News

In his remarks at Noche de Luz last month, Judge Clay Jenkins mentioned the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed “public charge” rule. This rule would penalize the permanent residency and visa applications of immigrants who receive an expanded range of public benefits, including Medicaid, food stamps, and Section 8 housing.

The DHS has now published the public charge rule in the Federal Register. Through December 10, the public can comment on the proposed rule online. The only personal information required is a first and last name, and submitting comments on behalf of a third party is permissible.

The Washington Post has further coverage of the public charge rule. The Center for Public Policy Priorities has published a fact sheet explaining its opposition to the rule.

HELP NEEDED FOR DETAINED IMMIGRANT KIDS
NO IMMIGRATION LAW EXPERIENCE REQUIRED!

DHBA is seeking 3-5 bilingual volunteer attorneys to volunteer at the Karnes immigration detention center the week of December 3rd-7th (with the option to stay and continue volunteering Saturday the 8th).

The Karnes Pro Bono Project provides free legal services to immigrants detained in the Karnes Detention Center - most are families fleeing violence in Central America. The detained parents and children are forced to pass a credible fear interview before they can be released from detention to pursue asylum. The failure to pass the interview can lead to deportation, which means a return to danger and even death.

At this time, the Karnes Pro Bono Project is serving fathers and their sons. These families are often traumatized and untrusting, and volunteers must be able to quickly build positive bonds. The legal environment is fast-paced and needs are always changing, but volunteers will likely assist with legal research, holding intake meetings with clients, preparing clients for credible fear interviews, providing legal advice to families regarding release from the detention center, drafting declarations for asylum cases, representing clients during their credible fear interviews (telephonically or in person), and possibly representing families in hearings before the Immigration Court.

The detention center is staffed Monday through Saturday from 10am-8pm. RAICES will hold an orientation phone call for both legal training and a discussion of the logistics of volunteering on November 28th from 3pm-6pm.  RAICES does provide support on the ground, but the volume of clients if very high and volunteers should be prepared to be flexible, patient, and work as independently as possible.

Volunteers are typically responsible for their own travel and hotel expenses. RAICES recommends that volunteers stay near their San Antonio office. However, DHBA may be able to financially assist attorneys who would not otherwise be able to volunteer with some of the expenses. 

Please contact Patricia Freshwater if you are interested in this volunteer opportunity at freshwater@dfwvisa.com. DHBA must finalize the volunteer list prior to November 16, 2018.

For more information on the Karnes Pro Bono Project, please see here.

Event flyer (PDF)

The City of Dallas is holding a MyDallas Citizenship Workshop on October 13 at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library.

The workshop needs volunteers to help with the citizenship application process. Interested in helping? Contact: (214) 671-5087.

A 90-minute volunteer training course will be held at the following dates and times. Volunteers only need to attend one training session.

• Thursday, September 6, from 6pm-8pm
  
• Saturday, September 8, from 10am-12pm
  
• Thursday, September 20, from 6pm-8pm
  
• Saturday, September 22, from 10am-12pm
  
• Thursday, October 4, from 6pm-8pm
  

• Saturday, October 6, from 10am-12pm
  

On Friday, August 3, a D.C. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restart the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The order is delayed to allow the government to appeal.

News coverage of the decision:

• https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/03/daca-trump-administration-court-judge-restart-order-722167
• http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/03/daca-program-should-be-fully-restarted-federal-judge-rules.html
• https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/03/daca-program-protecting-immigrants-should-restart-federal-judge-rules/904083002/

The July 21 CLE, Legal Remedies as a Response to the Border Crisis, is now available as a webinar for viewing at your convenience here.

CLE slides (PDF)
CLE Handout - Current cases pending as of 07/19/18 (PDF)

CLE credit information:

This recording is accredited in Texas, New York, and California.  Attorneys licensed in other jurisdictions will be provided with a Uniform Certificate of Attendance upon request for use in seeking individual credit.  To receive CLE credit, please email Catherine Dunbar at the conclusion of the video with your state license information (bar/registration number).  If you are licensed in New York, you will also need to provide the code words spoken in each segment of the presentation (four code words).

Original event flyer:

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The Dallas Hispanic Bar Association continues to strongly condemn the Trump Administration’s separation and detention of more than 2,000 children seeking entry into the U.S. along our southern border. Our members have responded to this alarming and unacceptable injustice with compassion, seeking ways in which volunteer attorneys can assist immigrants and their children. The DHBA issues this list of volunteer opportunities, both here in the DFW area and near the border, to assist members who are seeking to help.

