Service Categories: Immigration-Citizenship-Legal

Immigration, Citizenship & Legal

InformaGente

Listos CA launched InformaGente—an online conversation series to foster a culture of emergency readiness among Latinx communities. The goal is to connect our Latino community with critical information on COVID-19 and how to prepare for other emergencies like earthquake and wildfire. As frontline workers who often face challenges with issues like access to healthcare or serious concerns about immigration status, our goal is to deliver critical facts and messages that our community needs to hear.

Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States

In previous decades, the vast majority of Vietnamese immigrants to the United States arrived as refugees. Recently, most are coming through family reunification channels, either as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or through other family-sponsored pathways. The change represents an evolution of the Vietnamese immigrant population, which is the sixth-largest in the United States and now includes more than 1.3 million people.

REAL ID Frequently Asked Questions

After the May 7, 2025 deadline, Federal agencies, including DHS and TSA, may only accept state-issued driver’s licenses and ID cards as identification to access federal facilities – including TSA airport security checkpoints – if it was issued by a REAL ID compliant state (meaning the license or card must include the REAL ID compliant star marking). Additional questions may be sent to the Department of Homeland Security at REALID@hq.dhs.gov

Newly-Arrived Venezuelan Migrants Can Now Apply For TPS Protections.

Venezuelans who arrived in the United States on or before July 31, 2023 are now able to apply for temporary protections that will allow them to receive a social security number and work and live in the country legally, the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday.

YOUTH IN THE SILICON VALLEY – Together We Raise

Dec 2016 Report – Immigrant youth make up a significant portion of both the population and the workforce in the Silicon Valley. An area famous for its economic wealth, the SV stands out for its deep disparities when it comes to the lives of undocumented immigrants. The report explores the obstacles young immigrants face when trying to access fair wages, housing and higher education. Key Words: DACA, Dreamers

Human Agenda CLARO Project

Human Agenda / CLARO offers free immigration telephone consultations and free and low-cost immigration legal services to low-income immigrant community members. These benefits include removal defense, affirmative and defensive asylum, cancellation of removal, U visa applications, and more. For more details, please contact us via email at claro@humanagenda.net or call 408-759-9571.  An attorney will contact you for the consultation within two weeks.  Multi-language: Spanish, Farsi</strong >

MALDEF

MALDEF’s mission is to foster sound public policies, laws and programs to safeguard the civil rights of the 40 million Latinos living in the US and to empower the Latino community to fully participate in our society.

Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County

Food, Health Care, Mental Health, Foster Care, Rental Assistance, Immigration Legal services,  refugee resettlement,  Disaster Casework., other free and sliding scale social programs for children, adults and seniors. provided in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, at offices in San Jose and Gilroy.   Member of the SCC Citizenship Collaboration and CADRE.  https://www.facebook.com/WorkingToEndPoverty/?ref=ts Key Words: RIF, CADRE, Disaster

Final Public Charge Rule

12/23/22   Only those deemed likely to be primarily dependent on cash aid for income maintenance or long-term care at government expense could be denied for public charge.  Remember, the public charge test only applies to some programs and some immigrants.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: Abortion Access for Immigrants

This resource addresses immigrant-specific concerns and provides information on how to access abortions.

If you are applying for an immigration benefit or have questions about your status, you should talk with a qualified immigration lawyer.

This resource provides guidance on the following questions:

  • If abortion is legal in my state, can I get one even if I’m undocumented?
  • If I get an abortion, will it affect my immigration status or my ability to get my citizenship?
  • Can I travel to another state for an abortion if I am undocumented?
    What do I do if I can’t afford an abortion?
  • Can I get health care, including abortions, in my language?
  • What happens if I am undocumented and pregnant, and have a medical emergency?
    Is it safe to seek health care if I am undocumented?
  • Do I need to show an identification card to get health care?
  • Can I use medication for an abortion?
  • Can I self-manage my abortion without a health care provider?

SCC Division of Equity and Social Justice (DESJ)

The DESJ departments provide numerous resources to the community. The Santa Clara County provides fiscal resources to numerous community organizations or agencies within the county to help best serve the community. The DESJ is a partner with many organizations to provide information, resources and leadership in efforts to assist the most marginalized individuals within the county. The DESJ is in the process of collecting available resource information to create guides that can be distributed to the community. Until this guide is available, please get informed with more specific information on how each department is providing resources by following their respective link below.

Final Public Charge Rule

12/23/22 Only those deemed likely to be primarily dependent on cash aid for income maintenance or long-term care at government expense could be denied for public charge. Remember, the public charge test only applies to some programs and some immigrants.

Visa Interview Wait Times Reach New Highs: 247 Days for Visitors / ?Business Travelers

7/19/22 The State Department is failing to fulfill its responsibilities under immigration law. The huge wait times are distorting the U.S. economy, its labor market, and international investment. They are harming U.S. businesses who need consumers and workers. They are keeping Americans and immigrants from being able to visit with their families. It is an embarrassment to our country, and it is completely unacceptable. Congress should investigate this failing department and require it to process visas in accordance with the law.

