Editor’s Note: Raices Cultura, a local arts and culture nonprofit, recently teamed up with lawyers, Megan Beaman, from Beaman Law, and Russell Jauregui, from the Law Offices of Russell Jauregui, to host a ‘Know Your Rights’ workshop on immigration issues in the new year. Coachella Uninc. asked Jauregui to list the top five things community members should do if they are worried about their immigration status in 2017.

1. Get the Facts

“With all the things that Trump and his supporters have been saying about deporting everybody, people should know their rights. People still have constitutional rights and they should know what they are. People still may have certain defenses to deportation, they still may have ways to immigrate so they need to know those things, they need to know their rights and know what their options are.”

2. Find a Trusted Lawyer

“Stay away from bad layers and ‘notarios’ who do not know the law. People go to them and get ripped off, so go to workshops where there is free information from lawyers who are here because they want to do this. Try to go to community events where you can get the right information for free.”

3. Find out if Citizenship is an Option

“Find out if you can become a citizen or if you are a legal permanent resident. At times, there are workshops that you can attend for free and there will probably be lawyers there that will volunteer to help you for free.”

4. Participate and Get Organized

“Don’t be intimidated by Trump and his supporters. We have constitutional rights. Especially in communities like Coachella where there are fewer resources, the community has to defend itself. So work with good community based organizations.”

5. Defend Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

“If DACA is ended, then we must fight for an alternative to protect those who have DACA. The reason we have deferred action is because of the students, because they were active and because they got involved and pushed Obama to do it. Those that have the (DACA) status have been working and going to school, so we need to keep them with some kind of status.”

About the author: 

Olivia Rodriguez is from Thermal, Calif. She graduated from Desert Mirage High School in 2011 and earned her bachelor’s degree in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley in 2015. Olivia joined Coachella Uninc. in 2015 and one day she hopes to be a health leader and work alongside other community leaders in the eastern Coachella Valley to address health Inequalities in her community.

New America Media, News Report, Elena Shore, Posted: Nov 12, 2015

Pictured above: Odette Keeley of New America Media, Sally Kinoshita of Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Juan Ortiz of International Institute of the Bay Area, Dayanna Carlos of The California Endowment and Annette Wong of Chinese for Affirmative Action discuss the federal court decision and what families can do now. Photo by Min Lee.

A day after the 5th Circuit announced its ruling against the Obama administration’s executive actions on immigration, immigrant rights leaders said now is the time to act.

“We are not going to sit around and wait for a court ruling. We will not let right-wing judges or right-wing states determine what happens to the fate of our communities,” Annette Wong, program manager with Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) told reporters at an ethnic media news briefing organized by New America Media. The roundtable was part of an effort by the statewide coalition Ready California to encourage residents to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

One year ago, President Obama announced two new programs through executive action – an expansion of the DACA program and a new program for parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, or DAPA. Those programs remain on hold following Monday’s court ruling, the latest decision following a lawsuit brought by 26 Republican-led states against the Obama administration.

The Obama administration is expected to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court in the next few weeks. If the Supreme Court takes the case, it will likely announce a decision in June.

But while those two programs remain on hold, immigrant rights advocates said there are steps that families can take now to secure their future.

“It doesn’t matter what status someone has; there are actions they can take,” said Juan Ortiz, staff attorney with the International Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA).

U.S. citizens can register to vote; eligible green card holders can apply for citizenship. Undocumented California residents can apply for a driver’s license under AB 60, noted Ortiz.

Next May, undocumented children in California will be able to access full-scope Medi-Cal. California parents can start enrolling their kids now in Restricted Medi-Cal (sometimes called Emergency Medi-Cal), regardless of their immigration status.

Parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents can start preparing their documents so they will be ready when DAPA goes into effect.

And, most importantly, people can still apply for the original DACA program that was announced in 2012.

It’s important to understand that Monday’s ruling does not affect DACA, noted Sally Kinoshita, deputy director of Immigrant Legal Resource Center. That program remains in effect and continues to help undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children get work permits, social security numbers and a temporary reprieve from deportation.

Ortiz advised families to go to a trusted community based organization for an immigration check-up to see what they might qualify for. In fact, he said, almost 15 percent of people who apply for DACA end up qualifying for something else, like a U-Visa (granted to victims of crimes) or a T-Visa (granted to trafficking victims).

Meanwhile, several DACA recipients speaking at the briefing encouraged their community members to apply for the program so they could access all of its benefits – not only a social security number, a work permit and a reprieve from deportation, but also the stability and security to stand up and advocate for the rights of others in their communities.

