Six UC campuses to expand legal services to undocumented students
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – University of California President Janet Napolitano announced Friday that the system will expand legal services to undocumented students at six campuses, including UC San Diego, to provide immigration-related legal assistance to students at campuses without law schools.
Napolitano said the UC Davis School of Law will host a pilot legal services center that will serve students at UCSD, plus campuses at Merced, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and Riverside.
The pilot program was created in response to a recommendation made by the President’s Advisory Committee on Undocumented Students, a group of faculty, administrators and students appointed by Napolitano earlier this year.
“This pilot program is just the beginning,” Napolitano said. “We want to create a model for other UC campuses and universities across the nation to provide legal representation for undocumented students on their campuses.”
Her announcement comes a day after President Barack Obama announced executive actions to protect millions of people living in the country illegally from deportation. It also comes after the UC Board of Regents voted Thursday to raise tuition as much as 5 percent annually for the next five years.
The program will operate out of the UC Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic, which offers law students the opportunity to represent immigrants in immigration court and before immigration agencies under the direction of staff attorneys.
Napolitano said services to UC students will include:
— advice and counseling for undocumented students,
— legal clinics on the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and assistance in processing applications and renewals;
— informational and know-your-rights sessions;
— on-campus walk-in counseling and advice sessions; and
— training for students and volunteers in immigration services.
Various services for undocumented students are available at UC campuses with law schools. The pilot program will help to design a structure that can be used at other campuses in the future.