DFW Area Volunteer Opportunities

Our local non-profit immigration legal services providers have been assisting immigrant families and unaccompanied children seeking protection from harm for many years. Please consider volunteering your time or your resources locally.

• Human Rights Initiative provides legal and support services to refugees and immigrants who have suffered human rights abuses. This includes representing immigrants in applications for asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, U visas, and VAWA. HRI also serves a local shelter for unaccompanied minors, where the agency has already seen children separated from their parents. Volunteers (particularly bilingual individuals) are needed to assist with administrative and translation work, and to accept pro bono cases for vulnerable clients, particularly children. Please contact Layne Faulkner at lfaulkner@hrionline.org.

• RAICES provides free and low cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees in Texas. The organization has also recently created a National Families Together Hotline to assist families who have been separated in reuniting. The local office needs volunteers, particularly bilingual volunteers, to staff regularly held asylum clinics. Additionally, the local office needs volunteers to assist with the cases of parents and children who have been released at the border and relocated to the Dallas area. Attorneys can take a case pro bono or assist with research or briefing for ongoing RAICES cases. RAICES also has volunteer opportunities with its south Texas offices, which serve the family immigration detention facilities at Karnes and Dilley. Please call 214-295-9554.

• Catholic Charities provides free and low cost legal services to immigrants in need of legal representation in wide range of immigration matters. Catholic Charities is currently seeking both non-immigration attorneys (once trained) and immigration attorneys to accept pro bono, limited representation of immigrant detainees in Custody and Bond Redetermination applications. For attorneys with immigration experience, Catholic Charities is also seeking volunteers to accept pro bono cases for removal defense, particularly asylum, in the Dallas Immigration Court.  Please contact Lacy de la Garza at ldelagarza@ccdallas.org.
  

Additional Volunteer Opportunities

The Texas Civil Rights Project is seeking Spanish-speaking attorneys to represent immigrant families at risk of deportation, primarily in South Texas. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus is organizing pro bono attorneys to volunteer with this organization. Potential volunteers can register here.

The Texas State bar has compiled an excellent list of opportunities for volunteer attorneys in Texas, including several opportunities for attorneys who are able to travel to the border to provide services to immigrant families and unaccompanied children.

Suggested Organizations for Donations

Many attorneys may want to help, but have limited time. Please consider supporting our immigration non-profit organizations in the vital work that they do every day on behalf of vulnerable children and families.

• Please consider our local organizations:
  Human Rights Initiative: http://www.hrionline.org/donate/
  RAICES: https://www.raicestexas.org/#donate
  Catholic Charities: https://ccdallas.org/donate/
• The Texas Civil Rights Project is representing clients at the border who have been separated from their children.
  
• The ACLU Immigrant Rights Project has filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump Administration regarding the separation and detention of children.
  
• United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led advocacy network in the country.
  
• Kids in Need of Defense provides legal representation for unaccompanied children who enter the US immigration system alone.
  
• Texas RioGrande Legal Aid has been working on family reunification efforts along the border.

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STATEMENT URGING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO RESCIND
ITS ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY IMPACTING THE U.S./MEXICO BORDER

June 19, 2018
Contact: Isaac Faz
214.233.5835
President@DallasHispanicBar.com

Since implementing the Zero Tolerance policy, the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security has separated and detained more than 2,000 children seeking entry into the U.S. along our southern border. We are concerned with the alarming and unacceptable injustice under which children are being forcefully separated from their parents.

We urge the Trump Administration to rescind its Zero Tolerance policy and implement a more humane and compassionate way to address the children and families seeking asylum in our country.

“When immigrants, including children, arrived at Ellis Island, they saw the Statue of Liberty. Today, these children are seeing cages, guns, and concrete walls. This is not the way we should receive the vulnerable seeking our help or portray ourselves to the world,” stated Isaac Faz, President of the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association. “Additionally, we seek transparency. We ask the administration to allow the press and civic groups to take video and photos of the events within these facilities.”

The DHBA further calls upon all elected officials and representatives to support clean legislation that would bring an immediate end to this humanitarian crisis. Our nation was built on the back of immigrants, and from its inception to today, immigrants contribute to our society in meaningful ways. It’s time to reunite families and restore the values that made this country great.

The Dallas Hispanic Bar Association (DHBA) is the largest Hispanic Bar association in North Texas and affiliated with the Dallas Bar Association. We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization with the goal to promote the social, economic, educational, and civic advancement of the DFW Metroplex Hispanic community by making the legal system more accessible to the Hispanic community and more responsive to its needs.

