Higher Immigration Processing Costs

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12
PROGRAM #10864 12:00 PM PT

Higher Immigration Processing Costs. 

Humanitarian protection permits and legal immigration pathways in the U.S. are becoming increasingly expensive. New federal fees on work permits and essential applications are turning the immigration system into a “pay-to-access” model. Who can afford to stay legally? What happens to those who can’t? What does this mean for people fleeing in search of protection? And what is the deeper purpose behind this plan?

Guest: Yannick Gill, Senior Counsel for Refugee Advocacy, Human Rights First, Washington, DC.

Back to school amid fears. With the start of the school year, Los Angeles teachers are demanding better guarantees for students and families in the face of possible ICE actions. In a political climate hostile to the immigrant community, the teachers’ union is calling for protections to help alleviate families’ fears of ICE raids. Can a school be a safe space? What responsibility do education authorities have in the face of the fear that pervades classrooms?

Guest: Luz Gallegos, Executive Director, TODEC Legal Center, Perris, CA.

Know Your Rights: How to Protect Your Children. Fearing possible detention or deportation, families in California worry their children could one day return home to find it empty, and many are beginning to prepare for that emergency. Who will care for their children? Who should be contacted in case of detention? What resources exist to safeguard minors’ rights? How can families prevent children from being left unprotected? And how can parents at risk arrange a legal guardianship to ensure their children are cared for?

Inform your family members and emergency contacts about how to find you if you are detained by ICE. Family members can use the ICE detainee locator: https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search to find someone in ICE custody. Make sure your family and emergency contacts have a copy of your A Number (your A Number is on your ICE immigration documents), if you have one.

Guests: María Ortiz-Briones, Reporter and Photojournalist, Vida en el Valle / The Fresno Bee, Fresno, CA; Brenda Aguilera, Director of Community Transformation, Para los Niños, Los Ángeles, CA.

Photo: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services/Facebook

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