El Pueblo

El Pueblo is an immigration lawyer in Biloxi, Mississippi. Founded in 2007, the organization provides professional, low-cost humanitarian and family-based immigration legal services to immigrant communities throughout Mississippi. El Pueblo operates three offices across the state, in Forest, Biloxi, and Columbus, helping clients understand their immigration status and pursue applications for immigration benefits under federal law. In addition to direct legal representation, the organization works to support migrant integration into local communities and to educate the broader Gulf Coast public about the immigrant experience. El Pueblo holds a rating of 4.00 based on client reviews.

The work at El Pueblo traces back to July 2006, when Rev. Sally Bevill established Hispanic Latino Ministries of the United Methodist Church to address the needs of Latino migrants rebuilding Mississippi's storm-ravaged coast after Hurricane Katrina. The Village/El Pueblo was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) on April 14, 2008, and began operating as an independent non-profit on April 1, 2020. The Forest office opened in response to the August 2019 ICE workplace raid, and the Columbus office followed in 2024 to extend services into northern Mississippi.

El Pueblo's legal staff prepares and submits immigration applications to USCIS and provides direct representation in immigration and court proceedings. Services include family-based petitions, Legal Permanent Residency renewals and replacements, Adjustment of Status, Consular Processing, DACA, employment authorization, FOIA requests, Naturalization, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, T visas, Temporary Protected Status, and U Visas. The Biloxi office is open from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday for appointments. Beyond legal work, El Pueblo offers trauma-focused counseling for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes, community outreach and advocacy, interpretation and translation, citizenship and ESL classes, community health worker support, and the Mujeres Unidas program serving survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Executive Director Michael Ann Galliano Oropeza, a native of Clinton, Mississippi and University of Southern Mississippi graduate, is accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals of the U.S. Department of Justice. Director of Community Outreach Yolanda Soto, originally from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, leads outreach in the Forest area. El Pueblo has represented clients from thirty-three different countries, and all full-time staff speak more than one language.

The Biloxi office sits on Pass Road. El Pueblo's three Mississippi offices together serve migrant communities across the state and into Louisiana and Alabama, and the organization stands among the most accessible providers of affordable immigration legal help on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.