How Far We Can Reach

At the start of August, most students focus on preparing for the upcoming semester. Days are spent double-checking schedules, gathering textbooks and resetting passwords. However, for Peter Lucier, August 2021 was not typical. 

Before pursuing a life in the law, Lucier served in the United States military. He enlisted as a marine in 2008, following his graduation from high school. Three years later, Lucier was heading to Afghanistan. Over his seven-month deployment, Lucier squinted under the scorching sun, carried heavy loads through the desert and learned what a country at war looks like. 

Five years following his return, Lucier applied for law school.

“I had gotten back from Afghanistan, so I had just come back from seeing what a place without the rule of law looks like,” he said. “...and it made me certainly appreciate [our legal system] in the United States.”

Appreciation evolved into dedication as Lucier worked through his first years at Saint Louis University School of Law. He authored articles for online magazines, including America: The Jesuit Review, regarding his time overseas and was an active member of the Law Students for Veteran Advocacy. Throughout, he maintained up-to-date on the state of the war he fought in. 

“The troop withdrawal was announced in April, and it was a momentous occasion,” Lucier recalled his reaction to the news. “I thought it was going to bring a sense of closure.”

With the deadline in place, Lucier was concerned with the troops’ removal, as well as Afghans known SIVs, those who are eligible to receive Special Immigrant Visas for their work with the American government. SIVs needed help leaving the country too. Lucier knew that it would be necessary to raise funds for the cause.

“Charities always need money, donations are great, volunteering is great, but so is cash," Lucier said. "Cash doesn’t go bad; it doesn’t spoil. You can use it for whatever you need it; it’s flexible. They can spend it on things they really need, unlike your grandma’s donated China set.”

Late on August 13, Lucier put up his first fundraiser for an organization called Keeping Our Promise. Within three hours of announcing the campaign, they had raised $5,000.

“I won’t say I was surprised I got that response, but it did reaffirm one of my core beliefs," he said. "I think veterans, especially, and Americans, generally, want to be helpful people.” 

I think veterans, especially, and Americans, generally, want to be helpful people." 

— Peter Lucier, ('22)

Over the two campaigns, one for Keeping Our Promise and another for a charity called Hearts and Homes for Refugees, both taking place between August 13-17, Lucier raised $50,882 to help assist Afghanistan refugees and SIVs. The success of these campaigns brought hope and assistance from the charities during this critical time.

“And that was good. It felt good and meaningful,” Lucier said before pausing. “And then...I actually did something stupid.”

It was creeping towards the end of August. Classes were a couple of weeks in, and the first projects of many were being assigned. And yet, Lucier still had eyes on the needs of refugees. That "something" was Lucier's choice to take on more responsibilities to help Afghan families. 

With his fundraising efforts well underway, and without the original intention to do so, Lucier began to assist with ongoing cases from Hearts and Homes for Refugees. Lucier worked with Amy, a case worker at the nonprofit, who had been helping Afghans fill out necessary forms throughout the complicated immigration process. Now, with the American troop removal, the Afghans didn’t need paperwork; they needed to get out of the country as quickly as possible. From there, it was no longer scrolling numbers that occupied Lucier. It was people. Individual faces and names of people he was now tasked to help bring to America in hopes of a better life.

“I never stop thinking about the thing that got me into this was, this one particular case, this one particular family, and it just kills me," Lucier said. "We tried for two weeks straight, and we couldn’t get them in.”

As Lucier has shown, taking responsibility to help others is not new to Saint Louis University School of Law students. It is a part of the curriculum. 

The semester after his introduction to the world of immigration and refugee issues, Lucier decided to take the Removal Defense Project seminar taught by professors Kenneth Schmitt (B.A., ‘89, J.D., ‘93) and Kristine Walentik. Schmitt is the founder and principal at US Legal Solutions, where he practices immigration law. Wallentik, in addition to teaching, is a staff attorney for the St. Francis Community Service’s Immigration Law Project.

“I never would’ve taken that class if not for [Afghanistan]. I never was interested in immigration law,” Lucier said. 

This course encourages the same type of work that Lucier has already done. However, the benefit of the class,  in contrast to Lucier’s previous work, is the face-to-face interactions with those who want to find a home in America.

As part of the class, students visit one of the detention facilities for a week to volunteer and work with those individuals, Schmitt said.

"From that experience, they would learn, in a really ‘in the trenches’ way how asylum cases are built as well as the whole immigration process,” he added.

Courses such as Removal Defense allow students to harvest valuable experiences. Listening to another person’s experience while remaining empathetic, professional and calm is not something that can be easily taught by lecture. On the technical side, navigating the legal systems for refugees and immigrants is a difficult and strenuous process. The School of Law trains future lawyers that can assist those trying to find safety in America.

“Asylum cases in the Midwest look a little different than at the [Mexico-United States] border, but the law that underlines it is all the same,” Schmitt said.

Whether help is needed in the backyard, at the border, or across the ocean, Saint Louis University School of Law students, faculty and staff are known to rise and help in any way they can. Lucier showcases just how far one can reach by using their skills, time, and resources, and how it can resonate through the lives of those they help and well as their own. 

“I don’t know if I’ll ever become an immigration attorney.... I don’t know if I’ll do this for a living,” Lucier said. “But, after all of this, I know this will never not be a part of my life.”

- By Elliot Laurence

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