The Missing Link: Connecting Eligible Asylees and Asylum Seekers with Benefits and Services

Multiple options exist under current law to improve asylees’ links to the benefits and services for which they are eligible, as this report explores, and doing so would help support asylees’ well-being and integration. The U.S. communities in which they live would also reap benefits from these investments as asylees upskill to meet staffing shortages, contribute to local economies, and become active members of their communities.

VIISTA – Villanova Interdisciplinary Immigration Studies Training for Advocates

VIISTA is one of the first university-based online certificate program to train immigrant advocates. Designed by an interdisciplinary team of leading faculty, lawyers, and NGOs, VIISTA revolutionizes education about the law by educating legal advocates (akin to nurse practitioners in health care). Students who complete the program will be eligible, under existing regulations, to apply to become Department of Justice “accredited representatives,” authorized to provide low-cost legal representation to migrant and refugee families when they work for DOJ “recognized organizations.”

Indigenous Language Justice in California

In 2017-18, the Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), Frente Indígena de
Organizaciones Binacionales (FIOB), California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA), and the Binational
Center for the Development of Oaxacan Indigenous Communities (CBDIO) worked with a UC Davis
graduate researcher, Alena Uliasz, to conduct a community-based participatory research project.
Here, we share our recommendations to promote language justice for speakers of Latin American Indigenous languages in California. Multi-language: Mixteco, Spanish Key Words: Language Access

California makes history with food benefits for undocumented residents

6/28/22 California will become the first state to provide undocumented residents over age 55 with state-subsidized food assistance benefits. On Sunday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an agreement on the 2022-2023 state budget, which includes $35.2 million in funding to expand the California Food Assistance Program to low-income people 55 years and older, regardless of immigration status; the funding is expected to increase to $113.4 million annually in 2025-26
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THE LONG TAIL OF AFGHAN RELOCATION AND RESETTLEMENT: Achievements, Obstacles, and Opportunities

4/22 REPORT TO THE OPERATION ALLIES WELCOME UNIFIED COORDINATION GROUP – Short-sightedness in identifying preferred relocation and resettlement solutions has come at the expense of devising sustainable, long-term strategies. Every step of the
way, Afghans in the US have been met by agencies trying to address their needs while dealing with staffing and funding shortfalls and already full case loads. In addition to strains on the resettlement program, the crisis has also put an enormous strain on legal service providers, who are necessary to implement long-term strategies.

FACT SHEET: The Biden Administration Blueprint for a Fair, Orderly and Humane Immigration System

7/27/21 Today the Administration is releasing a blueprint that outlines the next steps Federal agencies will be taking to continue implementing the President’s transformative vision for a 21st century immigration system that secures the border, fairly and efficiently considers asylum claims, strengthens regional migration management efforts in North and Central America, and addresses the root causes of migration from Central America. Success in building this fair, orderly, and humane immigration system won’t be achieved overnight, especially after the prior Administration’s irrational and inhumane policies, but this Administration has a blueprint to get there and is making real progress.

DHS Working with Local Law Enforcement – 287(g) Program Overview

7/21 Section 287(g) of the INA allows the DHS to enter into formal written agreements (Memoranda of Agreement or MOAs) with state or local law enforcement agencies and deputize selected state and local law enforcement officers to perform certain functions of federal immigration agents. The MOAs are negotiated between DHS and the local authorities and include delegation of authority to a limited number of state and local officers. All of this must be done under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Deputized officers are required to abide by federal civil rights laws and regulations. In general, deputized officers are authorized to:
287(g) End-of-Year
Report

Mixteco Indigenous Language Services

Since launching in 2010, the Indigenous Language Services program has seen an immense increase in the need for indigenous interpreters and we are now serving clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We continue our collaboration at large with school districts, healthcare providers, law enforcement, and social services agencies. We are actively contracting with regional agencies at a statewide and national level. Key Words: Language Access Multi-language: Mixteco

REFUGEE PROCESSING CENTER (RPC)

The Refugee Processing Center (RPC) is operated by the U.S Department of State (DOS) Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) in the Rosslyn section of Arlington, Virginia USA.
At the RPC and at Resettlement Support Centers (RSCs), an interactive computer system called the Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System (WRAPS) is used to process and track the movement of refugees from various countries around the world to the U.S. for resettlement under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).

Immigration reform could prevent food prices from harming consumers

6/3/22 Our national security is tied to our ability to feed ourselves. As former officials who served in the Bush administration, we see an urgent need to address the labor shortage in the agricultural industry by fixing our immigration system. That would allow farmworkers to contribute to the economy free from uncertainty and fear and keep food on the tables of America’s families at lower costs.

