Information meeting for young immigrants slated for Aug. 16

RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) a San Antonio-based group providing help to immigrants and the Immigration & Refugee Services of Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi will host an informational event on Aug. 16 at Del Mar College Center for Economic Development located at 3209 S. Staples St. in Corpus Christi. The event will begin at 10 a.m. and run through 2 p.m.

RAICES, which recently opened a branch office in Corpus Christi, provides free legal assistance to individuals who qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Certain individuals who arrived to the U.S. as children can obtain a work permit and valid photo I.D.

RAICES has grant funds that allows them to offer the DACA process free of charge. The government gets $465 per person for the process regardless of who prepares the paperwork. The Immigration & Refugee Services of Catholic Charities charges $330 for the legal work and private law firms charge much more, Seger said.

“This upcoming event is the first effort to work together in the community,” Kimberley Hall Seger, an attorney with the Immigration & Refugee Services said.

Individuals who arrived in the U.S. before they turned 16, came before 2007 and are not yet 31 years old when they apply; entered without inspection or permission; are in high school or have graduated or in an accredited GED program; have lived here continuously since 2007; and have no felony or significant misdemeanors, can receive a work authorization for two years, renewable for another two years. It is not citizenship, not a green card, but it protects them from deportation, as long as they stay out of trouble, and in Texas allows them to apply for a Texas driver’s license and a Social Security number, Seger said.

“We have successfully processed about 200 over the last two years but always struggle to get the word out over our 12 counties that this is still available and should be used by anyone eligible,” Seger said.