Immigration Legal Assistance Program

Many of you watching events unfold in may be wondering what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict, and the 30,000+ Ukrainians who are unable to return home because of the conflict.

You can help Ukrainians today by calling on Congress to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and Special Student Relief (SSR) for Ukrainians living here in the U.S. who do not have permanent immigration status. TPS, DED, and SSR are short-term immigration relief programs that are designed to safeguard people from deportation and other penalties, and allow them to continue learning, working, and living safely in the United States while armed conflict continues in their home country.

Let Congress know you support these life-saving safeguards, and that they should too, by contacting your Senators and Representatives today: https://bit.ly/35IoKbM
Learn more about TPS, DED, and SSR here: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/temporary-protected-status-overview
We are awaiting additional information from our national partners regarding Ukrainian refugee resettlement and will share information here as it becomes available.

Congressman Jim McGovern visited Ascentria to acknowledge and congratulate the Ascentria team on a recent Department of Justice grant to help combat human trafficking in central and western Massachusetts. We thank Congressman McGovern for his support of many of Ascentria’s programs as well as his active and ongoing support of legislation to fight human trafficking!

The battle for DACA continues as a federal judge in Texas struck down the program earlier this month. The judge ruled that DACA is illegal and halted USCIS application approvals for people who recently submitted their initial applications. At this time, DACA protections for the 616,000 current recipients are still in place and renewals will continue.

The judge’s ruling still needs to go through the appeals process and could be overturned; however, this decision reinforces the need for more permanent protections for DACA recipients. Hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk of severe disruption if permanent measures are not passed.

“The federal court ruling again disrupts the lives of immigrant youth whose home is here in Massachusetts and throughout the U.S. This decision sets back our communities,” said Samantha Howland, the program manager for Ascentria’s Immigration Legal Assistance Program.

“Americans have long shown overwhelming support for protecting Dreamers. DACA recipients make our community and our nation better and stronger.

This ruling is again a reminder of the urgent need for Congress to act and pass bipartisan legislation to provide a pathway to U.S. citizenship in order to provide relief and stability to immigrant youth, protect them from deportation and secure them a future as Americans.”

For help with your immigration status, more information, or to learn how you can help support DACA recipients, please contact us at [email protected].