Path to Permanent Residency for TPS Beneficiaries Restored

On March 21, 2022 USCIS agreed to restore a path to permanent residency for Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries. Because of this settlement, TPS beneficiaries impacted by then-Acting Director Cuccinelli’s policy will be able to reopen and dismiss their removal orders and apply to adjust their status to become permanent residents”eliminating the threat of deportation if their TPS protections are revoked in the future.
Multi-language: Spanish

Adult Refugee Services Unit (ARSU) newsletter #7,

April 14, 2022 The ARSU NEWSLETTER shares pertinent information relevant to the needs of Refugees and Non-citizen Crime Survivors and includes resources and updates for Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA), Entrant Cash Assistance (ECA), Refugee Social Services (RSS), Trafficking and Crime Victims Assistance Program (TCVAP), and the California Repatriation Program. Published by the CA Dept of Social Services (CA DSS).

Adult Refugee Services Unit (ARSU) newsletter #7

April 14, 2022 The ARSU NEWSLETTER shares pertinent information relevant to the needs of Refugees and Non-citizen Crime Survivors and includes
resources and updates for Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA), Entrant Cash Assistance (ECA), Refugee Social Services (RSS), Trafficking and Crime Victims Assistance
Program (TCVAP), and the California Repatriation Program. Published by the CA DSS.

IAN Non-profit Resource Center (Immigrant Advocate Network)

The Immigration Advocates Network (IAN), a program of Pro Bono Net, is dedicated to expanding access to immigration legal resources and information through collaboration and technology. IAN was created in 2007 by leading immigrants’ rights organizations, to increase access to justice for low-income immigrants and strengthen the capacity of organizations serving them. We create our own tools, build platforms for others, and work with partners to harness the power of technology and collective action to better support immigrants and their advocates.

WHAT SHOULD I KNOW WHEN ENROLLING MY CHILDREN IN PUBLIC BENEFITS?

3/21 Programs like Medicaid, CHIP, ACA Marketplace Coverage, School Breakfast & Lunch, WIC and SNAP (“food stamps”) help your children lead healthier lives. You may have questions about whether your child’s use of these health and nutrition programs will affect your
immigration status or your application for a green card. This document provides answers to frequently asked questions to help you make good decisions for your family. Key Words: Public Charge

CA has new benefits for undocumented immigrants. They’re not enough, workers say

4/3/22 Introduced last month by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, a Democrat from Coachella, and currently under review in the legislature, AB 2847 would create the Excluded Workers Pilot Program, a two-year program that would provide funds to undocumented workers who lose their job or have their hours reduced during the calendar year 2023. The proposal, estimated at $597 million, plus administrative costs, would allow qualifying, unemployed individuals to receive up to $300 a week for 20 weeks.

SAVE Fact Sheet – Information for SAVE Users: Afghan Arrival Categories, Documentation, and SAVE Responses

4/3/22 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is leading and coordinating ongoing efforts across the federal government to support vulnerable Afghans, including those who worked alongside us in Afghanistan for the past two decades, as they safely resettle in the United States. These Afghan arrivals generally fall within one of four categories that are eligible for resettlement assistance, entitlement programs, and other benefits available to refugees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Trauma-informed instruction for immigrant students

More and more educators across the country are learning about the impacts of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on students. Researchers estimate that half of the U.S. student population has experienced or is still experiencing some type of trauma, violence, or chronic stress
For immigrant students, the sources of trauma may be complex and may be related to:
***the reasons the family left their home country (such as war or wide-spread violence)
***difficult conditions, violence, sexual assault, or casualties during the journey to this country
***forced separation from a parent or sibling on the journey
***Experiences related to immigration enforcement
trauma and anxiety can impact students’ behavior and the importance of getting a complete picture of the source of the issue before taking steps that can have long-term consequences for the student.

Will the U.S. receive Ukrainian refugees?

3/11/22 The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the swiftest refugee displacement crisis in Europe since World War II, prompting more than 2.5 million people to flee the country during the conflict’s first two weeks.
While President Biden said Friday that the U.S. should welcome them “with open arms,” the U.S. will likely not receive large numbers of Ukrainian refugees in the immediate future, immigration policy experts said.
As of March 11, most Ukrainian refugees have fled to neighboring countries, 1.5 million of them to Poland, 225,000 to Hungary and 176,000 to Slovakia. Tens of thousands have also crossed into Russia, Romania and Moldova. Another 282,000 have left for other European countries, including Germany.

Housing for Ukrainian Refugees

3/10/22 UkraineTakeShelter.com is an independent platform connecting Ukrainian refugees with potential hosts and housing.
This website is a public bulletin. We encourage everyone with spare space to post a listing and to mark their listing as filled once they have successfully taken in refugees.
For refugees, UkraineTakeShelter.com asks for your nearest city to display the closest listings. We do not track your precise location. Hosts are only required to provide minimal information, such as their city and contact information. Multi-language: English, Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, German, French, Dutch, Slovakian, Spanish and more.
For more information: ukrainetakeshelter@gmail.com.