For Mexican American DACA recipient Luis Avalos, getting DACA was “ a shining light in a dark tunnel of uncertainty,” allowing him to work legally and stop being afraid of deportation.

Avalos, 22, is now the chair of the San Francisco Youth Commission and advises the mayor and board of supervisors on issues of concern to young people. In order to be appointed to the commission, Avalos needed a social security number.

“I wouldn’t be able to be part of the San Francisco Youth Commission without DACA,” he said.

For Hong Mei Pang, a community organizer with ASPIRE, getting DACA was “a pivotal moment” in her life.

Pang, who came to the United States from Singapore 12 years ago, said before DACA was announced in 2012, she was “working three jobs under the table in abusive, exploitative conditions.” DACA allowed her to get work authorization and step out of the shadows.

Today she advocates against deportations that continue to separate families. “Being able to participate in community organizing,” she said, “means we are able to hold each other up.”

Meanwhile, for Brian Cheong, DACA might have saved his life.

Cheong, who moved here from South Korea 12 years ago, was the leader of his high school’s marching unit, graduated at the top of the class, and was awarded the Outstanding Student Award, given to one graduating senior each year.

When he went to college, he said, “that’s when my life turned a little downward.”

As an undocumented immigrant, he was forced to pay out-of-state tuition. In order to pay out-of-state tuition, he had to get a job. But because he was undocumented, he didn’t have a permit to work legally.

“On top of that,” he said, “the fear of deportation followed me everywhere I went. You never know if when you’re sleeping or working if people are going to come and capture you.”

“I started to question my life,” he said, “and whether it was worth it to continue.”

When DACA was launched in 2012, Cheong said there was never any question that he would apply for it. Getting DACA allowed him to work legally and have a secure source of income for tuition, removed the fear of deportation, helped him regain confidence in life, and allowed him to feel stable and secure for the first time in a long time.

“I’m the type of person that likes to plan ahead, and I couldn’t do that before DACA,” Cheong explained.

Today, Cheong is in a military program called MAVNI, a special program that could allow DACA recipients with certain skills to gain something that they otherwise would not be able to access – a path to citizenship. Cheong plans to eventually petition for his parents and family, who are currently left out of immigration reform.

To other young people who are living without legal status, Cheong had a simple message: “You are not alone.”

“Get up, speak up, advocate and educate,” he said, “not just for DAPA [Deferred Action for Parents of Americans] but for CIR [comprehensive immigration reform] as well.”

For more information about Ready California, visit Ready-California.org.

New America Media, News Report, Elena Shore, Posted: Nov 26, 2014

Ed. Note: On Nov. 20, 2014, President Barack Obama announced that he would take executive action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Following his announcement, New America Media hosted a national telephonic press briefing for ethnic media reporters, with speakers Marielena Hincapié of National Immigration Law Center, Marshall Fitz of Center for American Progress and Sally Kinoshita of Immigrant Legal Resource Center. More than 75 reporters from around the country called in to ask questions about the impact it will have on their communities. Here are the answers to some of their most frequently asked questions.

Who will benefit from Obama’s executive action? 
There are three main groups that will benefit under Obama’s plan: parents of U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents; undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. before the age of 16; and spouses and children of Legal Permanent Residents.

Parents: If you are a parent of a U.S. citizen or a parent of a Legal Permanent Resident and you have lived in the U.S. continuously since Jan. 1, 2010 and can pass a background check, you may be eligible to apply for Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) and a work permit. The program should be up and running by May 20, 2015.

Those who arrived before age 16: Obama is removing the age cap from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), so if you were too old to qualify before, you may be able to qualify under the new DACA if you came to the U.S. before the age of 16, and have continuously lived in the U.S. since Jan. 1, 2010. The DACA expansion is likely to go into effect Jan. 20, 2014.

Spouses and Children: Obama’s new program will allow spouses and children of Legal Permanent Residents to apply for a waiver so they can get a green card sooner. Under current law, undocumented immigrants must leave the U.S. to get a green card, which may trigger a three-year or 10-year bar that prevents them from entering the U.S. for that amount of time. They will now be able to apply from within the U.S.

How do I avoid being scammed?
Be wary of anyone who says they can help you for a fee, before the new programs go into effect. There is nothing to apply for now, except for the current DACA program that was announced in 2012. The new DACA expansion that Obama announced is likely to go into effect Jan. 20, 2014 and the new deferred action program for parents is expected to go into effect May 20, 2014. So there is no reason to start paying anyone for immigration services now, especially if they promise to get you to the front of the line, to receive extra benefits, or anything else that sounds too good to be true.

