Faculty from the Women and Gender studies department and Ethnic Studies department (respectivly) show their support for students on campus effected by the Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program on Sep 5, 2017. (Jackson Barnett/CU Independent File)
CU Boulder is offering a series of workshops for people to renew their DACA before the cutoff date of Oct. 5.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before the age of 16 and before June 15, 2007, to apply for a two-year stay of deportation along with a work permit. Implemented in 2012 by the Obama administration, it was rescinded in early September by the Trump administration. Those whose DACA expires before March 5, 2018, are eligible to renew their DACA up to Oct. 5.
Workshops are run through the Wolf Law immigration defense clinic and are offered to anyone who is eligible to renew their DACA protections, according to law professor Violeta Chapin, who runs the clinic.
“I cannot communicate enough how much time is of the essence here,” Chapin said.
The first workshop took place Wednesday at CU Boulder. Chapin said that six people renewed their DACA protections, and numerous community members came to offer legal support. The Boulder Community Foundation raised several thousand dollars to pay for DACA renewal fees, which cost $465 per renewal. Law school dean Jim Anaya contributed $5,000 from the Dean’s fund. Chapin said they were able to cover the renewal fees of everyone who needed financial assistance at the Wednesday clinic.
The next clinic will be at Colorado State University on Saturday, Sept. 23. The next clinic at CU will be on Wednesday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Wolf Law building. On Sept. 29 and 30, Chapin and her team will hold a clinic at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The clinics are open to anyone, not just students at the colleges the clinics are held.
Contact CU Independent Senior News Editor Carina Julig at carina.julig@colorado.edu.
