CBJC Presents on Immigration at Legal Hand

On July 6, City Bar Justice Center staff attorney Laura Berger presented about immigration issues to volunteers at Legal Hand in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Legal Hand is a Center for Court Innovation project that sets up trained community volunteers to provide free legal information and referrals to community members. In the presentation, Laura covered screening for immigration issues with a focus on humanitarian immigration remedies like the T visa for victims of trafficking and U visas for victims of certain serious crimes. She gave an overview of how to identify trafficking and provide referrals for case management and legal services.

Volunteers came to the training with a broad range of experiences. One volunteer had worked as an immigration paralegal before but asked many questions about human trafficking and newer immigration remedies like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA. Other volunteers were new to immigration law. Several volunteers stayed after the program was over to ask questions about how a new president might impact existing immigration remedies. In Crown Heights, a neighborhood with a large Caribbean immigrant community, questions about immigration often come up for Legal Hand’s visitors.

This presentation was part of the Justice Center’s Trafficking Prevention and Empowerment Program, generously supported by the New York Women’s Foundation.