Resources for Undocumented Students: Home

CUNY Citizenship Now! provides free, high quality, and confidential immigration law services to help individuals and families on their path to U.S. citizenship. They have attorneys and paralegals offer one-on-one consultations to assess participants’ eligibility for legal benefits and assist them in applying when qualified.

If you or someone you know has been detained, CUNY Citizenship Now! can provide information on an attorney to assist. For more information: http://www1.cuny.edu/sites/citizenship-now/. If you are a student, faculty, or staff member abroad, you can write directly to citizenshipnowinfo@cuny.edu if you need assistance. If you must travel abroad, please read https://cunyclear.tumblr.com/post/156510201075/for-tips-on-border-questioning-click-here as a resource for students during any border questioning.

CN!'s Director, immigration attorney Professor Allan Wernick, was a guest on WNYC radio's Brian Lehrer Show (93.9 FM) today at 11:30 (see audio clip below). Professor Wernick has advice regarding two distinct groups of employees, students and others (researchers, visiting scholars and interns) who may need help:

• For those detained trying to enter the United States, or still abroad and needing guidance, please contact CUNY Citizenship Now! attorney Isabel Bucaram, Esq. by text, phone call or WhatsApp at 646-860-5678. Affected students, faculty and staff abroad can also write directly to citizenshipnowinfo@cuny.edu. CN! will follow up with a phone call if necessary.
• For affected students, faculty and staff here in the US, regardless of immigrant status, the best advice remains not to travel abroad if at all possible until this is more clarity about ongoing developments. CN! plans to hold a Facebook Live session and create a Facebook page for students to share information and get their questions answered. 
• Finally, students, faculty, staff--and you--can contact CN! at citizenshipnowinfo@cuny.edu with questions as they arise.

The Governor's office has also established a number to assist those affected by the Executive Order: 888-769-7243

On June 15, 2012, President Obama’s administration announced that certain immigrant students in the United States without legal status would be eligible for deferred action, a temporary protection from deportation. This administrative relief is called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA.) Individuals who qualify were be granted deferred action for a two-year period, and receive permission to work in the United States. Once granted DACA status, it is renewable every two years.

On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced an expansion of DACA and a new administrative relief program, Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. The implementation of the 2014 programs is pending the outcome of a court case filed in Texas, and you cannot apply for the new programs.

Note: USCIS is still accepting and renewing applications for individuals who meet the requirements in the 2012 program.

The status of DACA is uncertain at this time as President Donald J. Trump, during his campaign, promised to "immediately terminate" DACA.

CUNY's Citizenship Now advice for new applicants at this point is to not apply.

Undocumented/Documented college students and youth are also often referred to as DREAMers. Learn more about the DREAM Act: proposed legislation that would benefit them, on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DREAM_Act 

This presentation is for people giving trainings to clients or community members who want to know:

• What rights do individuals have during an ICE raid, when questioned or searched at the airport, or during an interaction with immigration or law enforcement at home or in public?
• How can you help your clients, community members, and others invoke their rights and remain safe?
• What are the tactics that immigration and federal law enforcement use during an arrest, investigation or encounter and how can individuals protect themselves?

This workshop is offered in collaboration with the following organizations:

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.

The Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project is housed at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law. CLEAR primarily aims to address the unmet legal needs of Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and other communities in the New York City area that are particularly affected by national security and counterterrorism policies and practices.

The Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) works to secure fairness and justice for immigrants in the United States. IDP’s mission is to transform a racially biased criminal legal system that violates basic human rights and an immigration system that tears hundreds of thousands of immigrants with convictions each year from their homes, their families, and their communities.