How much will it cost?
The application fee will be $465. However, you can inquire about microloan programs and other means of help for low-income families.

If I am granted deferred action, how long will it last?
This is a temporary program that will protect you from deportation for three years and it is renewable.

Why is this program temporary?
Executive action is by its nature temporary. An act of Congress would be needed to create a more permanent solution.

Can I travel abroad under deferred action?
Yes, but only if you apply for and are granted something called “advance parole,” which gives you the authority to travel without being concerned about being stopped at a U.S. port of entry.

Will I be able to get a Social Security number?
Yes. When you get your work permit, go to your local Social Security office to apply for your number. You can look up your local Social Security office at www.ssa.gov.

Will the Central American youth who came here this summer benefit from executive action?
No. To qualify for the expanded DACA program, you have to have lived in the U.S. continuously since Jan. 1, 2010.

Will the expansion include LGBT parents?
Yes, but additional guidance is needed to make sure this program is accessible to all LGBT parents. For example, it is unknown how this will affect couples who live in one of the 35 states where there are no explicit protections for same-sex couples to petition for second-parent adoptions.

Will this include adopted parents and stepparents?
Yes, parents with adopted children and stepchildren count, but only if the parents were married before the stepchild was 18, or if the child was adopted before the age of 16 and has lived with the parent for two years.

How do I know if it’s safe to come forward? 
With DACA, the administration included certain confidentiality provisions that are a kind of firewall between USCIS and ICE. That same firewall will also be included in this program.

What happens after three years? 
There is no guarantee, but the more people that come forward and apply and receive deferred action, the harder it will be for a future administration to rescind this program.

Where can I go for more information?
Stay tuned to USCIS.gov for the latest information: http://www.uscis.gov/immigrationaction

AMBER AMAYA/ Coachella Uninc.

THERMAL — A crowd of 30 eastern Coachella Valley residents gathered at the San Jose Community Center last Thursday night where they watched President Obama, on Spanish-language television, make his long awaited immigration announcement.

In the agricultural east valley, where the vast majority is Latino and there is a sizeable immigrant population, residents were eager to learn the details of the President’s executive order to temporarily shield undocumented immigrants from deportation.  The order had been expected for months, although there was only conjecture about how far reaching the protections would be.

After hearing the announcement — it was played twice, back-to-back, to make sure no detail went unnoticed — reactions to the plan were decidedly mixed by those at the community center, many of whom were either personally impacted or have family members who are affected.

During his address, the President explained that his plan would focus on three main objectives: increasing resources for border enforcement, making it easier for high-skilled immigrants to contribute to the economy, and addressing the status of undocumented immigrants who are already living in the United States.

On the third point, President Obama explained that anyone who has lived in the United States for more than five years, has children who are American citizens or legal residents, registers and passes a criminal background check, and pays taxes will be eligible for temporary protection from deportation.

One woman who attended the community screening said that, under the new immigration guidelines, her sister would be eligible to apply for protection. Another  woman sitting nearby said she was disappointed — she and her family would not qualify for protection under the expanded rules.

Jacob Fuentes, a senior at Desert Mirage High School, expressed optimism that his relatives, and one of his high school friends, would now be able to work and succeed in the United States.

“I know one of my friends struggles every day with the fact that she is undocumented, with the fact that she can’t apply to certain things, and she is unable to live in the light, so to speak,” said Fuentes.  “She is in the shadows all the time.”

Though thousands of eastern Coachella Valley residents will likely qualify for the new deal, many others, especially those working in the agriculture and hospitality industries — the two biggest job sectors in this region — are still not protected from deportation, according to Megan Beaman, a local civil rights lawyer and founder of Beaman Law.

“My opinion is that way too many people of all types were excluded from this announcement, and that this deportation protection doesn’t go far enough, not only for farm workers. Our farm worker population is overwhelmingly immigrant, and is subjected to among the most difficult working and living conditions in the country,” Beaman said. “That said, landscapers, gardeners, housekeepers, construction workers and countless other low-wage, difficult, tiring professions are equally deserving of relief.”

Sergio Carranza, the executive director of Pueblo Unido CDC, said he thought that the President’s announcement was a step in the right direction, but the expanded protections did not go far enough.

