A Spanish language Immigration Education Event

May 14, 2007

Rhonda Miska
Church of the Incarnation
rmm@incarnationparish.org

Amigos: Conozcan tus derechos, an event sponsored by Creciendo Juntos members Legal Aid Justice Center, Church of the Incarnation, Zona Latina, and Chandler Law Group, was held on Monday, May 14 from 6-8 pm at the Church of the Incarnation Parish Activity Center. The Zona
Latina immigration special was aired, which featured both an interview with Angela Kelley, National Immigration Forum, and a section on what to do if authorities stop an immigrant on the street or in their home.

Following the Zona Latina video, bilingual lawyers from Legal Aid Justice Center and Chandler Law Group gave educational presentations and took questions from the audience on questions ranging from filing for taxes with an ITIN, renewing driver's licenses, and new legislation. After the event, the lawyers were available to be approached one-on-one to speak to individuals on the topic. Much written material was available in both Spanish and English to further educate immigrants on the subject.

Nearly 200 local Latino residents attended the event.

REFERENCES

Immigrant Rights: a CJ online resource containing brochures, local contacts and other information about immigration issues. http://www.cj-network.org/cjimmrights/know_your_rights.html

Zona Latina
Diane Taylor
Telephone: (434) 980-3737
Email: zonalatina.tv@gmail.com

Resources: Immigration Problems

The following provide legal assistance to immigrants with immigration problems:

Legal Aid Justice Center
Address: 1000 Preston Avenue, Suite A, Charlottesville 22902
Telephone: (434) 977-0553
Contact: Tim Freilich, Extension 111
Contact: Doug Ford, Extension 136
These two bilingual lawyers help qualified immigrants who have been unjustly taken into custody by the police or immigration and who confront a language barrier when trying to access services from government offices, hospitals, and other agencies. Also, they encourage reports about local immigration raids.

Charlottesville Immigration Law Center / Braverman & Lin, P.C.
Address: 226 Douglas Ave., Charlottesville, VA 22902
Telephone: (434) 220-2799
Web Site: http://cvilc.com
Contact: Eddie Summers
The Center provides services covering the full range of immigration issues from filing of applications through representation before the immigration and federal courts. It not only helps individuals but provides services to employers of immigrants and has an informative web page about the documents immigrants should be obtaining in order to qualify for future benefit programs (http://cvilc.com/outreach.html). Mr. Summers is bilingual (English/Spanish).

Jill Borak
Central Virginia Legal Aid Society
Email: jill@cvlas.org
This attorney can be consulted about issues relating to language access laws protecting immigrants and contacted to provide presentations on the subject.

Resources: Immigration Reform

The following provide legal assistance to immigrants applying for benefits under Immigration Reform:

Chandler Law Group
Latin American Division
Address: 1010 Ednam Ctr, #100, Charlottesville
Telephone: 1-866-568-7879
Contact: Ruth Alvarado
Email: ralvarado@chandlerlawgroup.com
This law group specializes in personal injury and has Spanish speaking lawyers who work on such cases. However, with the new Immigration Reform, the office will be providing services – answering questions, filling out applications, etc. – for Spanish speaking clients wanting to benefit from the reform and from employers who want to help their Latino immigrant employees.

Charlottesville Immigration Law Center / Braverman & Lin, P.C.
Address: 226 Douglas Ave., Charlottesville, VA 22902
Telephone: (434) 220-2799
Web Site: http://cvilc.com
Contact: Eddie Summers