logo
  • Nonprofit News
  • Management
    • Boards and Governance
    • Communication
      • Framing & Narratives
    • Ethics
    • Financial Management
    • Grassroots Fundraising Journal
    • Leadership
    • Technology
  • Philanthropy
    • Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Donor-Advised Funds
    • Foundations
    • Impact Investing
    • Research
    • Workplace Giving
  • Policy
    • Education
    • Healthcare
    • Housing
    • Government
    • Taxes
  • Economic Justice
    • About
    • Economy Remix
    • Economy Webinars
    • Community Benefits
    • Economic Democracy
    • Environmental Justice
    • Fair Finance
    • Housing Rights
    • Land Justice
    • Poor People’s Rights
    • Tax Fairness
  • Racial Equity
  • Social Movements
    • Community Development
    • Community Organizing
    • Culture Change
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Gender Equality
    • Immigrant Rights
    • Indigenous Rights
    • Labor
    • LGBTQ+
    • Racial Justice
    • Youth Activism
  • About Us
  • Log in
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Featured Articles
  • Webinars
    • Free Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Tiny Spark Podcast
  • Magazine
    • Magazine
    • Leading Edge Membership
Donate
California, Immigrant Rights, Migration

California’s Central Valley Needs More Immigration Lawyers

Cyndi Suarez
May 31, 2017
Share273
Share3
Email
Tweet
“Mural: Cops and immigrants.” Credit: Franco Folini

May 30, 2017; KQED

President Trump’s rhetoric has immigration lawyers in California struggling to keep up with rising client demand, as its significant immigrant population seeks to establish or strengthen legal status in the U.S. Its Central Valley, an agricultural region with many immigrant farm workers, is particularly hit hard because it has a “tiny number of immigration attorneys.”

KQED, in a recent article, quoted Justin Sweeney, an immigration lawyer in downtown Fresno, who has seen a 400 percent increase in clients over the same period last year. “I used to do an appointment every hour, but now because there’s so many people coming in we do an appointment every half-hour,” he said.

OneJustice is a California-based nonprofit that maps immigration services in the state in an effort to expand legal services. It has found that even though there are more than 400 nonprofit immigration providers in California, only 28 of them are in the Central Valley. The American Immigration Lawyers Association has about 500 members in San Francisco and Oakland, but barely 40 in Central Valley.

There are close to 300,000 legal immigrants eligible for citizenship in the Central Valley, and about the same number of undocumented immigrants. According to Allison Davenport, a staff attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, which provides presentations on immigration law basics to immigrants in rural areas, “nonprofit groups like hers are trying to fill the gap for those who can’t afford private lawyers. But they are overwhelmed too.”

Geography plays a role. The nearest immigration courts for the Central Valley are in San Francisco and Los Angeles, which means that clients may incur travel expenses and the time for the attorney to travel, which adds to the cost. Cost itself is a challenge for the farmworker client “with little cash to spare.”

The dearth of immigration lawyers and the lack of money for legal representation create a third problem. Davenport said, “A lot of attorneys in the area, a lot of their caseload is cleaning up the mess created by fraudulent providers.” Immigration consultants, called notarios in Spanish, are barred from giving legal advice in California, but in Mexico notarios are licensed to practice law. Immigrants sometimes resort to notarios as they try to navigate the complexities of immigration law. U.S. immigration laws are complex, and some notarios are incompetent while others are outright swindlers.

Immigrants are jumping at the opportunity to get advice from nonprofits like the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Funding for immigrant legal support has increased recently and this has allowed nonprofits in California’s Central Valley to expand their services. Much more needs to be done, however, to make sure immigrants get the legal help they need.—Cyndi Suarez

Share273
Share3
Email
Tweet

About The Author
Cyndi Suarez

Cyndi Suarez is Co-President and Editor in Chief at NPQ. She is the author of "The Power Manual: How to Master Complex Power Dynamics," in which she outlines a new theory and practice of power. She has worked as a strategy and innovation consultant with a focus on networks and platforms for social movements. She studied Feminist Theory and organizational development for social change.

Related
The Problem with Philanthropic “Self-Accountability”
By Martin Levine
January 11, 2021
Big Agriculture Teams Up with Environmental Advocates to Fight Climate Change
By Tessa Crisman
December 2, 2020
California Maintains Opposition to Affirmative Action at the Ballot Box
By Debby Warren
November 12, 2020
In California, Gig Companies Win the Best Contracting Law Money Can Buy
By Steve Dubb
November 6, 2020
ACLU Challenges Nonprofit Punishment on First Amendment Grounds
By Ruth McCambridge
October 30, 2020
In California, Community Colleges Receive Record $100M Grant
By Marian Conway
October 26, 2020

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
January 21, 2 pm ET

Remaking the Economy

Health, Racial Disparities, and Economic Justice

other posts by The Author
A Cult of Democracy—Toward a Pluralistic Politics
By Cyndi Suarez
January 7, 2021
What Does It Look Like to Support Women of Color to Lead?
By Cyndi Suarez
January 4, 2021
Sheila E.: On Creativity and Voice in Social Change
By Cyndi Suarez
November 10, 2020
CYNDI SUAREZ
The Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap: Flipping the Lens
Powerful Interests Seek to Make Puerto Rico the Hong Kong of the...
Moving Beyond the Privilege of White Tears
logo
Donate
  • About
  • Contact
  • Newsletters
  • Write for NPQ
  • Advertise
  • Writers
  • Funders
  • Copyright Policy
  • Privacy Policy
Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 20-4080038

Subscribe to View Webinars