We are happy to announce we are partnering with the Consulate General of Mexico and Catholic Charities of Dallas to host a free citizenship workshop. The workshop is a great way for non-immigration attorneys to volunteer in the community without the need to appear before a judge, or commit to an ongoing case.

During the workshop you will help individuals fill out their citizenship application. Prior to the workshop there will be a training session for those who would like to learn more about the citizenship process, eligibility requirements, and benefits. We will also review how to properly complete the Form N-400 Application for Naturalization.

The details:

CITIZENSHIP WORKSHOP EVENT

Saturday, June 9th at 9:00 a.m. (Volunteer arrival at 8:30 a.m.)
Consulate General of Mexico in Dallas
1210 River Bend Dr. Dallas, TX 75247

CITIZENSHIP TRAINING SESSION

Thursday, June 7th at 6:00 p.m.
Catholic Charities Dallas, Central Services Center – Town Hall
1421 W. Mockingbird Lane. Dallas, Texas 75247

Attorneys are able to sign up for different shifts (8:30 am – 12 pm & 12 pm – 5 pm). For more information please email Tricia at freshwater@dfwvisa.onmicrosoft.com or call Luis at (469) 801-8183. Register to volunteer today! Visit goo.gl/f8ozAq to sign up.

We invite you to join us and help people fill out their forms to become U.S. Citizens!

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Statement Urging Congress To Pass DACA Bipartisan Legislation

February 15, 2018
Contact: Isaac Faz
President@DallasHispanicBar.com

On Monday the U.S. Senate voted 97-1 to begin debate on a potential bill that could address the status of the individuals in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Board of the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association (DHBA) supports a bipartisan legislative resolution and urges members of Congress to pass permanent legislation immediately and end the fear and uncertainty about the future of the DACA program.

Over 700,000 DACA recipients – also known as Dreamers – were brought to the United States as minors. The DACA recipients met DACA’s various legal requirements, paid a fee to the U.S. Treasury, filed the correct documentation, and only then were able to continue their studies or careers.

In January 2018, a California federal court issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the phasing out of DACA.  Without this intervention, there was potential for over 100 individuals a day to lose their DACA protection. The only true protection, however, is legislation.

“Dreamers are not only integral members of our society and economy, they are our family, friends, and neighbors,” stated Isaac Faz, President of the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association. “For many of these individuals, this is the only country they know, and ours is the only anthem they sing.”

Texas is home to the second largest DACA population, and the Dallas-Ft. Worth area – with approximately 36,000 DACA recipients – leads the state. Over the past 30 days, the DHBA has sponsored DACA workshops with community organizations and will continue to assist in any way possible.

“A majority of Americans support legislation to protect DACA recipients. As the DACA debate continues, we ask Congress to look at this issue with an open mind and open heart,” added Faz.

The Dallas Hispanic Bar Association (DHBA) is the largest Hispanic Bar association in north Texas and affiliated with the Dallas Bar Association. We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization with the goal to promote the social, economic, educational, and civic advancement of the DFW Metroplex Hispanic community by making the legal system more accessible to the Hispanic community and more responsive to its needs.

DHBA is thankful to have members who are giving with their time and pocketbook. Donations make an impact in our communities. This season, please consider giving to a noble cause. We know there are several opportunities to give to well deserving organizations, below we mention only a few. Thank you in advance.

Hurricane Harvey

During this holiday season of giving, please consider contributing to Hurricane Harvey Relief through the Houston Bar Foundation's HBF Relief Fund.  When donating, please note your contribution in the "Group Code" section as: "#GivingSeason-DHBA" To learn more about efforts in Houston, including volunteer opportunities and resources for attorneys, please visit the HBA site.

Equal Access to Justice

There is a joint effort of the Dallas Bar Association, DHBA and other Sister Bar organizations, and the Legal Aid of Northwest Texas to raise funds for pro bono civil legal aid in Dallas County. Today, 600,000 of the 2.4 million people living in Dallas County qualify for free legal help from DVAP. To make a contribution, please visit the DVAP donation page. For more information on the Campaign or the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, contact Michelle Alden at 214-243-2234 or aldenm@lanwt.org.

The Concilio

Since 1981, The Concilio has worked with families in North Texas to respond to the needs of an emerging Hispanic population. More than 80% of the families they serve are low-income and many are learning English as a second language. Because of you supporters like you, over 11,000 parents and their children in the DFW metroplex are healthier and better educated this year. Recent results from their programs include: Students whose parents participate in the Concilio parent education program graduate from high school at a rate of over 90% (compared to 83% of their peers) and 2) Over 50% of participants in their health program decrease weight and improve fitness standards. To make a donation please visit The Concilo's donation page.