Dear Friends of Volunteers of Legal Service:
It has been a trying four years for immigrant communities as a result of the Trump Administration’s policies, and especially in 2020 during the pandemic. John Jay College’s Denise Vivar recently described the circumstances facing the young people in her program who are served by VOLS Immigration Project attorneys:
“These last few months were a very challenging time for students who were navigating multiple concerns. A lot of the parents lost their income. The students themselves may have lost their income. For a lot of immigrant students, government COVID-19 relief was not available to them or their family. So, they were really struggling with the impact of the pandemic. And then on top of that, a lot of the students that we worked with were affected by the Supreme Court ruling on DACA. There were a lot of things happening all at once. And VOLS was there to provide that legal guidance for our students.”
– DENISE VIVAR, John Jay College Immigrant Student Success Center
Since 2016, the United States’ immigration system has been overhauled in ways never seen before. Even as we anticipate more favorable policies under the incoming Administration, we at the VOLS Immigration Project are reminded that so much uncertainty remains.
We welcome you to read below for a ‘deep dive’ of the state and federal policies and developments affecting New York City’s immigrant youth. VOLS’ Immigration Project is ramping up our own legal services. Our team is:
- Offering a first-time consultation for new applicants to check DACA eligibility and to discuss next steps,
- Providing renewal services for previous DACA applicants,
- Promoting new resource guides in English and Spanish on topics like public charges, FAQ for food and housing security, and explainers on USCIS policies, and
- Planning virtual legal clinics with partners like John Jay Community College and Mixteca.
We are pushing back against racism, xenophobia, and the pandemic all at once. We deeply appreciate all members of the VOLS community for joining in the fight.
Please consider making a donation today to VOLS’ New York, Together campaign in support of our free legal services across the city.
Best,
Sin Yen Ling and the Immigration Project Team
Volunteers of Legal Service
Support VOLS’New York, TogetherAppeal Campaign
When disasters strike, New Yorkers have time and time again stepped up to the challenges facing our city. Today’s newsletter is part of VOLS’ New York, Together year-end reports on our 2020 impact and crisis response. Your generous support makes all the difference to the clients and communities we serve. Please donate today.
Immigration Project Community Outreach
Throughout the pandemic, the VOLS Immigration Project team has worked remotely to keep our clients informed and aware. One such effort is through our monthly newsletters with explainer guides on topics like DACA renewals, USCIS policies, and more. We encourage you to check out our latest December Newsletter on our website by clicking this link.
The page also includes archived material from previous newsletters. It is updated as policies and resources change. Through our newsletter we hope to answer some of our clients’ most frequently asked questions.
- Click here to read our latest December Newsletter.
- Click here to see our Immigration Project webpage.
A Deeper Dive: Immigration Policy in the Past Year
Existing problems due to harmful federal policies have only been exasperated during the current public health crisis. Read below about key developments this past year:
DACA – DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS: On December 4, a U.S. District Court in New York ordered the July 2020 memorandum issued by Chad Wolf to be vacated in which he refused to restore DACA in compliance with the Supreme Court. On December 7, the government issued a public notice effectively restoring DACA allowing young people to apply for work authorization for the first time. It also restored DACA to two-year intervals as opposed to a year and allowed its recipients to apply for advance parole under measures instituted under the Obama Administration. While we welcome the good news, the vulnerability of DACA remains, as the program faces further litigation by Ken Paxton, Texas’ Attorney General.
PUBLIC CHARGE RULE: The new public charge rules continue to yo-yo in the Courts with new preliminary injunctions filed and granted by the Courts, only to be stayed again by Federal Court. In the Second Circuit, the DHS rule is back in effect, and with it the dreaded Form I-944 Declaration of Self Sufficiency, creating confusion in the community and for attorneys representing members as to whether to file for adjustment of status, and ultimately, which forms to file. However, in the Ninth Circuit, the Court of Appeals ruled against the Trump Administration on the basis that it creates a chilling effect on immigrants who need medical assistance. It will be up to a Biden Administration to reverse the public charge rule.
USCIS SLOWDOWN AND COURT IMPACTS: Over the summer, USCIS declared that it could not make payroll and the Trump administration threatened to lay-off 70% of its work force until the agency cancelled the furlough until further notice. USCIS’ insolvency is consistent with the Administration’s restrictive immigration policies and worsening delays in applications that had nothing to do with COVID-19. As a result, VOLS saw a slow-down of all applications over the summer, when DACA renewals were taking double the amount of time from filing to approval. At times, USCIS receipts took months to generate, and applications were rejected because of mistakes on the government’s part. Meanwhile, USCIS changed its rules around I-765 applications, creating new discretionary policies around work permits allowing the agency to deny applications that otherwise would have been routinely granted.
Immigration Courts at 26 Federal Plaza and Broadway remain closed to the public since March 2020. Family Courts in NYC are only accepting emergency petitions where young people are aging out in a month or so. Criminal Court has remained shuttered except for virtual hearings and in-person felony cases. Retrieving certificates of dispositions and other documents from Criminal Court has created complications in meeting RFE deadlines issued by USCIS even as the government issued flexibility guidelines.
In June 2020, USCIS reopened its offices nationwide but continued to close the New York District office until August 2020. It slowly reopened the New York Office starting with delayed naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies. In September 2020, VOLS appeared with clients for their green card interviews under new COVID rules. ICE check-ins were mostly suspended except for a few ERO cases per week. VOLS represented a client who was one of the few cases required to report to his ICE check-in on the 9th floor at 26 Federal Plaza, because he was recently released under COVID-related litigation.
TPS – TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS: On September 14, 2020, the Trump Administration ended TPS for 400,000 individuals from Haiti, Sudan, El Salvador and Nicaragua. VOLS has been advising clients with TPS as they faced uncertainty with deportation and loss of employment. It will be up to the new Administration to rescind this decision, amongst many other xenophobic policies including but not limited to the Muslim ban, cruel border policies like family separation, including the 545 children permanently separated from their parents, and a myriad of asylum policies intended to destroy chances for resettlement for thousands fleeing persecution from their home countries.
Every single VOLS Immigration Project client has been affected by one or many of these policies, and we continue to see the fall-out every day.