UndocuBlack: The Cruelty Behind Title 42 and Its Impact on Black Migrants

3/19/22 The official reason for the enaction of the policy by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is to protect Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and the public health from COVID-19, public health emergencies. And to curtail the swarm of people in congregate settings such as that in immigration detention centers. But as all harmful policies, this policy, specifically and disproportionately, affects the Black and brown immigrants who are making the treacherous journey to the U.S. seeking safety from violence, civil unrest, murder and natural disasters.

SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together)

South Asian Amer­i­cans Lead­ing Togeth­er (SAALT) is a nation­al move­ment strat­e­gy and advo­ca­cy orga­ni­za­tion com­mit­ted to racial jus­tice through struc­tur­al change, which means we focus on trans­form­ing insti­tu­tions while lever­ag­ing incre­men­tal change as a means to shift con­di­tions and pow­er.
Know Your Rights Pock­et Cards. in Pun­jabi, Hin­di, Urdu, Bangla, and Nepali Pro­duced by Restau­rant Oppor­tu­ni­ties Cen­ter.

Know Your Rights Poster to hang in the home with a reminder of your rights, what to say, and what to document in case of an ICE (immigration raid 11″ x 17″ POSTER, available in )
English |
Spanish |
Traditional Mandarin |
Simplified Mandarin |
Tagalog |
Korean |
French |

The importance of race, gender, and religion in naturalization adjudication in the US

3/1/22 This study examines group disparities in naturalization approvals by race/ethnicity, gender, and religion. We find that all else being equal, non-White applicants and Hispanic applicants are less likely to be approved than non-Hispanic White applicants, male applicants are less likely to be approved than female applicants, and applicants from Muslim-majority countries are less likely to be approved than applicants from other countries. In addition, we find that race/ethnicity, gender, and religion combine to produce a certain group hierarchy in terms of approval probabilities. For example, Blacks from Muslim-majority countries are much less likely to be approved than Whites from other countries. These findings underscore the continuing importance of race, gender, and religion in the making of US citizens.

2021 Trafficking in Persons Report

Human Trafficking in the Context of a Global Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic is a health crisis with unprecedented repercussions for human rights and economic development globally, including in human trafficking. COVID-19 generated conditions that increased the number of people who experienced vulnerabilities to human trafficking and interrupted existing and planned anti-trafficking interventions. Governments across the world diverted resources toward the pandemic, often at the expense of anti-trafficking efforts, resulting in decreased protection measures and service provision for victims, reduction of preventative efforts, and hindrances to investigations and prosecutions of traffickers. At the same time, human traffickers quickly adapted to capitalize on the vulnerabilities exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic.

Neither Safety nor Health – How Title 42 Expulsions Harm Health and Violate Rights

7/21 Report from Physicians for Human Rights – Toward the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the Trump administration overrode the objections of public health experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and compelled them to issue an order under Title 42 that closed the border to migrants and asylum seekers. The government used public health as a pretext to summarily expel children and adults seeking refuge at the U.S. border more than 980,000 times, while at the same time allowing other types of travelers to continue to cross the border with no testing or quarantine requirements.

Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law

9/30/21 Revised Policy from Alejandro Mayorkas – The immigration enforcement guidelines require the protection of civil rights and civil liberties. A noncitizen’s race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, national origin, political associations, or exercise of First Amendment rights cannot be factors in deciding to take enforcement action. For the first time, they explicitly guard against the use of immigration enforcement as a tool of retaliation for a noncitizen’s assertion of legal rights, such as the right to exercise workplace or tenant rights. The guidelines make clear that immigration enforcement authority shall not be used as an instrument of unscrupulous employers seeking to exploit their employees’ immigration status.

Improving Access to Public Websites and Digital Services for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Persons

12/21 Many entities – government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses – use websites and digital services to provide information and services to the public, to accept applications, and to manage accounts. Individuals with Limited English proficiency (LEP) access these websites and digital services.
Digital services involve the electronic delivery of information, including data and content, across
multiple platforms or devices, such as text, audio, video, mobile applications, and graphics that are transmitted for viewing over the internet. This includes social media (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), websites, and applications that enable users to create and share information and content or to participate in social networking. Vital information displayed on these platforms or devices should be accessible to persons with LEP in frequently encountered languages.

