Welcoming Three Million Newcomers: Maximizing Your Agency’s Effectiveness for  Deferred Action for DREAMers; Stateside Processing of Unlawful Presence Waivers; Increasing Naturalization; Management Training

This one-day training is not about the law.  It is about hope, possibility and what your program can do now to prepare for the biggest opportunities in immigration law in a quarter century.  We have a chance the likes of which we have not seen since three million people obtained lawful status from the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA).  Participants will work in small groups to bring innovative and tested strategies and ideas to all as you create your Implementation Plans for both new procedures.  You will leave with a road map to guide you through the intense months of implementation of the new changes.  All participants will receive CLINIC’s celebrated Managing an Immigration Program and a set of talking points to use when communicating the tremendous opportunities and challenges presented by the new procedures to foundations.

Earned income (fees) and their core importance to building sustainable programs that can continue to serve DREAMers will be covered. There will be a discussion of case intake and management strategies with a focus on Group Application Workshops for DREAMers, using an army of volunteers, avoiding unauthorized practice of law, and strategies for working with the funders and delivering on grant objectives.

The training is suitable for program staff from a wide range of organizations, including established immigration programs, ethnic and immigrant organizations, domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions and service providers, unions, educational programs (ESL and Citizenship), and DREAM coalitions and student organizations.

The training will be presented by Sarah McClain, Program Director, Catholic Charities of Portland and Immigration Attorney and Jack Holmgren, Field Support Coordinator at CLINIC’s Center for Citizenship and Immigrant.