Community Corner

GALEO Hosts Event to Help Illegal Immigrants with Deferred Action Today

The Latino organization is helping undocumented young people with the application process for deferred action, which will prevent them from being deported.

GALEO in partnership with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Georgia-Alabama Chapter, and the Latin American Association, will hold a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Application Assistance Day on Saturday, Sept. 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Latin American Association located at 2750 Buford Highway in Atlanta.

The goal of DACA Application Assistance Day is to help 300 DACA eligible individuals.  The DACA Application Assistance Day is being supported by over 100 volunteers that include immigration attorneys, attorneys, paralegals, and community members.  Due to limited resources and overwhelming demand, the DACA Application Assistance Day will only be available for members of the community in most need of free assistance.  Estimates indicate that there are likely about 40,000 immigrant youth in Georgia who may qualify for the DACA federal process. 

At this time, all of the appointments have been filled. In order to ensure a smooth process, only individuals who have pre-registered will be assisted. 

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Individuals who applied for free assistance on Saturday, Sept. 15, have met the following requirements:

Both GALEO and the LAA coordinated in accepting appointment requests and filled up all 300 slots available.  

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"GALEO is proud to partner with AILA, and the LAA to help our young community members who want to continue to establish the US, the country they call home. Due to limited resources, we will only be able to assist students who would not have the financial means to hire an attorney and present a relatively simple case, meaning they have no criminal record and meet the school requirements," stated Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO Executive Director.  

On June 15, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security recently announced that young people meeting the following requirements will be considered for deferred action for two years and may obtain work authorization:    

1. Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012; 

2. Came to the United States before reaching age 16; 
3. Have continuously resided in the US since June 15, 2007 up to the present time; 
4. Were physically present in the US on June 15, 2012 and at the time of making request for consideration of deferred action; 
5.Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012 or lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012; 
6. Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the US; and 
7. Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety. 
The application process for DACA began August 15, 2012. For more details on DACA, please visit www.uscis.gov/childhoodarrivals

 

 


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