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Newsletter
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Office of Immigrant Relations
70 W. Hedding 11th Floor
San Jose, CA 95110
OIR Facebook
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Santa Clara County Responds to President Trump's Announcement on DACA
On September 5, 2017, President Trump directed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to phase out and eventually end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) over two and half years.
At a press conference held in response, Supervisors Dave Cortese and Cindy Chavez, County Executives, Community Leaders and DACA recipients vowed to defend the program despite President Trump’s plan to terminate DACA.
DACA was created in 2012 by the Obama Admistration. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, allows youth who were brought to the United States as children and who meet certain criteria to request consideration for deferred action, which constitutes a case-by-case determination by DHS not to pursue an individual’s removal from the United States for an initial two-year period as a matter of prosecutorial discretion. DACA recipients were afforded a temporary status, work permits and social security numbers. Evidence suggests that DACA helped make significant improvements in the lives of undocumented youth educationally and economically. Additional impacts of DACA include access to internships, stable transportation and housing, and paid work experience.
Nationally, over 750,000 young people have received deportation relief and work permits through DACA. According the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, more than 200,000 DACA recipients live in California. California is the state with the largest number of DACA recipients. According to the Migration Policy Institute, there are 24,000 DACA recipients in Santa Clara County.
According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), the Trump Administration’s announcement means that, as of September 5, 2017:
- USCIS will continue to process all pending INITIAL applications ACCEPTED as of September 5, 2017.
- USCIS will reject all other new INITIAL applications.
- USCIS will continue to process all pending RENEWAL applications that have already been filed.
- USCIS will continue to accept and process RENEWAL applications until October 5, 2017 from applicants whose DACA expires between September 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018.
- USCIS will reject all INITIAL and RENEWAL applications received after October 5, 2017.
IILRC also states that individuals with a current, unexpired grant of DACA will continue to hold DACA until their permit expires. USCIS has stated that it will not refer DACA recipients and applicants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation unless they meet USCIS’ Notice to Appear guidance or post a risk to national security or public safety. Applicants with currently pending and processing applications should attend biometrics appointments and respond to any requests for additional evidence they receive from USCIS.
For an Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) infographic that details the implication of this announcement go to: https://www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/resources/daca_renewal.pdf
Additional ILRC Resources:
Community Advisory: What Do I Need to Know about the End of DACA?
Available in multiple languages
www.ilrc.org/advisory-daca
Infographic: DACA Renewal
Available in English & Spanish
www.ilrc.org/daca-renewal-infographic
FAQs: End of DACAhttp://www.ilrc.org/end-of-daca-faqs
www.ilrc.org/end-of-daca-faqs
The Office of Immigrant Relations will be working with community based agencies, schools and county departments to inform the community regarding implications, preparations and protection.
For more information go to:
https://www.nilc.org/issues/daca/about-daca-and-employment/
http://weareheretostay.org/resources/
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/09/05/frequently-asked-questions-rescission-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca
For information sheet for DACA referrals click here
“FAQs on DACA Termination” English click here
“FAQs on DACA Termination” Spanish click here
For additional local resources go to:
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Santa Clara County Creates a Fund to Help DACA Recipients Renew
The County of Santa Clara has teamed up with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to set up a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Emergency Fund. The fund will assist DACA recipients in the County of Santa Clara who are eligible to submit DACA renewal requests by the October 5, 2017, deadline.
The County of Santa Clara encourages members of the public to make online contributions to the fund to assist DACA recipients who need financial help to afford the renewal application fees. It is estimated that 1,740 DACA recipients in Santa Clara County are eligible to submit renewal requests under the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidelines.
DACA renewal application fees are $495 per individual. For some people, this is a significant financial barrier. To help DACA recipients submit their renewal requests on time, please consider contributing to fully or partly cover the $495 renewal application fees. Contributions can be made online here: https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/sccdacafund
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SCC Celebrates the Completion of a 10 Week Pilot Program for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Recipients
On September 5, The County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors Children, Seniors and Families Committee (CSFC) and County Executive Jeffrey V. Smith held a special session to hear the final presentations and policy recommendations from the participants of the New Americans Fellowship program.
Participants of the New Americans Fellowship presented their research and community service projects focusing on improving immigrant integration in Santa Clara County. Research topics included: undocumented LGBTQ immigrants; emergency preparedness resources for immigrants; DACA; executive order 13769; immigration court; Title IX; outreach efforts to the Latino community; financial literacy and naturalization.
