More than 80 percent of low-income New Yorkers must face serious legal challenges, such as eviction, deportation, and termination of government benefits alone, without a lawyer.
By focusing on recruiting and supporting volunteers, our small staff is able to have an enormous impact.
Get in Touch
Law firms interested in more information about volunteering should contact Elizabeta Markuci VOLS Immigration Project Director [email protected] 347.521.5707
To find out about training dates and how to become a school partner, please contact Anna Santamaria Legal Assistant The Dream Not Deferred Project [email protected] 347.521.5719
VOLS' Immigration Project provides expert support on immigration matters to volunteers in our Children's Project, and also runs our Dream Not Deferred Project.
The Dream Not Deferred Project
Launched in May 2011, the mission of the Dream Not Deferred Project is to resolve immigration issues for New York City public high school students so that they can work legally or go to college. Most of our students were brought to the United States when they were very young, with the promise of a better life. As these young people near adulthood, they face increasing challenges to not only achieve the 'American Dream', but must even to fight to remain in the country the consider their home.
We recruit, train, and mentor pro bono lawyers to help these students overcome their immigration issues and gain the opportunity to succeed.
Project Goals
The goals of the Dream Not Deferred Project are to:
Identify high school students who need legal assistance to obtain, or retain, lawful immigration status, Recruit, train, and mentor pro bono lawyers to provide legal services to students with viable immigration relief, and Provide "know your rights" information to students currently unable to regularize their immigration statuses. "When I started high school, I was unsure if I was going to be able to attend college. I had watched my brother drop out of school due to the financial struggles he faced as an undocumented student. In the back of my mind, I knew college was a long shot, but I didn't allow that to stop me. I maintained my 3.4 average and held on to the little hope that my parents and I shared. My father, a United States citizen, had been working on the permanent residency applications for my brother and I for over a decade. At the end of the 10th grade, I met with my soon to be college counselor. Once the college counselor understood the challenges we faced, she introduced us to Liz. Liz found a volunteer lawyer to help us, and they worked extremely hard to make sure I was going to be set for the college process. Less than a year later, my brother and I received our Permanent Residency Cards. A new chapter has started and we are ready for it. Now I've experienced paid internships and was offered a job. This fall, I started applying to college (four SUNY and CUNY colleges and thirteen private colleges.) Thanks to VOLS and my pro bono lawyer, I was granted this awesome opportunity. I endured many sleepless nights as the thought of not attending college flowed into my mind, and now my worries are gone."
- Cynthia, Dream Not Deferred Project Client
Building Strong Relationships with School Communities
Currently, 19 public high schools, including 11 schools in the Urban Assembly network, participate in the project. Building strong relationships within these schools' communities – with students, parents, teachers, guidance counselors, college advisors, and administrators - is a key component of the project. We visit the schools frequently to conduct trainings for staff, parents, and students. We also produce bilingual "know your rights" materials on practical topics.
VOLS' expert staff works closely with each school community to identify students in need of immigration legal assistance and to build trust. We then thoroughly interview and assess each student's immigration case to determine the best course of action for him or her, and, when appropriate, we prepare cases for referral to our pro bono lawyers.
Involving Pro Bono Lawyers
Our volunteer lawyers are vital to the project's success. VOLS offers volunteers training and ongoing expert guidance throughout their representation of young people.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
On June 15, 2012, a year after the Dream Not Deferred Project was founded, Secretary Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security issued a memorandum outlining a new agency policy to exercise prosecutorial discretion and grant "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (DACA) on a case-by-case basis. DACA provides temporary relief from deportation to young people brought to the United States as children.
DACA generated a great deal of enthusiasm, and also a great deal of confusion and misinformation among immigrant students. Because VOLS had already been working closely with staff and students in the schools, the Dream Not Deferred Project was in an excellent position to explain this new policy to students and their families, and to enable them take advantage of it.
VOLS held information sessions, conducted trainings for school staff, and created templates and resources for potential applicants. We have also organized clinics at law firms at which volunteer lawyers prepare DACA applications for students.
Months after the implementation of the new policy, Elizabeta Markuci, the Project Director, testified at a New York City Council hearing concerning DACA. She outlined a set of recommendations for the City to support Dreamers and their families and help close the gaps in who benefits from the DACA policy.
Watch Liz's testimony here: http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=220288&GUID=7F7CE1... (Begin watching from 1:53:47)
Although DACA offered hope to many young people, it is only a temporary remedy available to immigrant students. The Dream Not Deferred Project continues to provide legal assistance for permanent relief when possible.