8 9 CARECEN Annual Report 2021 CARECEN’s History I n 1983, a group of Salvadoran refugees and human rights advocates in Los Angeles formed what eventually became the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), to fight to protect the rights of Central American immigrants and secure legal status for the thousands fleeing the violence of civil war. CARECEN attorneys began to provide legal services, representing detainees in court and hosting informational forums for community members to inform them of their rights. In addition, volunteers taught English classes and launched a food distribution program to support refugee families. CARECEN organized international delegations, supported human rights work in El Salvador, and played a significant role in the solidarity movement in support of the Salvadoran people to end the civil war. It became quickly apparent that CARECEN needed to go beyond the scope of legal and social services, and address public policy that would have profound long-term effects on a growing Central American community. CARECEN drew the American public’s attention to the unfair treatment of Central American refugees and campaigned for Salvadorans to receive the same exemption from deportation as refugees fleeing war and violence in other countries. CARECEN met with lawmakers who had been ignoring the legitimate asylum claims of detained and deported Central American refugees, while at the same time accepting asylum claims from other countries affected by civil war. In addition, CARECEN participated in a series of lawsuits that eventually resulted in some measure of protection for refugees. This includes the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA); as well as the Immigration Act of 1990 that established Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program that protects individuals from deportation and allows them to lawfully live and work in the U.S. if their countries cannot take them because of civil war, natural disasters or other temporary conditions. CARECEN worked to win TPS for Salvadorans and helped thousands of people process their applications. In the 1990s, CARECEN fought against California’s racist Proposition 187 initiative, which denied basic services and education to undocumented immigrants and their (U.S.- born) children. The fight for immigrant rights continues to be at the heart of CARECEN’s mission. Ensuring that immigrants have the opportunity to become strong community leaders, improve their lives and their communities is our organizational drive. In its more than 30 years of existence, CARECEN has grown from a small grassroots group to the largest Central American organization in the country, providing high- quality immigration legal services and organizing, policy, and advocacy programs. Today, all of CARECEN’s work focuses on supporting and protecting families, as well as improving systems and advancing policies that support immigrant communities, people of color, and low-wage workers. CARECEN focuses on community organizing, leadership development, and making sure that affected communities have a voice in determining their future. Although the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrant families over the course of his tenure have come to an end, our work remains crucial to the survival of immigrant communities everywhere. Every department, from Legal, to our Parent and Youth Center and Day Labor Center, participates in campaigns, coalitions, and reform efforts to improve the lives of immigrants and help them succeed in this country. CARECEN this year 2021 ushered in a wave of renewed hope. An answer to the COVID-19 pandemic was on the horizon in the form of a vaccines and a plan to inoculate the population. This hope was short-lived though as it quickly became apparent that the vaccinations were becoming a political tool to challenge science and the newly elected Democratic leader, President Joe Biden. The usual suspects of 2020 were still on full display; systemic racism, white supremacy, and misinformation were joined by Qanon conspiracy theories that led to an attack on the Capitol at the beginning of the year. Though the year began with a loud crash, we have witnessed some major steps towards a return to normalcy. We have seen communities advocate for one another, wearing masks and challenging misinformation regarding the vaccine. CARECEN, along with other community partners, have taken steps to be part of the solution in our communities. We continue to partner with health clinics and other community-based organizations to promote vaccine equity and answer questions for community members to ease their hesitations towards the vaccine. We have learned much about providing emergency relief efforts in 2020 and continued to apply those lessons in 2021. We’ve continued to provide economic aid, distribute food, and now host monthly vaccine clinics at our Day Labor Center. Navigating life via a strictly virtual model is no longer our only option when interacting with our community and clients. While access to technology is still an uphill battle, we’ve still managed to provide the necessary legal, educational and organizing efforts with positive results. Legal Services In 2021, CARECEN continues to provide high-quality, immigration legal services to the immigrant community. Although our offices have been closed, the Legal Services Department provided virtual services to over 25,000 people. While responding to immediate changes in immigration policy this year, our legal staff completed the following services: Survivors of Violence Unit: 3 VAWA Petitions, 16 VAWA Adjustment of Status filings, 5 T-Visas, 1 T-Visa adjustment of status filing, 118 U- Visas, and 109 U-Visa Adjustments of Status DACA & Naturalization: 614 DACA Renewal filings. CARECEN, processed 598 citizenship applications, hosted 1 citizenship workshop, provided 1,360 individual legal consultations, 102 green card applications, and 21 family-based petitions. CARECEN’s Deportation Defense Unit: This year the Deportation Defense Unit helped release 10 individuals from detention from the Adelanto detention center, filed 13 SIJS (Special Immigrant Juveniles), applications with USCIS. 116 10 614 Individuals Released From Detention U-Visas Processed DACA Applications Filed THE FIGURES 10 11 Looking Ahead I t is critical for CARECEN and our partners to continue to remain vigilant during times of crisis. It is our duty to speak out and put pressure on our elected officials to address the lack of support for immigrant families. We must remind them that the communities we represent is more than a political talking point. CARECEN will continue to champion the rights of Central American and other Latino immigrants, low- wage workers, parents, day laborers, youth and children as it has done so for the past 38 years. We will continue to build a proactive community aware of its rights and vigilant of its interests. We will build a power from the ground up, by centering immigrant voices and provide the tools necessary to advocate for their loved ones. Our relationships and collaborative efforts with Congress members in Washington, California legislators, Los Angeles County and City government staff and elected officials, the National TPS Alliance, as well as other stakeholders, are critical to affecting long-lasting change that supports immigrants and their familie. CARECEN will continue to promote programs and policies that benefit Organizing, Advocacy, and Policy As restrictions eased, our organizing, policy and advocacy efforts began to take to the streets once again. Whether it was a TPS rally, another Journey for Justice bus tour or marching through the streets of Los Angeles on MayDay. CARECEN, our team of organizers and the immigrant community were once again able to be the disrupters of change necessary for growth and empowerment. Our Parent and Youth Center staff were more at ease after more than a year of working with our youth and parents remotely. We had a total of 301 youth partake in various programs that ranged from Youth Leadership to College Headstart. Our Recently Arrived Youth Cohort, aimed to provide support and community to youth who have recently migrated to the U.S. Thirty-one youth members completed the 7-week program. Our Youth Leadership program, which aims at developing organizing skills and a civic conscience in young people, had over 20 participants. Additionally, CARECEN’s highly successful College Head Start Program helped over 131 high school juniors and seniors navigate the difficult college application process and followed them through their first year to ensure they were adapting well to a distance- learning model of education. This year also saw CARECEN provide a case manager to work directly with recently arrived youth, providing resources such as mental health services and other support services to over 20 migrant youth. The CARECEN Day Labor Center (DLC) serves to match immigrant workers with job providers for fair wages immigrants and refugees in our region. We will continue to provide high quality immigration legal services and work with our legal experts to create new policy efforts that benefit the immigrant community. Our organizing efforts among day laborers, parents, and youth will also continue because we know that supporting workers and improving education is the fight for immigrant rights. Together we can make Los Angeles a place where we can live in peace and dignity, enjoy economic well-being, social justice, and political empowerment. and advocate for worker’s rights. This year our DLC became a COVID-19 vaccination site, partnering with city health workers to provide information and vaccine access twice a month at our center. Their usual classes and seminars adapted to the reality of pandemic life. They were taught the importance of following COVID safety protocols when accepting work (i.e., usage of face masks, social distancing, hygiene), social media as a communication tool, and online job search. Even as work dwindled in the pandemic, our center still managed to serve 1,476 individuals.