“I believe most of us understand one of our highest obligations as adults in this community is to take care of children and to act as if every child in our community is part of our own family. And I can’t think of a group of children and young people who are more in need of our support and our guardianship than DACA recipients,” said Supervisor Cindy Chavez. “These Dreamers are the best America has to offer. They are hard workers, they are going to college, they are thinking not just about the futures of their own families but the futures of our entire community. I demand that the federal government do what we’re doing at a local level to support children no matter where they are from and to make sure they have the best opportunity to lead our nation forward.”
“Providing the opportunity for DACA youth to learn about local government, immigration programs, and immigrant integration efforts in Santa Clara county has been an inspiring experience,” said Maria Love’s Director of the Office of Immigrant Relations. “The fellow’s abilities, eagerness and skills only emphasize and highlight what immigrants bring and contribute towards the success and growth of the County and the nation.”
Through the New Americans Fellowship Program, The Office of Immigrant Relations identified, recruited, and provided paid internship opportunities to immigrant young adults who have benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) administrative relief program. Selected participants, known as Fellows, were placed in a variety of county departments and agencies, as well as partner nonprofit providers over a 10-week period. Each Fellow undertook a research or community service project focused on improving immigrant integration in Santa Clara County.
Interns were placed in the Office of Immigrant Relations, the Office of Women’s Policy, the LGBTQ Office, Pangea Legal Services, the Office of Cultural Competency, Public Health, PARS Equality Center, the Office of Supervisor Dave Cortese, and the Office of Supervisor Cindy Chavez. Each intern worked on community service projects, policy development and research. This pilot program was coordinated by the Office of Immigrant Relations.
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Rapid Response Network is Launched Countywide
On Wednesday, August 30th, 2017 a press conference was held to announce that the Rapid Response Network (RRN) will now cover the entire Santa Clara County. It has been active for 2 months in San Jose but is now extended countywide.
Community Based Organizations with the support of the Santa Clara County Office of Immigrant Relations and the San Jose Office of Immigrant Affairs have been working to establish this network based on a model that is spreading across the country as the national campaign to address the increase in detainment and deportation. A telephone dispatcher is available 24/7 to receive information about ICE activities and notify the closest volunteers to verify the report and witness the event. Volunteers learn how to do this without interfering with ICE officers, while documenting whether they are following their own procedural guidelines and respecting constitutional rights that everyone has, regardless of immigration status.
If someone is detained, the dispatcher is alerted with the details, and legal assistance is immediately activated. There is also a component of this model that serves as a support network for the affected families. Trained volunteers provide information, advocacy, transportation to attend proceedings, and sometimes cash assistance. They also provide accompaniment and emotional support to affected family members. Frequently it is the employed member of the family who is detained by ICE, and the entire family loses its only source of income.
The hotline provides constitutional advice for families undergoing an enforcement action, connects the family with legal representation, dispatches a trained team of legal observers, and other people who can help provide emotional and practical support at a time of crisis. To reduce the fear that community members experience as they lead their daily lives, the hotline is also designed to confirm or deny the presence of enforcement activity in their neighborhood. The network counts on an increased capacity and the ability to expand from servicing just San Jose, to now the entirety of Santa Clara County, due to community and volunteer investment – hundreds of responders, most U.S. born citizens, have been trained as legal observers to respond to enforcement alerts.
Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara County
Who can call the hotline? Any concerned community member that witnesses immigration enforcement activity in Santa Clara County can call (408) 290-1144, 24/7 to report ICE activity and receive help in real life time! Please note this is not a general information line. If you need general immigration services contact a community based organization in your area.
When you call the RR line: The dispatcher that received the call will support the community member in asserting their rights, and will dispatch trained Rapid Responders to the impacted site.
If an immigration enforcement is confirmed, the Rapid Responders will conduct legal observation, collect evidence that may support the immigration case of the impacted family, and provide moral support and accompaniment to the impacted family. If a community member is detained, we will connect them with immigration attorneys for legal counsel and provide accompaniment support. We want to make sure no community member has to go through this on their own.
Ways you can engage in the Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara County:
Immigrants in the USA have rights too! Regardless of your immigration status, you have constitutional rights. Attend a know-your-rights training to learn what those rights are, how to assert them, and receive support preparing a family emergency plan. For more information about know-your-rights trainings contact Sacred Heart Community Service at marielag@sacredheartcs.org or call (408) 916-5033.
