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Q&A
Council member inquires about Center for Family Life's immigrant services
5:03:59
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93 sec
Council member Alexa Avilés questions Lois Torres from the Center for Family Life (CFL) about their immigrant services. Torres explains the process of screening and assisting clients with various immigration cases, including citizenship and adjustment of status applications.
- CFL provides ongoing support for cases like citizenship and adjustment of status
- For clients without relief options, CFL provides referrals to other legal services
- The center has screened about 1,300 individuals and filed 353 cases in the last two years
Alexa Avilés
5:03:59
I guess, as one of the centers, obviously, that does so much work, are you seeing an increased need for services, increased Absolutely.
5:04:14
And when you say you've screened 1,300 people, what happens to them next?
5:04:21
It's a legal screening and then they get where do they go on the next step?
Lois Torres
5:04:27
Depending on the case type that the attorney retains the client for.
5:04:32
For example if it's for citizenship, we're there with them until they receive their citizenship certificate.
5:04:40
If it's for an adjustment of status, depending if it's for a sibling or spouse, we're there from the beginning to the end.
5:04:46
Unfortunately we've been having a lot of clients that they don't have, there's no relief for them and so that's the very sad part when we have to let them know that there's nothing else that we can do for them, but we don't leave them just at that situation.
5:05:04
We give them a referral list so they can seek legal services elsewhere to get like a second or a third opinion, not just to stay with our opinion.
Alexa Avilés
5:05:16
Yeah.
5:05:16
So it's like a recommendation to seek private counsel
Carlina Rivera
5:05:21
in some
Alexa Avilés
5:05:23
of the
Carlina Rivera
5:05:21
Well
UNKNOWN
5:05:23
actually
Alexa Avilés
5:05:23
more
Lois Torres
5:05:23
for other legal services like NILAG or Brooklyn Defenders or Urban Justice.
5:05:32
Yeah.