Centro Legal Joins The Bay Area DACA Collaborative!
Non-profit immigration legal service providers throughout the greater Bay Area have?banded together to form the Bay Area DACA Collaborative; a multi-agency effort working?to ensure that significant numbers of undocumented immigrant youth have access to?the historic benefits provided by the federal policy directive of Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
On June 15, 2012 the Department of Homeland Security announced this unprecedented?policy that grants temporary resident status and employment authorization to certain?undocumented youth who were brought to the United States as children.
Over 60,000 potentially DACA eligible youth reside in Bay Area (estimates based?on 2010 Census data) and, to date, nearly 110,000 young immigrants living in California?have submitted applications to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service?(USCIS).
?I feel like I have a future now,? said Manuel, a DACA approved student who received?immigration legal services from a participating agency. ?I finally have my driver?s?license and feel that I can continue to pursue my degree knowing I might be able?to get a job in my field.?
Access to DACA?s benefits is not automatic. It is contingent upon young immigrants?being aware of and successfully navigating what can be a complicated process. Unauthorized?individuals claiming to be legitimate immigration experts continue to target immigrant?youth, making false promises and charging exorbitant fees for bogus legal services.
In an effort to ensure young people receive quality legal assistance, and avoid?potentially serious complications, members of the Bay Area DACA Collaborative have?scheduled community informational sessions and application assistance workshops?throughout the region. To date, many individuals who have come forward and received?an immigration legal screening have discovered they are eligible for DACA or, in?some cases, for more permanent immigration remedies.
?There is so much misinformation out there about DACA and immigration law in general??said Sheryl Mu?oz-Bergman, Director of Programs at the International Institute of?the Bay Area, ?therefore, it?s important that anyone interested in applying for,?or learning more about DACA take advantage of the fact that quality immigration?legal service providers are available to answer questions and offer advice for?free or at minimal cost.?
For more information about DACA, or to find legal services, clinics or workshops?near you, please visit:?www.WeOwnTheDream.org/events.
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SAVE THE DATE!
~ Centro Legal de la Raza?s 44th Anniversary Gala ~
Friday, April 12, 2013
We are pleased to invite you to Centro Legal de la Raza?s 44th Anniversary Gala
~ Building Strong Communities ~
* Honorees include UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau who has secured a
$1 million dollar scholarship fund and new campus resources for DREAMers.
* We will also highlight Centro Legal?s Tenants? Rights Project which prevents homelessness
and promotes healthy and affordable housing by helping low-income tenants fight
unlawful evictions, rent increases, and uninhabitable living conditions. The Tenants?
Rights Project is responding to the foreclosure crisis by providing free comprehensive
services, including eviction defense, for tenants facing foreclosure and foreclosure
related issues.
The Gala will take place at the Scottish Rite Center in Oakland.
1547 Lakeside Drive
Oakland, CA 94612
See you there!
full force odd fellows eli whitney blake griffin dunk on kendrick perkins kendrick perkins steve jones emily maynard
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