Brigitte Ortiz | THE RIDER
The Center for Diversity and Inclusion and DREAM Resource Center will host a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival information session at 6 p.m. Saturday via Zoom to help students complete the application.
DACA was implemented in June 2012. The secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization, according to the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
Aaron Hinojosa, program coordinator for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and DREAM Resource Center, said the center cannot provide legal advice as it relates to immigration status but can provide resources and connecting opportunities for legal services.
Hinojosa said Abraham Diaz, an immigration services provider from La Unión del Pueblo Entero, will speak to individuals about the documents required to complete the application, along with deadlines and tips on funding the $495 application fee.
He said students must RSVP on VLink or contact his office for more information.
“Individuals do not have to share their video,” Hinojosa said. “They don’t have to ask questions on audio. They can add it on the chat. The Zoom feature, which is really cool, you can rename yourself, so if anyone has a concern for their safety in terms of, ‘Here’s who I am,’ they can rename themselves.
“They also don’t have to disclose any information. Anyone can be in the room just wanting information or it could be a friend, or someone’s there to renew their DACA because I know that some individuals fear disclosing that they’re undocumented. … Those are some safety measures that we can implement in our virtual setting.”
He said the center has a range of programs, including the DREAM Zone Advocate Training, which aims to educate the community on the realities of being undocumented or having DACA.
“[The training] tries to, hopefully, educate them on how to be able to apply for college, what kind of financial aid they may qualify for, so really, try to provide a little bit of a road map because there’s also … misinformation that people believe that if someone’s undocumented, they can’t come to college,” Hinojosa said. “So, we try to kind of address all that. We also try to inform the community on some other realities, like carrying your student ID with you or your faculty, staff ID if you run into issues who to report them to, things like that.
Other things that the center offers are support programs and awareness. He said it has conducted other informational sessions to connect students to other resources, not only on campus but in the Valley or other organizations.
For more information on the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and DREAM Resource Center, visit https://www.utrgv.edu/studentlife/student-support-services/center-for-diversity-and-inclusion/index.htm
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