Immigrants in California

3/21 Report from the Public Policy Institute of CA (PPIC)- California has more immigrants than any other state.
California is home to almost 11 million immigrants”about a quarter of the foreign-born population nationwide. In 2019, the most current year of data, 27% of California’s population was foreign born, more than double the percentage in the rest of the country. Foreign-born residents represented at least one-third of the population in five California counties: Santa Clara (39%), San Mateo (35%), Los Angeles (34%), San Francisco (34%), and Alameda (33%). Half of California children have at least one immigrant parent. Multi-language:
Spanish

Ukraine Community Resources

3/11/22 The City of San José is closely monitoring the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and proudly stands in solidarity with Ukraine and our Ukrainian community in this extraordinarily challenging time. We are ready to support our community now and long into the future.
We will continue to share resources and information as it becomes available both on this page and on our social media pages: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
SJ Ukranian Resources
Bay Area Ukrainian Resources
Keu Words: TPS, Temporary Protected Status

Stanford Law School Immigrants’ Rights Clinic

Students in the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic have full responsibility for defending clients against deportation in San Francisco Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the federal courts of appeals. As part of that work, students write complex legal briefs, argue cases, conduct fact investigation, interview witnesses and clients, and represent clients in mini-trials. Students also engage in cutting-edge litigation and advocacy in partnership with local and national immigrants’ rights organizations.

2022 SF LANGUAGE ACCESSCOMPLIANCE SUMMARY REPORT

2/22 This year’s LAO report features direct feedback from community members via a comprehensive Language Access Community Survey conducted in 11 languages from June-September 2021 by OCEIA, in partnership with the IRC and the Language Access Network of San Francisco (LANSF). Survey results from over 2,000 City residents demonstrate that even with a clear commitment, a strong local language access law, and extraordinary efforts by emergency, public health and other City departments, not everyone was able to access the same information and services at the same time during a major public health crisis.

SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Biden’s Bid to Rescind ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy

2/18/22 The Supreme Court will hear a proposal by the Biden administration to rescind a controversial Trump-era immigration policy.
Despite the official end of the policy in June 2021, Remain in Mexico was ordered to reinstate the policy by a federal judge in Texas in August 2021. It came after Texas and Missouri filed suit against the Biden administration for its removal, saying that it was improperly terminated. A week after the order, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to restart the program. Since the policy’s restart, 572 people have been deported to Mexico from the United States.

Training on Conscious & Unconscious Biases in Health Care

Free on-line course from University of Georgetown – Course Purpose and Learning Objectives
This course focuses on conscious and unconscious biases in health care and their impact on people who are disproportionately affected by disparities in health and health care. It will offer an array of innovative activities, based on current evidence and best practices, that are intended to diminish the negative impact of biases.

Overtime Pay: Why Are Farmworkers Excluded?

2/10/22 Last week, the New York State Wage Board passed three resolutions that will finally provide overtime for farmworkers working for more than 40 hours a week. The resolutions also delineate a ten-year phase-in to ratchet down from the current 60-hour-a-week threshold to 40 hours. Immediately after the announcement, the New York Farm Bureau and other farmer-aligned organizations began rallying Governor Hochul for a reversal.
Until last week, farmworkers were part of a very slim subsection of workers in New York State who lack overtime pay after 40 hours. No other industry as large as agriculture has maintained the restriction of such a basic worker right.

Employment-Based Visa Categories in the United States

7/8/21 One of the key principles guiding the U.S. immigration system has been admitting foreign workers with skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy. Current U.S. immigration law provides several paths for foreign workers to enter the United States for employment purposes on a temporary or permanent basis. This fact sheet provides basic information about how the employment-based U.S. immigration system works.

Transgender Law Center

Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest national trans-led organization advocating for a world in which all people are free to define themselves and their futures. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation.

ILRC Immigration Enforcement Tracker

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and Detention Watch Network (DWN) are actively collecting examples and trends in immigration enforcement around the country.
We are asking partners to please fill out this form to share details of what you’re seeing in your communities, specifically on enforcement actions and decisions since January 2021. This includes immigration detainers, arrests, and detentions by ICE or CBP, including when local police or sheriffs are involved. Centralizing this information is critical to track patterns of enforcement, identify of problematic trends, and advocate for improvements.

Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law

9/30/21 Foundational Principle: The Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion – It is well established in the law that federal government officials have broad discretion to decide who should be subject to arrest, detainers, removal proceedings, and the execution of removal
orders. The exercise of prosecutorial discretion in the immigration arena is a deep-rooted tradition.
Icr New Enforcement Policies

US curtails refugee admissions to focus on resettling Afghan evacuees

11/16/21 The U.S. government is curtailing admissions of refugees to focus on the massive effort to process and resettle tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees, the State Department said Monday.
Through January 11, the U.S. will stop booking travel for refugees who don’t qualify for certain exceptions. Refugees who need to reunite with family in the U.S., who are travel-ready, who have “urgent cases” or whose medical and security screenings are set to expire soon will continue to be resettled, the State Department said.

U.S. waives work permit and green card application fees for Afghan evacuees

11/8/21 Afghans brought to the U.S. after July 30 under a humanitarian immigration process known as parole will qualify for a fee exemption on their applications for work authorization. The U.S. will also waive permanent residency petition fees for Afghans who are requesting Special Immigrant Visas due to their work with U.S. military forces.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) typically requires work permit applicants to pay $495 in application and biometric collection fees. The agency can charge up to $1,225 in fees to adjudicate petitions for permanent residency, which is also known as green card status.

