but two of CBYG’s original members—Diana Rodriguez and Adriana Zavala—currently serve on LP’s Board.