Wilmington, DE: The Latin American Community Center (LACC), in partnership with Aspira of Delaware and the Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement, held an event on Saturday, December 1, 2012 to assist youth and their families apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
The LACC, with help from Aspira of Delaware, enlisted six lawyers and eight law students to help those who were well into the process of compiling the required documents and information, but needed some help navigating the intricacies of the application. Law students from Widener and Villanova sat with youth and their families and helped them fill out the forms, while lawyers edited the completed applications and answered legal questions.
Ana Velasquez, Director of Prevention and Advocacy at the Latin American Community Center, said, “This event was very important because it allowed qualifying youth to access legal information and guidance. It would have been very difficult for these youth to afford the fees associated with hiring a lawyer for the entire process.”
The Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement was also on site to aid those who had not yet started the application process or who did not know anything about Deferred Action. This organization assists individuals who are now on the path to more comprehensive services.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ website, “On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several key guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and would then be eligible for work authorization. Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. Deferred action does not provide an individual with lawful status.”
For more information about this process, please visit HYPERLINK “http://www.uscis.gov/childhoodarrivals” http://www.uscis.gov/childhoodarrivals
If you think you or someone you know may be eligible, please contact Vielka Catalan from the Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement at (302) 656-8200 or HYPERLINK “mailto:vcatalan@delaca.org” vcatalan@delaca.org
*Established in 1969, The Latin American Community Center is the largest multi-service agency for Latinos in Delaware and the only fully bilingual Hispanic-serving agency in northern Delaware, which includes New Castle County and the City of Wilmington. Encompassing a wide variety of services, the LACC provides a continuum of care to effectively serve anyone from infants to seniors, and everyone in between.
*ASPIRA of Delaware is a non-profit that uses advocacy, mentoring and specific programs to develop and increase the academic achievement and leadership capacity of Latino youth.
*Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement (DACA) is a 501c3 organization working to provide educational and charitable services to low- and moderate-income Delawareans.