“What we need here is a more comprehensive effort,” Carranza said. “We don’t need to wait 10 or 15 years for families to be able to apply to become citizens. We need to start from the get go.”

In his speech, Obama challenged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill in order to create a more permanent legislative solution. And both Beaman and Carranza said a more permanent solution is desperately needed if undocumented immigrants are ever going to see long-term relief.

“The President’s executive actions can be seen as a positive sign of his good will. However, the actions are temporary, they can be revoked by any subsequent president,” Beaman said. “So, while the actions may be a step in the right direction, there is much more work to be done.”

But for now, Fuentes said, the President’s announcement gives people, like his relatives and friends, a chance to come out of hiding and a chance to be treated with dignity.

“I think this reform is what needs to happen, not only for my friend, but for others in the community. So that way they can exit the shadows and present themselves to the world — that way they can be treated as humans.”

Editor’s Note: This editorial was produced in association with New America Media (http://www.newamericamedia.org), a national association of ethnic media, and was published by more than 50 ethnic media across the country to bring attention to the urgency of immigration reform. 

The White House and Congress must move quickly to enact just and humane comprehensive immigration reform.

In the wake of the 2012 elections, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have expressed the need to act on the issue. The window for bipartisan legislation is now open.

Ethnic media have a high stake in the future of immigration policy in this country. That’s why we are joining together to take an editorial stand to urge Congress and the White House: Make 2013 the year of immigration reform.

This is not merely a question of politics. We are calling for comprehensive immigration reform because it is the morally right, economically wise and pragmatically sensible thing to do.

Our country is a nation of laws, and it is clear that U.S. immigration laws need to be overhauled. The immigration system is broken, not only for the 11 million undocumented immigrants, but for the thousands of immigrants who are unable to get visas to work in the United States; for American businesses that can’t hire the workers they need; for the families who wait for years to get visas to join their relatives in the United States.

We need comprehensive immigration reform that will reunite families, reinvigorate the economy, and revive our identity as a nation that thrives on the contributions of hard-working immigrants.

It’s clear that our federal immigration laws are not working. Federal inaction on immigration has led states from Arizona to Alabama to write their own legislation. Even the recently announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is a temporary band-aid that does nothing to solve the larger problem of a broken immigration system.

Immigration has been portrayed as a divisive issue. In reality it’s not. All of us would benefit from an effective immigration system that responds to the needs of the market, protects all workers from abuse and exploitation and puts an end to the practice of separating parents from their children.

We need an immigration system that reflects the best traditions of our history — our belief in justice, equality, and economic opportunity.

And as we look to the future, we must make sure that we remain competitive in an increasingly globalized world. We need to continue to attract the best and the brightest, to be the destination of the world’s most innovative workers.

We must act now. Our economy and our future depend on it.

The Diary of Joaquín Magón Entry 22: The Deportation Chronicles, Part 1

The year 2012 has come to a close and the numbers of those removed from the United States are released – 409,849 individuals caught, trapped, nabbed, thrown into the patty wagon and kicked out with a boot – a record high.

For the Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV), it’s no surprise. It’s what makes the ECV so unique – the normalization, the desensitization of deportations. Think about that word. Deported. DE-POR-TED. It’s a horrible word and a horrible experience. To outsiders, the Coachella Valley conjures up fuzzy thoughts of a crazy concert or country clubs with golf courses and swimming pools.

But the Coachella Valley that I know is the Coachella Valley of deportation.  The following are the stories of four people I am lucky to know. I am sharing their stories in an unconventional manner, over three installments of The Diary of Joaquín Magón. Hopefully, I will do them justice. Read on.

Mario Lazcano: Witness to the Scars of a Community

When it comes to immigration issues in the Eastern Coachella Valley, there is one person to see first: Mario Lazcano. Most know him as the guy who runs El Comité Latino and who works out of his cramped home, helping people with their immigration issues for practically nothing. Lazcano believes that the immigration/deportation issue in the ECV is a result of the authorities taking advantage of the fact that there is no solid leadership, no one organization or politician to defend the people.

To write about immigration today, would be to neglect a historical trend, since Secure Communities began in 2008 under the Bush Administration. Continuing under the Obama Administration, there has been a rise in deportations across the United States. But cities near the Mexican and Canadian border (ok, not so much the Canadian border) have had to deal with that rise for much longer.

There is a little known program called Operation Stone Garden, implemented in 2006, which provides grants for local law enforcement authorities that cooperated with border patrol agents. All of a sudden we started hearing stories of police calling ICE Agents on people they had pulled over, police asking for documents, and pretending it was a coincidence that the ICE agent showed up minutes after they had just pulled you over.

