The Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs will coordinate workshops over the next six months to help Angelenos living in the country illegally apply for a federal program allowing them to work and remain in the country for three years.
President Barack Obama issued executive directives last month to allow parents of U.S. citizens or green card holders to apply for three-year work permits if they entered the country before Jan. 1, 2010. The program, known as Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, or DAPA, will also allow them to stay in the country without risk of being deported, and would allow them to return after leaving the country.
“The mayor’s goal … is to ensure that we enroll all eligible populations in the key programs that have been announced by the president, and to be successful in this effort to support our undocumented population here in the City of Angels,” Immigrant Affairs chief Linda Lopez told the City Council.
An estimated 155,000 people in Los Angeles could qualify for the program, based on figures from the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration, Lopez said.
She added that another 66,000 Los Angeles residents could qualify under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which is being expanded to include people of any age who were brought into the country as children under the age of 16 prior to Jan. 1, 2010. The previous version of DACA capped the age of applicants at 30.
Lopez said the federal government is developing a formal application process that could be announced over the next six months, but in the meantime, eligible residents can start collecting documentation to prove their identity, relationship to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and a continuous, five- year stay in the country.
Lopez said Angelenos can seek help and learn more about Obama’s executive actions during a Dec. 14 workshop at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The event could draw as many as 10,000 people, she said.
The office also plans to partner with the Los Angeles Unified School District to hold workshops at schools where students’ parents may be eligible for DAPA.
Hotlines are also available for people seeking information, Lopez said. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials’ hotline is (844) 411-4263, while the hotline for Asian American Advancing Justice-LA is (888) 349-9695.
The Immigrant Affairs office will also gather nonprofits, consulates and other “key stakeholders” for quarterly meetings to discuss Obama’s executive actions,
The Office of Immigrant Affairs has also been facilitating workshops over the past year to help immigrants apply for driver’s licenses under a program that begins Jan. 1.
Councilman Gil Cedillo unveiled a Spanish-language pamphlet today that details the type of documentation and tests involved in applying for the driver’s license. It also includes a sample of a Department of Motor Vehicles written test.
The pamphlet will be distributed at libraries, resource centers and public areas. English, Chinese and Korean-language pamphlets are also being created.
— City News Service