Clinics to offer help for DACA renewals

LAS CRUCES - Three free clinics will be take place during the next seven days to assist eligible recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in applying for a renewal ahead of the Oct. 5 deadline.

At the same time, an Albuquerque-based immigrant advocacy organization will issue 150 scholarships in Anthony, N.M., and Las Cruces to eligible DACA recipients that will cover the entire cost of the nearly $500 filing fee.

The clinic and scholarships are being offered as the renewal deadline approaches.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration terminated DACA, a program enacted by former President Barack Obama in 2012 that protects an estimated 800,000 young immigrants brought into the U.S. illegally as children from deportation and provides them with temporary work permits.

More: Group to issue DACA scholarships in Anthony, NM, on Saturday

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who announced the end of DACA earlier this month, said the administration was ending it because it believed Obama’s creation of the program without Congressional approval was “an unconstitutional exercise of authority.”

The program is scheduled to be phased out by next March, but recipients whose work permits expire between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018, are eligible to apply for a two-year renewal by Oct. 5.

The first free DACA renewal clinic is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at St. Anthony Catholic Church, 224 Lincoln St., in Anthony, N.M.

Isaac De Luna, the communications director for New Mexico Dream Team, which is organizing Saturday's clinic in collaboration with N.M. CAFé, Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico and the Diocese of Las Cruces, said the first 50 eligible recipients will receive scholarships in the amount of $495 to pay for the filing fee.

According to De Luna, the scholarships are being funded by the group's national affiliate, United We Dream. "All these funds are from donations that were gathered from around country and they're being distributed," he said.

Next Friday, the group will issue 100 scholarships — also on a first-come, first-served basis — at a DACA renewal clinic in Las Cruces, scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 29 at St. Albert the Great Newman Center, 2615 S. Solano Drive.

More: Las Cruces City Council urges support of DACA program, search for permanent protections

Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico also will host a separate DACA renewal clinic in Alamogordo from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 28 at Immaculate Conception Church, 705 Delaware Ave.

Immigration attorney Imelda Maynard, who works for Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico, said only DACA recipients whose work permits expire between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018 will be eligible to apply for renewal.

"So if your work permit expired before Sept. 5 of this year, you can't renew," she said. "If your work permit expires after March 5, 2018, you can't renew. If you never applied for DACA, you can't apply now."

Maynard said the process of reapplying for DACA is fairly straight forward and doesn't necessarily require a lawyer.

Applicants must fill out three forms — Form I-821D, Form I-765 and Form I-765WS — and mail them to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by Oct. 5. The forms are available online at the USCIS website.

In addition to the three forms, recipients also must mail a front-and-back copy of their current work permit, two passport photos of themselves, the approval notice of their last DACA application and the $495 filing fee, Maynard said.

She said the Mexican Consulate and the Mission Asset Fund have funding available to help pay filing fees.

More: Las Cruces education leaders respond to winding down of DACA

The Mission Asset Fund, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, is offering a limited number of DACA scholarships for recipients in New Mexico who are eligible to apply for renewal. To apply for a scholarship, recipients should fill out the application at www.lc4daca.org.

After filling it out, recipients should contact a representative from N.M. CAFé, according to Johana Bencomo, an organizer with that group.

Bencomo said N.M. CAFé will send the names of recipients who have applied for the scholarships directly to Mission Asset Fund, which will expedite the process of reviewing applications and sending out scholarship checks.

Maynard said recipients applying for renewal should be cautious of scammers.

"There's a lot of misinformation out there," she said. "Applicants need to look at their work permit days — that's pretty much how you guard yourself."

She encourage applicants to attend one of the free clinics so applications can be reviewed before being submitted to USCIS.

Carlos Andres López can be reached 575-541-5453, carlopez@lcsun-news.com or @carlopez_los on Twitter

Resources