If you are a U.S. Citizen and want to stand in solidarity with families impacted by immigration operations in our community, attend a Rapid Response Solidarity Training and register to become a rapid responder. We need more Rapid Responders in South and North Santa Clara County. For general information contact rosad@sacredheartcs.org or call 408-278-2186. You can also register for upcoming Rapid Response Solidarity trainings here.
This is a collaborative project led by Sacred Heart Community Service, PACT, Pangea Legal Services, SOMOS Mayfair, LUNA, SIREN, CARAS, Catholic Charities, the South Bay Labor Council, the City of San Jose Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Santa Clara County Office of Immigrant Relations.
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Lidiya was born in the Ukraine in July 1929. When she was a young child, she moved to Kharkov, Russia. The government there was oppressive, and they killed Lidiya’s father when she was only five years old. When Lidiya was ten, World War Two started. The Nazis occupied Kharkov, and there was always a lot of fighting nearby. Despite the fact that there was always fighting, Lidiya would go check on her favorite monument of a poet each day. Other than doing that, she tried to stay inside because of the fighting. Lidiya was forced to stay at home, and there was no school during wartime. Her mother tried to take care of the family as best as she could. This was a very hard time for all of them; they could always hear and see the fighting. When the allies finally recaptured Kharkov, the Nazis left. On the way out, they’d set fire to houses. She read by the light of the burning houses for a while because that was really the only light she had. Later, Lidiya returned to school.
The effects of World War II caused Lidiya to miss enough school that she graduated high school when she was 20. She went to University and studied biology and chemistry. After two years she married her husband and moved to Moscow because her husband was stationed in the military there. She graduated in 1954.
Her husband was an aviation engineer. His job was to make sure the planes flew well and did not crash. They were first stationed in Austria and stayed there for a year. By that time Lidiya already had a daughter and was expecting a son. She lost touch with her husband for a while, but they reconnected later. Her husband had served in the war and by the end of his career he had served in the army for 42 years before retiring. Lidiya’s family spent a lot of time in the eastern part of Russia where the climate was very harsh. Every time the family moved, Lidiya got a different job. She taught biology and chemistry to children of all ages, but her favorite job was teaching these subjects to future teachers. She was also a class dean who took care of the girls and any issues affecting them. Science always intrigued her and this was what motivated her to become a teacher.
When her husband passed away in 2005, she decided to come to America to be with her son and her daughter. She also had a grandson working at Google, who helped convince her to move. Lidiya first lived in Gilroy and in other places around the Bay Area, but later moved to the Stevenson House in Palo Alto. Stevenson House is a place providing affordable housing for independent seniors and a number of programs, activities, and international celebrations. Lidiya still misses Russia, so she keeps up with events happening there by reading a newspaper called Gordon’s Boulevard. Although she misses Russia, she is glad she moved to the United States because she has found a lot of friendly people, and she thinks life would be hard without her family.
Source: madeintoamerica.org
This story was written by three 8th grade students from Castilleja School in Palo Alto – Grace Douvos, Holly Kuhn, and Noor Hanafi.
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USCIS Launches Mobile Form for Replacing Green Card
Lawful permanent residents who file the online Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, without assistance from an attorney or accredited representative, can now file their form and upload evidence entirely on a mobile device. The redesign of the online Form I-90 also allows lawful permanent residents to navigate the site more easily, making the process of renewing or replacing Green Cards more convenient.
The new mobile-responsive design provides an intuitive method for answering questions, navigating through sections, and uploading evidence on a mobile device. Instructions for filing Form I-90 require providing certain evidence, such as a copy of government-issued identification. For those filing through a mobile device, it may be easier to take a photo of the evidence and upload it directly from their mobile devices. The redesigned online form also provides a more personalized experience, as users are directed to answer only those questions specific to their case.
There are no substantive changes to the policy or content of the form, and the online version has parity with the questions and content on the paper form.
Applicants can access the online Form I-90 through myUSCIS by creating a USCIS online account at https://myaccount.uscis.dhs.gov/. There is no cost to set up an account, which offers a variety of features including the ability to track the status of an application and to communicate with USCIS through a secure inbox.
Customers who wish to file Form I-90 with the assistance of an attorney or accredited representative will continue to use the previous version of the online Form I-90.
Additional information about Form I-90, including guidance on the application process, is available at uscis.gov/i-90.
For more information about USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis) and Instagram (@uscis).
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