Archive – US considering returning some evacuees who don’t pass vetting process to Afghanistan

11/18/21 The Biden administration is considering sending some of the Afghan evacuees at a US military base in Kosovo back to Afghanistan if they cannot clear the intense vetting process to come to the United States, according to three US officials familiar with the matter.
A return to Afghanistan is only one option on the table — and comes with complicated legal questions — but it is being studied as US officials have yet to develop an overall plan for how to handle the challenge of where to resettle Afghans if they do not clear the US security clearance process.

Special Immigrant Juveniles

If you are in the United States and need the protection of a juvenile court because you have been abused, abandoned or neglected by a parent, you may be eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification. If SIJ classification is granted, you may qualify for lawful permanent residency (also known as getting a Green Card).
Multi-language: Spanish

New immigration policy could help some undocumented veterans seek naturalization

11/17/21 The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office has issued a new written guidance expanding the eligibility for citizenship of former U.S. armed forces veterans facing deportation, as well as hundreds who were already removed from the country.
non-U.S. veterans can qualify for citizenship if they served during wartime, or what is known legally as a ‘ Designated Period of Hostility’, such as the Korean or Vietnam wars, the Persian Gulf conflict and the ongoing war on terrorism after September 11, 2001.
Multi-language: Spanish

The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration

11/21 Conducted in Spring 2021 amid the economic instability and changing migration policies brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, these surveys capture a snapshot of migration decision-making during a particularly dynamic period and point to important opportunities for regional collaboration. The report is the result of collaboration between MPI, the UN World Food Programme, and the Civic Data Design Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Why hundreds of thousands of kids in the US dread their 21st birthdays

“All my friends excitedly talk about turning 21 — hitting the bars, all of that…but it’s just something that I dread,” she says.
The day she turns 21, Parvathinathan will no longer be protected by the work visa that allowed her parents to immigrate to the United States from India. And she may face deportation.
It’s known as “aging out,” and experts estimate that about 200,000 people like Parvathinathan are living in a similar limbo. Brought legally to the United States as children, many are scrambling to find ways to stay in the country they love. Some are forced to leave the US when they run out of options.
They’ve dubbed themselves “documented Dreamers,” and they say their plight shows how broken the US immigration system is.

The Biden administration announced the DHS will halt workplace raids

10/17/21 NPRInterview: During Donald Trump’s presidency, immigration agents arrested thousands of individuals allegedly living in the country illegally through a series of high-profile raids on workplaces. Officials said these raids were intended to send a message to people skirting federal labor laws. But some criticized the raids for disrupting the lives of hardworking immigrants.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration signaled it would now end the practice. Here to discuss the significance of the move and what comes next is Marielena Hincapie. She is executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. Key Words: Undocumented

Biden Vastly Expands “Protected Areas” Where ICE Can’t Arrest Immigrants

10/28/21 Starting this week, the number of places where immigration enforcement officials are not allowed to arrest people is growing. The Biden administration issued a new policy Wednesday that directs agents to stay away from playgrounds, domestic violence shelters, healthcare facilities, public demonstrations, disaster response centers, and other locations.
The new “protected areas” policy
went into effect immediately and supersedes all previous guidance for what used to be called “sensitive locations.”

Archive – Newly arrived Afghans test a refugee resettlement system that’s rebuilding on the fly

10/7/21 Resettlement organizations are rebuilding on the fly after deep cuts during the Trump administration. Last year, the U.S. accepted the lowest number of refugees since the modern resettlement program began.
Now Congress has authorized more than $6 billion to support Afghan resettlement. The roughly 200 field offices that do this work are scrambling to prepare. They’re trying to find more affordable housing, and hiring as fast as they can.
The numbers are daunting.
Roughly 53,000 Afghans are living on military bases in the U.S., and 14,000 more will soon be on their way from military bases overseas. The vast majority are not technically refugees; they’re entering the U.S. under what’s known as “humanitarian parole.” And they have lots of questions about how it works.

More than 10 million US citizens live with an undocumented immigrant

9/10/21 Analysis: – More than 10 million U.S. citizens share a household with an undocumented immigrant, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by immigration advocacy group FWD.us. Nearly half of those U.S. citizens, 4.9 million, are children who have at least one undocumented parent.
The report shows the extent to which undocumented immigrants are integrated in their communities, with 22 million people living in mixed status households.

