VAAP asylum clinic serves 19
On June 13th, VAAP hosted our first in-person asylum legal help clinic in partnership with the Vermont Law and Graduate School Center for Justice Reform Clinic.
In one day, our team of 17 incredible volunteers and staff joined together to help 19 individuals from about a dozen immigrant families to prepare and file asylum applications. The majority of asylum seeking families were from Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru and had self-referred to VAAP earlier this year or were referred and supported by Migrant Justice. With asylum training and language access resources from VAAP, volunteers interviewed and counseled clients, oriented them to their immigration options and procedures, and prepared USCIS I-589 Applications for filing. As a result, families are on their way to eligibility for work authorization and access to the social security numbers and government-issued photo I.D. they need to participate in society pending adjudication of their asylum claims (likely to take many years given systemic backlogs).
We would like to thank the advocates, community partners, volunteers, and interns who participated in the clinic. Your time and care means so much to us, and we could not have provided these legal services without you. More pictures available on our Instagram.
Subscribe to our newsletter, follow our blog and calendar, and follow us on Instagram to learn about upcoming legal orientation, intake, and help clinics.