One man, as one story went, was forced to kneel on the side of the road by Los Duros trailer park before getting the back of his head blown off by a law enforcement officer internalized a fear of going outside. (This story could be true, partially true, or simply the result of rampant fear in the community.)

For the past six years, the ECV has been subject to multiple federal programs whose consequences have split families and caused a deep distrust of law enforcement. Sobriety checkpoints have become a way of taking cars away from undocumented immigrants.

Lazcano explains, “Because the Coachella Valley has been used as a testing ground…and that has caused us a lot of harm. That’s why talking about deportation and separated families is one of the most common things that we have experienced. Thank God that we haven’t gotten used to it.”

After that, a series of factors gave rise to a massive xenophobia across the United States – a bad economy, and a general acceptance of deportations as something necessary because immigrants were seen by people like Bill O’Reilly, as a social ill destroying America. This was also the time when a number of old and bored men with guns decided the “defend” the border with vigilante craziness. In December 2012, Rolling Stone writer Damon Tabor wrote:

“That a Phoenix crane load-rigger can point an assault rifle at two Guatemalan immigrants – and do so without consequence – is the product of two converging forces: Arizona’s long-standing anti-immigration culture, and a two-decade push by the federal government to shore up the Mexican border.”

The same can be argued for the Coachella Valley. Not in terms of the actually having those crazy nuts (at least I haven’t heard of any), but of accepting the fact that it’s just the way things are.

But for the year 2012 where, according to a statement by ICE Director John Morton, out of the 409,849 people deported “approximately 55 percent, or 225,390 …were convicted of felonies or misdemeanors – almost double the removal of criminals in FY 2008.”

But if 55 percent of the deportations had to do with criminals, and if the Obama administration ordered for criminals to be ICE’s focus, then what of the remaining 45 percent?

To Lazcano, this means that “[ICE] continues to hurt our families and harming our community and not following their own agreements that they wouldn’t deport us if we met certain criteria such as having a family and not having any serious criminal offenses.”

The individual stories behind those numbers are sad realities that fill Lazcano’s case files. A mechanic that drove from Coachella to Desert Hot Springs to pick up a car. His wife joins him; the police stops them. The police call the border patrol. They get sent to separate detention centers. Luckily, they were well informed and refused to sign for voluntary deportation. His wife, who had been sent to San Diego, was released; the husband was taken to Arizona and eventually released on bail. Now think of the family. They had an older son that protected his younger siblings, including a daughter that couldn’t understand why her parents couldn’t come home.

This Friday: The story of Mayte, an undocumented College of the Desert student who is among the thousands who have applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

_____

“The Diary of Joaquín Magón” is written by Jesús E. Valenzuela Félix, a reporter from Coachella living in Salinas and working for the United Farm Workers Foundation. He contributes regularly to Coachella Unincorporated.

Coachella, Calif. –  Over 100 residents from throughout the Eastern Coachella Valley recently attended “Immigration 101” to learn about the deportation process and how to bring family members to the United States.

The seminar was presented by immigration attorney Jessica Dominguez at Our Lady of Soledad Church and was sponsored by Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC), with sponsors such as the FIND Food Bank who were providing healthy snacks to all the attendees.

Alex Luna, a community organizer with ICUC, said it is important to bring this information to the community. “It allows those who are undocumented and have come to this country to learn about their rights and the opportunities they have here in America,” he said.

Dominguez is from Los Angeles, but she travels throughout the country giving presentations such as this to immigrant communities. She came to the Coachella Valley through the power of social media. Dominguez had received so many questions on her official Facebook and Twitter accounts, that she finally decided a presentation in this area was necessary.

Her presentation focused primarily on how to bring family members legally to the United States.  She also described the deportation process in detail.

Early in the event, the organizers passed out blank note cards. On these note cards attendees were asked to write down any questions or concerns about either of these processes. Dominguez was able to address most of these questions and concerns during and after her presentation. As she spoke, a slideshow showed the key points along with easy-to-follow graphs, charts and pictures.

Being at this seminar was very educational for me. I learned a lot about deportation and other immigration processes. I was very surprised by how long these processes take.

More of these presentations should be held here in the Coachella valley. It opens your eyes to some of the struggles people have gone through because they want to become citizens of the United States or are being wrongly deported.

To find out about any upcoming ICUC seminars, visit www.icucpico.org.