Last week we saw devastation hit Houston due to Hurricane Harvey and this week the country is hit with news that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA, is being terminated. Both of these events have left many people in need of legal assistance to rebuild and protect their lives as they know it. As lawyers, here is how you can help:
Wake of Hurricane Harvey
Last Tuesday, the Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order that allows out-of-state lawyers to practice Pro Bono services in Texas temporarily for six months to assist with victims.
Lawyers can volunteer here: www.texasbar/attorneyvolunteer
If you can’t physically volunteer, consider donating to Texas Lone Star Legal Aid. During Hurricane Harvey, their Houston office caught fire and was greatly affected, yet they remain to work round the clock to help victims. Their work is needed now more than ever and will be for the months to come.
Lawyers can donate here: https://www.networkforgood.org/donation
End of DACA
On Tuesday, the President terminated DACA, providing Congress a 6-month window to enact legislation before enforcing the termination of Dreamers. To date, nearly 800,000 people have benefited from the DACA program that gives eligible immigrants a renewable two-year period of protection from deportation and a work permit.
This order has left many DACA program recipients with questions about what this means for them and legal steps they can and should take at this time. At Avvo, we created a free hotline to offer immediate, personalized guidance to those in need. Lawyers can help on Avvo by contributing answers to questions from DACA recipients in our Q&A and or donate to the pro-immigrant organizations below:
National Immigration Law Center: https://nilc.z2systems.com/np/clients/nilc/donation.jsp
Northwest Immigration Rights Project: https://www.nwirp.org/donate/
Know of other ways lawyers can get involved? Comment below and we’ll update the article as additional resources are made available.
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