Local help available for DACA and TPS people

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER – Local Catholics continue to help undocumented immigrants, as bishops call for action and the U.S. Supreme Court buys more time for the DACA program.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is a program for young adults brought to the United States as minors, by parents without immigration documents.
Catholics are also calling for the continuation of the Temporary Protected Status program. It allows people from certain countries to live and work in the United States temporarily because of safety issues or other circumstances in their home country.
The Trump administration decided not to extend the time period for some countries, including El Salvador and Haiti, so those TPS recipients must leave the United States by a designated deadline, which is different for each country. But, in the meantime, those who came here under TPS need to re-register their presence.
On Sunday Father Jean-Robert Simbert Brice, who serves the Haitian community at Holy Family Parish, and Father Andres A. Araque, associate pastor at St. Peter and St. Stephen parishes, plan to update the community that worships at Holy Family about TPS and DACA.
Father Araque said he and Father Brice will explain where people can get help filling out TPS and DACA paperwork.
Catholic Charities Worcester County is one of the places to get help.
Madelyn Hennessy, Catholic Charities’ administrator for adult education, immigration and citizenship services, said they are accredited immigration representatives who can help with all applications. Fees are on a sliding scale based on clients’ income, with $150 being the most charged for DACA and TPS renewal applications, including employment authorization forms, she said. Those unable to pay will still be helped.
Catholic Charities must follow the laws, but will not report undocumented people; services are confidential, Ms. Hennessy said.
“We’re all about keeping families together,” she said.
People seeking to learn more about DACA and TPS gathered Saturday in St. Peter’s lower church to hear from city and state officials and share their own stories.
“You desire justice for all,” Bishop McManus said in the opening prayer. “May we temper justice with love.” The bishop stayed throughout the two-hour meeting, said St. Peter’s pastor, Msgr. Francis J. Scollen.
“Pope Francis is speaking out very strongly about the need to welcome people and not to build walls and keep people out,” Msgr. Scollen said. And U.S. bishops have told immigrants, “We are with you.”
“In our own parish we’ve had several meetings,” he said. St. Peter’s has many Salvadorans, so representatives from the El Salvador consulate have come to provide information.
Msgr. Scollen said the great thing about Saturday’s meeting was that participants, many of them Catholics, felt safe in the church and free to speak.    
“They know that we love them,” the bishop and priests were there, and “good Massachusetts officials” put them at ease, he said.
Father Araque said city parishes with Hispanic communities – St. Paul Cathedral, St. Peter’s, St. Stephen’s, St. Joan of Arc and Our Lady of Providence – helped publicize the meeting.
Speakers decried the difficulties immigrants are facing, some telling their own immigration stories. They said legislators need to fix the problems, promised support, and urged participants to speak out.
Congressman James McGovern said anti-immigrant rhetoric makes it difficult for some members of Congress to pass needed legislation but it’s hard to be insensitive when people in front of you are telling their stories.
“We need two things from you: education and advocacy,” Massachusetts Sen. Harriette L. Chandler told listeners.
her story
Twenty-three-year-old Giovana Ortiz, from St. Peter’s, cried as she told her story of being brought here from Mexico at age 2, not having a Social Security number, trying to do the right things and having difficulty getting college funding.
“Now it’s like a slap in the face,” she said. “I graduated in December” from Clark University. “I don’t know if I’ll get to work and use what I learned. … Despite all of this, I am optimistic. … I may be undocumented but I am resilient. … I can go back to Mexico and help my community there. … I don’t need anyone’s pity. I want you to see me as a human being.”
Others expressed concerns about what would happen  if their TPS status ends. Some worried about being there for their children, protecting school children, handling a mortgage or losing a driver’s license.
Father Araque later said he has met with other religious leaders about the issue. And last Sunday he spoke at Masses at St. Peter’s and St. Stephen’s, advising worshippers to “listen to the call of the bishops to stop indifference on these issues that affect many of our brothers in the Church,” he said. He asked the people to contact their U.S. senators and representatives.
On Monday, Catholics around the nation did just that. U.S. bishops had set Feb. 26 as a call-in day to urge legislators to save DACA. The USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services said more than 45,000 calls were made.
Immigration advocates have long called for a “clean” bill to preserve DACA, called the DREAM Act – the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. So the 800,000 or so DACA recipients are often called “Dreamers.”
The bishops asked people to urge legislators to protect “Dreamers” from deportation; provide them a path to citizenship; and to avoid any damage to existing protections for families and unaccompanied minors in the process.
President Barack Obama created DACA by executive order in 2012. In September, President Donald Trump announced an end to the program, giving lawmakers until March 5 to find a legislative solution to protect program beneficiaries. No legislative agreement has been reached.
DACA DELAY
Two federal judges recently ruled that the government must continue to accept renewal applications for DACA. The administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear and rule on one of those decisions.
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear the administration’s appeal, saying it must follow the usual process and be heard by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The court’s decision may delay the end of the DACA program, but immigrant advocates continued to urge action to provide the youth with permanent relief.
“Although the Supreme Court decision buys Congress time to address the situation of undocumented youth, it should not give them an excuse to delay action,” said Kevin Appleby, senior director of international migration policy for the Center for Migration Studies in New York. “These young people remain at risk and deserve permanent protection and a chance to plan their futures.”
The court’s action means DACA recipients can keep applying to renew permits that protect them from deportation and allow them to have a work permit and other documents, as long as they meet the required criteria.
Day of action
Tuesday, hundreds of people participated in a “Catholic Day of Action with Dreamers” in Washington, coordinated by the PICO National Network, Faith in Public Life and Catholic social justice organizations. In a statement participants said, “The groups are demanding a new policy which protects Dreamers while not harming their families and communities.”
After an outdoor news conference, some people entered the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, to pray, sing and risk arrest. U.S. Capitol Police warned them repeatedly to stop.     
“We stand with the Dreamers,” said Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky.

– Those wanting information can view the website www.uscis.gov and contact Madelyn Hennessy at Catholic Charities at 508-860-2261.
– Material from Catholic News Service was used in this article.