All students at California community colleges, full-time or part-time, enrolled in credit or non-credit, dual or adult education programs, have the right to request free, high-quality legal assistance on immigration matters on their campuses.

This includes help paying for paperwork, family petitions, consultations, and even renewal permits for the Deferred Action for Immigration (DCA) program. Childhood (DACA).

This is the Higher Education Legal Services Project program, funded by the state of California to ensure that no student faces complex immigration challenges alone.

During the video conference: “Find Your Ally. Legal Support for Undocumented Students at Community Colleges,” organized by American Community Media (ACoM) and sponsored by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and the Foundation for California Community College, university leaders and immigration law experts spoke about the services of this program.

Alonso Garcia, senior manager of equity for the Foundation for California Community Colleges, said they are in charge of overseeing immigration legal services and support for undocumented students on campuses throughout the state.

“This project partners with the California Department of Social Services, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and ten other trusted legal service providers to provide legal assistance to our 116 campuses, and to our approximately 2.1 million students systemwide directly.”

He said they do not have an estimated number of undocumented students, as Public universities strive to ensure their privacy and security, and comply with all requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

“There is a previous estimate of between 50,000 and 70,000 students, based on data collection from the California Dream Act application and AB 540 in-state tuition law that they may be eligible for.”

She said that Find Your Ally is a unique initiative of the California Department of Social Services and the Immigration and Integration Unit.

“The state is investing $10 million to provide comprehensive immigration legal services to all students,” she said.

She maintained that there is no income limit for students, faculty, and staff to participate in this program.

“We are not asking for anything, not your income or anything like that, to take advantage of this resource. They can participate as long as they are visiting professors, full-time professors, tenured professors, or individuals participating in our adult education or dual enrollment programs and are currently enrolled at one of the 116 campuses across the state.”

She mentioned that they can also provide support with DACA renewals and cover some of the costs, as well as for naturalization applications or permission to leave the country such as advance parole.

“We also have funds to pay for biometric data collection or any other comprehensive services, such as medical consultations or similar, that may be necessary to advance their case.”

She explained that one of the benefits of participating in this program is that they do not request refunds for application fees, and services will continue for students regardless of when their affiliation with the community college system ends.

“This is because immigration policy is constantly changing, and when requesting immigration resources, it could take several years for the student to obtain it. Therefore, we can continue providing services regardless of whether the student completed their associate's degree, their trade program, or just joined us for a semester.”

She emphasized that as long as they are a student at the time of their admission, they will be able to connect and receive services until the end of their consultation.

??“All the information channeled through Find Your Ally goes directly to the legal service providers we have at the state level. hybrid.

“With the presence of ICE in our communities, our virtual services have been more than a lifeline for students.”

You can access the services at: https://findyourally.com/

Yadira Gutierrez Vargas, supervising attorney for the Legal Services for University Students at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), said the program is excellent because undocumented students face unique and complex challenges that others may not experience in the same way, and therefore require specialized support.

“Higher education can be very difficult to navigate on its own, but when you add immigration issues under this administration to that, as you can imagine, it presents even more complex challenges.”

She said they've seen a decrease in DACA renewal applications, although it's still one of the most popular, followed by naturalization.

“Another form of assistance that we tend to help with less now under this administration, due to people's fear, is Advance Parole applications.”

On the contrary, she noted that they've seen an increase in family petitions and petitions for Special Immigrant Status for minors under 21 who have been victims of abuse, abandonment, or neglect by one or both parents.