Deportation Relief for Undocumented Young People

As the immigration debate continues in Washington D.C., after a bipartisan group of 8 senators issued an immigration reform plan last week, the President released his plan soon there after, and the House of Representatives hearings began this week a national debate about what is at stake for our communities is ongoing. In the mean time, there is a program set in place that provides temporary deportation relief for many undocumented young people named, "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (DACA).

In August of 2012, the Department of Homeland Security started accepting applications for DACA, which prevents the deportation of DREAM act eligible immigrants under the age of 31 (more details here).  DACA provides up to 2 years of temporary relief from deportation and eligible individuals are able to apply for a work permit during the period of deferred action. Eligibility for this program is determined on a case by case basis and for more information you can check out the National Immigration and Law Center because they list all of the eligibility criteria here. 

If you or someone you know is an undocumented young person who was born on or after June 16, 1981 and arrived in the US before the age of 16 find out if they qualify for this program.  If you need more information and would like to receive assistance the Long BeachImmigration Rights Coalition is hosting information sessions at the Long Beach Gay & Lesbian Center.  These information sessions start today (Wednesday, February 6th) and tomorrow (Thursday, February 7th) from 1 PM to 5:30 PM and welcome everyone! The details of the event are below in both English and Spanish:

Have you attended an informational forum on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and would like some help putting your application together? Are you having second thoughts about your supporting documents? Would you like an attorney to look over your application before you send it? If so, then join us! We will have trained DACA application screeners and those that attend will have the opportunity to schedule an appointment with a qualified immigration attorney. 

Wednesday Feb. 6 2012; 1:00-5:30PM
Thursday Feb. 7 2012; 1:00-5:30PMEmail: lbimmigrantrights@gmail.com Call (562) 204-6333
The Center of Long Beach2017 E. 4th St. Long Beach, CAPlease RSVP at: www.lbirc.org/daca (Book your appointment today!)

~~~~~~~~~~Spanish~~~~~~~~~~~~
¿Ha asistido a un evento informativo sobre el programa de Acción Diferida (DACA) y le gustaría recibir ayuda con su aplicación? ¿Tiene dudas sobre sus documentos suplementarios? ¿Le gustaría que un abogado revise su aplicación antes de que la entregue? ¿O tiene más preguntas sobre el programa? Entonces acompáñenos! Tendremos voluntarios entrenados que le podrán contestar sus preguntas y también tendrá la oportunidad de hacer una cita individual con un abogado de inmigración GRATIS! 
Miércoles Febrero 6 2012; 1:00-5:30PMJueves Febrero 7 2012; 1:00-5:30PMEmail: lbimmigrantrights@gmail.comTeléfono (562) 204-6333
The Center of Long Beach2017 E. 4th St. Long Beach, CACitas: www.lbirc.org/daca (Haga su cita HOY!)


Here is the event on facebook: DACA Workshop Information

Wilmington's History: La Union Mutualista de San Jose in the 1920's

Wilmington's Backyard History: 1920's & La Union Mutualista de San Jose

You might be wondering why this post is about the ever-popular "San Jose" Quinceañera and Wedding Ballroom Hall. Well, unbeknownst to some, this building is a part of history in the city of Wilmington in California, and was a source of aid to many Mexican immigrants and relocated Mexican-Americans during the 1920's. This was a point in time in which the effects of World War I, which ended in 1918, rolled over into the following years and Mexican labor was highly desired.

Established in 1921, the still-existing building is an anchor in time. No longer a mutualista, it is now a privately owned Ballroom business. From my own personal recollection (and last visit around 1999), I recall seeing a wall near the entrance that was plastered in old, black-and-white photographs of the founding chief members throughout the years.

The following is the Wikipedia description of what a mutualista is, and provides a sneak peek into how these organizations branched out in later years,

"

Mutualistas were community-based mutual aid societies created by Mexican immigrants in the late 19th century United States. According to media analyst Charles M. Tatum, mutualistas

"provided most immigrants with a connection to their mother country and served to bring them together to meet their survival needs in a new and alien country. Cultural activities, education, health care, insurance coverage, legal protection and advocacy before police and immigration authorities, and anti-defamation activities were the main functions of these associations.^[1]

Sometimes mutualistas were part of larger organizations affiliated with the Mexican government or other national associations. One such association included Alianza Hispano-Americana, which, founded in 1894 in Tucson, Arizona Territory, had 88 chapters throughout theSouthwestern United States by 1919. Usually mutualistas had separate women's auxiliaries, but some, including Club Femenino Orquidia inSan Antonio, Texas and Sociedad Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez in Laredo, were founded and run by women.

While Tatum lauds mutualistas for "bringing together Mexican nationals from different social classes to form a common bond, a feat that no organization had been able to achieve in Mexico", there were indeed social divisions within mutualistas. Some, such as Club Mexicano Independencia in Santa Barbara, California, were only open to male citizens of Mexico. Others had elitist membership restrictions.

Many historians describe the "familiar" orientation of mutualista societies. They fostered sentiments of unity, mutual protection, and volunteerism. Historian Vicki L. Ruiz sees mutualistas as "institutionalized forms of compadrazgo and commadrazgo", the "concrete manifestations" of which were orphanages and nursing homes.^[2]

Some mutualistas became politically active in the American Civil Rights Movement. The Comité de Vecinos de Lemon Grove filed a successful desegregation suit against the Lemon Grove School District in 1931. Many of the people that were involved in mutualismo were active in the subsequent Chicano student political, and feminist movements. María Hernández, who formed Orden Caballeros de America with her husband Pedro in 1929, later worked on educational desegregation and supported the Raza Unida Party." (Web source: Wikipedia.)

Furthermore is an excerpt taken from author Rodolfo F. Acuña's book titled Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, in which he states,

"The organizational life of Mexicans in Los Angeles resembled that of San Antonio, but it was also different. Mutualistas, as in San Antonio, met the immigrant families' basic needs, maintaining their culture and when possible defending their civil rights. However, the mutualistas did not play as central a role as they did in San Antonio, partly because the Mexican-origin population of Los Angeles was widely scattered. Also, proportionately, San Antonio has a larger Mexican American population that did L.A.; consequently, the Mexican consul in Los Angeles played an influential role in establishing mutualista-like organizations like La Cruz Azul (the Blue Cross) for women and La Comisión Honorífica (the Honor Commission) for men. Such organizations did charitable work under the consul's auspices."

(Acuña, 155).

The contribution of La Union Mutualista de San Jose played a role in helping the recently relocated and immigrant Mexican workers with necessities. The workers labored in the railroad, farming, construction, and port work in the Wilmington and surrounding communities. That was just a little piece of Wilmington's past-pie. I hope you enjoyed reading a bit on what is in our backyard's...until next time!

P.S. - Below is the address of the UMSJ and Google map, just in case you might want to drive by and take a look.

Union Mutualista de San Jose

1023 North Henry Ford Avenue

Wilmington, CA 90744

Phone: (310) 835-6797

View Larger Map

Book Reference Citation:

Acuña, Rodolfo F.

Occupied America: A History of Chicanos.

6th ed. New York, New York. Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.