California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) along with the Immigrant Legal Defense hosted a virtual resource seminar providing students with current, up-to-date information regarding immigrantion policy on Oct. 12. The valuable information seminar covered topics on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and other on-going updates affecting immigration cases.
CSUMB’s Undocu-Success Resource Specialist Maria Lopez Cabrera was joined by Managing Attorney Barabara Pinto. Pinto, along with the Immigrant Legal Defense, equips students and staff across the CSU campuses with vital legal information ranging from family petitions, court defense and citizen applications.
Pinto started the seminar with new updates and the current status of DACA. Under the current Trump administration, no new applications for DACA are being processed. However, renewal applications are still allowed but only grant DACA applicants coverage for one year, opposed to the previous two years.
It’s important to keep in mind that as long as DACA is in place with Congress, recipients are protected from detention and deportation.
TPS is currently allowing for work authorization and protection against deportation. In addition to DACA coverage changing, the filing fees are increasing. When can the public expect to see these changes issued? The answer is unknown, as there is a current lawsuit taking place in order to block the scheduled fee increase.
Lastly, Pinto advised immigrants that come into contact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in public or the privacy of one’s home to enforce their constitutional rights, refuse to sign documents and reveal as little personal information as possible.
When in doubt, the Immigrant Legal Defense is available for student resources, legal aid and representation throughout the CSU system.