Immigration Aid: Discover Your Ally Program for California Students

Discover Your Ally offers free legal immigration help to California community college students, including undocumented individuals. The program helps students navigate complex immigration issues and access vital resources.

An Additional Pasadena City College student found out during an examination that he received Unique Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Standing, a permit pathway for those under 21 who have actually been abused, deserted or disregarded by a parent.

“Their marriage was not long … so now we’re in the process of helping her get rid of those problems to her green card, and in a few months we’ll have the ability to help her with naturalization application so that she can become a citizen,” she included. “She is now transferred over to the CSU system, and we have actually had the ability to assist in each component of her situation over all of these years. I assume it’s very reflective of what the program has had the ability to do.”

Yadira Gutierrez Vargas, Supervising Lawyer, University Legal Services, Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), shares the story of just how Discover Your Ally was able to aid a Pasadena City College student gain an immigration standing he was qualified for and connect him to support as left during the recent Los Angeles fires.

Discover Your Ally: Supporting Immigrant Students

“I was a student really, really, several years back, and it would certainly have been such a true blessing to have access to something similar to this at that time,” claimed Vargas. “I remember being in my teenagers, attempting to help my mommy and my granny went through notices and fill out files and going to numerous individuals that had actually type of experienced the process, because we simply didn’t have that information … We might have asked concerns of someone reputable, rather than having a host of different point of views that were a lot of times wrong.”

“College can currently be very hard to browse on its own, yet when you add top of that, immigration concerns under this management, it provides even more complex obstacles,” claimed Yadira Gutierrez Vargas, a managing lawyer of university legal solutions at the Central American Source Facility (CARECEN), which offers Discover Your Ally solutions to 12 Los Angeles-area area colleges.

Financial Stability and Program Reach

Moneyed totally by the state at regarding $10 million annually, the program remains untouched by the continuous federal government shutdown or The golden state’s budget deficit, “with the caveat that depending upon exactly how the government shutdown goes, people that may be in the procedure of adjusting standing or sending applications might see a little bit of a delay,” stated Alonso Garcia, elderly manager of equity at the Foundation for The Golden State Neighborhood Colleges, at a Thursday, October 2 American Neighborhood Media rundown.

Alonso Garcia, Elder Manager, Equity, Foundation for California Community Colleges, discusses the Discover Your Ally program, which offers free, lawful immigration solutions for pupils signed up in the California area college system.

“With any luck, they can continue to move forward, due to the fact that instances are still being provided,” Vargas included. “We are still obtaining authorizations. The analysis might just take a little much longer, and the discussions regarding the threats may take a little bit longer.”

Addressing Concerns and Ensuring Confidentiality

For potential applicants hesitating to share their details with the state, “We do not ask for a whole lot of info. All of the info channelled with Discover Your Ally goes straight to the lawful service companies.” Their marriage was not really long … so currently we’re in the procedure of assisting her eliminate those conditions to her eco-friendly card, and in a couple of months we’ll be able to aid her with naturalization application so that she can become a resident,” she added. “She is now moved over to the CSU system, and we’ve been able to aid in each part of her situation over all of these years.

For prospective candidates thinking twice to share their info with the state, “We do not ask for a lot of info. “There are a number of firewall softwares, and we scrub the system within 48 hours of scheduling their examination. All of the info channelled through Locate Your Ally goes directly to the legal service carriers.

“My greatest issue is that the actions by the management are creating a chilling impact, therefore a great deal of people, also when they are qualified for kinds of relief, are really worried to progress,” she proceeded, encouraging Californians eligible for Locate Your Ally to “meet with an attorney to evaluate their risks.”

“After that, she obtained married to somebody with condition, so we had the ability to aid this certain client on filing a household application in addition to a permit application, which approved her conditional residence,” Vargas claimed.

Impact on California Community Colleges

The golden state area colleges offer over 2.1 million trainees, making it the biggest higher education system in the U.S. An approximated 50,000 to 70,000 of these trainees are undocumented, according to California Dream Act and in-state tuition application information.