One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Grant Pays DACA Renewal Costs For Community College Students, Though Many Don't Know
Gaby Platinco is one of approximately 165,000 California residents with DACA.
(
Chava Sanchez
/
LAist
)
Thanks to a grant from the state’s department of social services, California community college students can renew their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) permits for free. The Higher Education Immigration Legal Services Project also provides free legal counsel.
DACA shields students from deportation and enables them to get a work permit. However, students must renew their DACA permits every two years, and doing so can be costly.
Currently, it costs $555 to renew the permit online and $605 to renew it by mail.
A lot of students aren’t aware of the option, said Brian Guzmán, an attorney who heads the student legal services department at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, one of the nonprofits that’s part of the project.
The grant for this initiative is set to expire in October 2024, although Guzmán warned that the funds could run out earlier. “The sooner [students reach out to us,] the better,” he said.
How it works
Students make a free appointment and get matched to a legal services provider. Here’s the website and here’s how to prepare for the appointment.
Sponsored message
Other benefits
The project can also cover community college students’ naturalization or advance parole costs. Advance parole enables students with DACA or TPS to travel outside of the U.S., including for study abroad programs.
“These are [students who] haven’t been outside of the country, haven’t been able to connect with their roots, and it's a sometimes once-in-a- lifetime opportunity for them,” Guzmán said.
For high school students
These services are also available to high school students who are taking college courses through dual enrollment programs, as well as students who are enrolled in noncredit courses.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
