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LAUSD warns of immigration scams

December 9, 2014

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Parents of every Los Angeles Unified School District student will receive a letter warning about scams related to President Barack Obama’s executive order on immigration, the district announced today.

The letter, signed by representatives of LAUSD, the Service Employees International Union and United Teachers Los Angeles, advises parents and guardians to be cautious of “so-called ‘notaries’ and dishonest lawyers (who) prey on the hopes of individuals and families seeking a better life” and to turn to trusted resources for guidance and information on the application process.

Obama announced an executive order last month to protect roughly 5 million people living in the country illegally from deportation, while ordering border authorities to target “felons, not families.”

The order will allow immigrants who are the parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents to request relief from deportation and authorization to work for three years. To qualify, they must have been in the country for more than five years, pass a criminal background check, pay fees and show that their child was born prior to the issuance of the executive order.

The executive order will also expand on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children, by removing the upper age limit of 30. The DACA program will also be amended to offer three years of protection from deportation, up from the previous two years.

“We stand by all of our DREAMers and our families that can benefit from President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration,” LAUSD board member Monica Garcia said. “When the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was announced, LAUSD led the nation in our preparation. With the president’s most recent announcement, we will lead again.”

As the second-largest school district in the nation, it is estimated that thousands of current and former LAUSD students may qualify for relief under Obama’s expansion of DACA.

Many parents of children enrolled in LAUSD schools may also qualify under Deferred Action for Parental Accountability.

“Collaborating with the city, our labor unions and our community partners, the LAUSD family is committed to ensuring the dignity of every student and every parent in every community,” said board Vice President Steve Zimmer. “We are united in this mobilization that will bring more of our families into the full light of the American Dream.”

“We have long said our students are our greatest asset,” he said. “What is even more true is that our collective assets grow as more and more families are able to grow together, learn together and thrive together without fear of deportation. We stand together in support of our president and executive action.”