DHS Updates Immigration Enforcement Priorities

9/30/21 Safety and security remain top priorities. “We will prioritize for apprehension and removal noncitizens who are a threat to our national security, public safety, and border security” the memo states.
The guidelines shift how the department will employ prosecutorial discretion, moving away from rigid enforcement categories in favor of individualized assessments. Unauthorized status, on its own, will not be the basis for enforcement actions, according to the memo. Key Words: Undocumented, deportation

Archive – Funding Bill Will Help Afghans Resettle, Integrate

9/30/21 WASHINGTON, D.C. ” Congress today passed legislation that includes funding and additional benefits for Afghans resettling in the U.S.
The continuing resolution passed today includes $6.3 billion in supplemental funding for Afghan resettlement, as well as benefits for Afghan parolees who were admitted to the U.S. under humanitarian parole and are not technically deemed “refugees.” Key Words: Refugees, Evacuees

Across Parties, Americans Support People Seeking Refuge

9/22/21 WASHINGTON, D.C. ” Strong majorities of Republicans, Independents and Democrats agree that the U.S. should have a legal, secure way to welcome people from oppressed or war-torn countries.
In a new poll of 1,200 adults, including 1,000 registered voters, 65% of Americans ” including 61% of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 75% of Democrats ” agreed “that the United States should have a legal, secure process in place to take in people from oppressed or war-torn countries, such as Afghanistan.” The nationwide, online survey was fielded Thursday through Sunday. Key Words: Refugees, Asylum

FREE Bilingual Children’s Picture Dictionary – Clothes

Learn types of clothing with this bilingual children’s picture dictionary. Free download in:
English/Afrikaans, English/Albanian, English/Amharic, English/Arabic Egyptian, English/Arabic Formal, English/Arabic Gulf, English/Arabic Levantine, English/Arabic Maghrebi, English/Armenian, English/Azerbaijani, English/Basque, English/Belarusian, English/Bengali, English/Bosnian, English/Bulgarian, English/Burmese (Myanmar),
English/Catalan, English/Chinese Mandarin, Traditional, English/Chinese Simplified Mandarin, English/Chinese Traditional Cantonese, English/Chinese Traditional Mandarin (Taiwan), English/Croatian, English/Czech, English/Danish, English/Dari, English/Dutch,English/Estonian, English/Finnish, English/Flemish (Belgian), English/French, English/French Canadian, English/Georgian, English/German, English/Greek, English/Gujarati, English/Haitian Creole, English/Hebrew, English/Hindi, English/Hungarian, English/Icelandic, English/Indonesian, English/Irish Gaelic, English/Italian, English/Japanese, English/Kannada, English/Kazakh, English/Khmer, (Cambodian), English/Korean, English/Kurdish, English/Lao (Laotian), English/Latvian, English/Lithuanian, English/Macedonian, English/Malay, English/Malayalam, English/Maltese, English/Marathi, English/Mongolian, English/Nepali
English/Norwegian, English/Pashto, English/Persian (Farsi), English/Polish, English/Portuguese (Brazil)
English/Portuguese (Portugal), English/Punjabi
English/Romanian, English/Russian, English/Serbian Cyrillic, English/Serbian Latin, English/Slovak, English/Slovenian (Slovene), English/Shanghainese
English/Sinhala, English/Somali, English/Spanish (Castilian), English/Spanish (Latin America), English/Swahili, English/Swedish, English/Swiss, French, English/Swiss German, English/Swiss Italian,
English/Tagalog, English/Thai, English/Tamil,
English/Telugu, English/Tigrinya, English/Turkish,
English/Ukrainian, English/Urdu, English/Uzbek,
English/Vietnamese, English/Welsh, English/Xhosa, English/Yoruba, English/Zulu

CDC Guidance for Refugees Upon Arrival in the United States

2021 Refugees come from diverse regions of the world, and professionals working with them need to understand the health risks, including the risk of COVID-19, in the countries from which they are departing. One resource is CDC’s Travel Health Notices, which are resources for travelers, including refugees, to help understand the risk of COVID-19 in destinations around the world. Learn how CDC determines the level of a destination’s COVID-19 Travel Health Notice. Multi-language: :Welcome Booklet for Refugees Amharic, Arabic Burmese, Dari, Farsi, French, Haitian, Karen, Kinyarwanda, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tigrinya Ukrainian

Welcoming San Jose 2021 – 24 Plan

With recent changes in the national landscape that
allow for greater forward movement for immigrant
communities, building an inclusive and cohesive
San José is work that requires a deliberate investment from all sectors. A bold local strategy and
infrastructure to support immigrant inclusion is
critical to a successful city for all, regardless of national origin or immigration status. The Welcoming
San José Plan: 2021-2024 is another step towards
building and implementing this local strategy, in
collaboration with our many community partners.

7 Immigration Myths We Must Unlearn to Reclaim Our Humanity

Our immigration system is broken and cruel. Trump was enabled in turning the cruelty up to 11 by an infrastructure he inherited. It must be reengineered before another madman is allowed to hack American ideals to that extent again.
But fixing it demands that we examine ” then toss into the ash heap of history ” the myths on which our archaic, even barbaric, immigration apparatus rests.

