Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

What is DACA?

Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ilrc) 

On December 4, 2020 a federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fully restore the original DACA program.

What does this mean for me?

Effective December 4, 2020, USCIS must begin to process DACA first-time requests. This includes all people who were eligible for the program but were not able to apply before the September 2017 termination, and those who applied after the June 2020 Supreme Court decision but had their request rejected.

A person can be eligible for DACA if they:

  1. Were born after June 15, 1981;
  2. Came to the United States before their 16th birthday;
  3. Were physically present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012 and when applying for DACA;
  4. Had no lawful status on June 15, 2012;
  5. Have continuously resided in the U.S. since June 15, 2007 until the present;
  6. Meet certain educational requirement or were honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces; and
  7. Have not been convicted of certain crimes

Individuals who are interested in applying for the program should consult a legal service provider to see how they can prepare and file a request. To find a legal service provider in your area, visit: https://bit.ly/ianimmhelp.

Information provided by Immigrant Legal Resource Center. For more details visit their page at www.ilrc.org/daca​.​

 

Orange County Free Legal Services

CHIRLA

CHIRLA ​ is recognized by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to provide immigration legal services at low-cost to its members. All legal staff and volunteers at CHIRLA are supervised by licensed attorneys, BIA-accredited representatives, Juris Doctors, and trained paralegals.For legal immigration services consultation, please visit CHIRLA Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday at 8 a.m. 

FREE attorney consult​ations. To schedule an appointment visit the following link. Please note that Santa Ana College is not listed as an option but due to increased availability you are encouraged to select an appointment under Saddleback College or Coastline College. ​​​

https://legal.chirla.org/

  • ​sign up under the Saddleback or Coastline College 
         (whichever has best availa​bility for you)​​

For additional information, please contact CHIRLA at (888) 624-4752.

 

World Relief

World Relief​ is recognized by the US Department of Justice and can represent immigration clients before the US Citizenship and Immigration Service. World Relief immigration representatives offer legal support to immigrants and refugees at low or no-cost to help them through this process. ​

​​For General Questions, you may contact their office at socal@wr.org or call (714) 210-4730: EXT #9 Monday - Thursday, 9 AM - 5 PM. Leave a voicemail. ​​

 

Un​ited We Dream

Three words: DACA is BACK!!!! After back-to-back court battles and courageous efforts from immigrant young people like yourself, we won again. 🎉

Since Trump tried to end the program in 2017, we have been living from one court decision to the next and have fought back at every turn. And now, DACA is BACK and there's no time to waste in making sure me, you and the rest of our community gets the protections we deserve.

Get the latest DACA resources.


Think you might qualify for first time DACA or renewal application? Now's the time to find out! Have questions about filling out your application and gethering all the documents that are needing to apply? View UWD's "DACA is BACK!" Application Prep sessions below. 
​For more information please visit https://uni​tedwedream.org/​ 

 

Catho​​lic Charities

Catholic Charities provides essential services to immigrants and newcomers to this country. Catholic Charities USA advocates for immigration and refugee policies that protect family unity and allow newcomers an opportunity to contribute and participate more fully in our communities.​For more information visit their website at Catholic Charities​.

 

Immigrants Rising

​​​​​​Immigration Legal Intake Service

Immigrants Rising's Immigration Legal Intake Service is an online survey to help undocumented young people learn about possible immigra​tion options. 

  • It's free

  • It's anonymous

  • It's confidential

immigrants​rising.org/legalintake/​​

WHO CAN USE THIS SE​RVICE?

Undocumented young people who do not yet have legal residency or citizenship in the United States and currently reside in the U.S.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The Legal Intake will ask you about your immigration background. The more detailed your answers, the better we can assess your case and provide thorough and accurate information.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER SUBMITTING THE ​FORM?

Our team will carefully review your answers and email you a personalized summary within 2-4 weeks. We highly recommend you take this summary to your local legal service provider or immigration attorney to explore your options.​

HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?

Contact them at legalintake@immigrantsrising.org​

 

OCCORD

OCCORD is an organization whose missions is to bring workers, families, and community partners together to organize and advocate for good jobs, strong neighborhoods and an inclusive democracy in Orange County. They concentrate their efforts in Anaheim and Santa Ana 

Services Include:

  • Citizenship classes 
  • Citizenship fairs 

For more information visit https://www.occord.org/. 

 

Public Law Center

Public Law Center is a pro-bono law firm that provides access to justice for low-income residents of Orange County. 

Services Include:

 

  • DACA renewal
  • Naturalization assistance 
  • Citizenship fairs 

For more information visit https://www.publiclawcenter.org/.