On Sunday, February 25th, AABANY, the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) co-hosted a free one-day legal DACA and Immigration Know-Your-Rights clinic. The event was held at Brooklyn Law School and was open to volunteers and attorneys of all practice areas.
AALDEF Staff Attorney Annie Wang began the clinic with a presentation in which she summarized the basic requirements for DACA and the changes made since it was announced in 2012. Annie noted how the current administration has made it much more difficult to renew DACA. She also touched on her experiences as an undocumented immigrant before she became naturalized and why she became an immigration lawyer. The last portion of the presentation included a Know-Your-Rights overview that covered what to do in the case of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid.
After the presentation, participants were free to seek out the various resources provided, including assistance for food stamps from Hunger Free America, materials from the Academy of Medical and Public Health Services, as well as professional mental health counseling. Attorneys were also present to assist anyone present.
Thank you to all the volunteers for attending the event. Thanks to Theresa Lau and Judy Lee from AABANY for helping to organize the event through the AABANY Community Response Task Force.
(Thanks to AABANY Legal Intern Sarah Lu for the photos and write-up.)