THE TIME FOR A PARADIGMATIC SHIFT IN HOW AMERICANS VIEW IMMIGRANTS AND IMMIGRATION IS NOW

4/21 Trump’s illegal and insanely inhumane Migrant “Protection” Protocols (MPP), which didn’t protect anyone at all. From January 2019, MPP trapped roughly 70,000 of the world’s most vulnerable people, including 16,000 children, in some of the most dangerous places on Earth.
It is right that we should celebrate their liberty from a policy that criminalized asylum and slammed U.S. doors shut on people seeking refuge. We must elevate their resolve to enter the U.S. legally and with dignity as we recognize their international right to migrate.
But we must not let the celebrations blind us to the obvious: Our immigration system is broken and cruel.

The Invisible Wall: Title 42 and its Impact on Haitian Migrants

4/21 As of the release of this paper, over 1,200 people
have been expelled to Haiti since February 1, 2021, including hundreds of children, and dozens of Haitians, possibly hundreds, more have been expelled to Mexico.5
Almost all of these expulsions are occurring under what is referred to as the “Title 42” policy enacted
by the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”), which authorizes the expulsion of noncitizens without
any procedural protections guaranteed by Congress, such as the right to seek asylum and other related
forms of humanitarian protection. The Trump Administration’s justification for adopting this policy
that violates U.S. immigration statutes and its international obligations of non-refoulement was to protect Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) officers from COVID-19 and to minimize the number of
persons in congregate settings, such as immigration detention centers.6

Pathways to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants

2021 According to FWD.us estimates, undocumented immigrants belong to groups the U.S. public overwhelmingly supports being granted U.S. citizenship. With undocumented immigrants already filling substantial shares of critical occupations, America’s workforce will need undocumented immigrants to gain U.S. citizenship for a strong, post COVID-19 economy. Congress has no time to waste in building America back better.

Where Afghan refugees are expected to be resettled, by state

9/16/21 The Biden administration this week notified state authorities of the number of Afghan evacuees each state could receive in the coming weeks as part of the first phase of a massive resettlement operation that is slated to place nearly 37,000 refugees from Afghanistan in U.S. communities.
California is expected to receive 5,225 Afghan evacuees, the most of any state. Texas is set to receive 4,481 Afghans, followed by Oklahoma, which is expected to host 1,800 evacuees. Washington state and Arizona are each slated to receive more than 1,600 evacuees.

Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI)

9/15/21 Hiring Dari/Pashto speaking Therapist to serve arriving Afghan Refugees. Founded in 2005 by a group of bilingual/bicultural mental health professionals, CERI provides culturally-relevant mental health and other social services. We are dedicated to transforming the lives of refugees and immigrants and their families, many of whom suffer from weakening intergenerational relationships, layers of complex needs, and exposure to violence and trauma both in their current environments and in their native countries.

Steps to Protect Your Online Identity from the Taliban: Digital History and Evading Biometrics Abuses

8/17/21 We understand that the Taliban is now likely to have access to various biometric databases and equipment in Afghanistan, including some left behind by coalition military forces. This technology is likely to include access to a database with fingerprints and iris scans, and include facial recognition technology.
Overall, it is very difficult to avoid recognition based on biometric data, but the following fact sheet outlines some things you can do, and some you shouldn’t.
Multi-language: English, Dari, Pashto Key Words: Refugee, SIV,
Evading the Misuse of Biometric Data |
Evading the Misuse of Biometric Data-Pashto |
Evading the Misuse of Biometric Data-Dari |
IInternet Shutdowns and Blockages – English |
Internet Shutdowns and Blockages-Dari |
Thwarting Digital Surveillance-English |
Thwarting Digital Surveillance-Dari |
How to Delete Your Digital History-English |
How to Delete Your Digital History-Dari |
How to Delete Your Digital History-Pashto |

FAQs: Protection From Digital Identification Methods By the Taliban |

Archive – Pathways to Protection for Afghans at Risk

9/1/21 from NILC (Nat Immigration Law Center)
On August 31, President Biden announced the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the conclusion of “the largest airlift in U.S. history” a 17-day evacuation of approximately 120,000 people from Hamid Karzai airport in Kabul. In addition to U.S. citizens and citizens of other allied nations, among those evacuated were at-risk Afghans who assisted the U.S. military effort or who were otherwise under threat. The U.S. has announced three different immigration pathways that are being used to evacuate and resettle vulnerable Afghans: Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) status, the Priority 2 (P2) Refugee Program, and Humanitarian Parole.

Archive – Volunteer Legal Support for Afghans

12/31/23 Update – no longer accepting volunteers – This form is for volunteer legal workers interested in assisting with Afghan humanitarian parole applications. Volunteers will provide pro se support to Afghans and their sponsors, but will not formally represent applicants.
For more information about how to file for humanitarian parole for Afghan evacuees, see our training video and step-by-step guide