Guest post by FLIC intern Derek Centola
University of Miami Senior Political Science and International Studies Double Major
Anticipation, excitement, and the early morning smell of coffee filled the air of the FIU College of Law the morning of January 26th as a team of eager Florida New Americans volunteers, community organizers, and attorneys gathered to assist the waves of South Florida area Legal Permanent Residents on their path to citizenship.It truly was a great start to 2013 as FLIC continued its citizenship program into its second year of existence. The clinic, a co-sponsorship between FLIC, FIU, and the Univision 23 television station, was a huge success with service to several clients who completed their paperwork, met one-on-one with immigration attorneys, and were prepared to move on to the next step in their journey toward naturalization.
In addition to helping clients with citizenship requirements, the January clinic was 2013’s first opportunity to work with the FL Dream campaign. Low-income undocumented youth clientele were assisted with applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). We at FLIC look forward to incorporating this service at future clinics with the help of the other FL Dream campaign organizations SWER, Pico Florida, FIU, and Americans for Immigrant Justice.Moving into February, we are looking forward to our second clinic of the year. This month we will be up in Deerfield Beach at Microcamp, 833 W. Sample Road, from 11am – 3pm on February 23rd. All attendees will receive assistance with filling out the proper US Citizenship and Immigration Service forms, meet one-on-one with a pro-bono attorney to discuss each specific situation, and receive further guidance on becoming a citizen.
Can’t make it out in February? No big deal. We have already scheduled our March Citizenship Clinics! Saturday, March 9th from 11am – 3pm we will be at the American Muslim Community Center at 811 Wilma Street, Longwood, FL 32750. Saturday, March 16th from 11am – 3pm we will be at Rollins College at Mills Building, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789.
What you can do right now:
To apply for citizenship, check out our Florida New Americans website to know if you qualify, what documents you need to bring, and to schedule an appointment.
To apply for DACA, check out our FL Dream website to know if you qualify what documents you need to bring, and to schedule an appointment.
To volunteer at any clinic contact Amber Chaudhry at (305)-571-7254 or amber@floridaimmigrant.org.