AID FOR LIFE assisted over a hundred asylum seekers to send their application
On June 24, AID FOR LIFE hosted a major legal jornada where over 100 asylum seekers were able to apply for asylum. This was achieved through an alliance with Golden Veritas Group and NYC VEN Immigration Services, through 24 paralegals that reviewed and sent the asylum applications.
In previous weeks, AID FOR LIFE and FUNDAVENYC had multiple training and sessions to help migrants understand the process, collect, translate and verify documents.
Once an asylum seeker arrives in the US, they have 1 year to apply for asylum. If the year passed and an application wasn’t sent, the legal process becomes very difficult for them. The 100 asylum seekers that were part of this jornada were already reaching the 1-year period they have. The lack of resources and impediment to legally work were main reasons for the delay, as they couldn’t afford the legal fees associated. This jornada provided the legal assistance completely free for these asylum seekers.
Over 80,000 asylum seekers have arrived in NYC, and more than 50,000 are in more than 120 emergency shelters (hotels) and eight Humanitarian Response and Relief Centers (HERRC).
Every Saturday, AID FOR LIFE hosts jornadas in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where hundreds of immigrants receive culturally appropriate hot meals, clothing, shoes and haircuts. To date, AID FOR LIFE has served over 14,000 asylum seekers. If you want to make a donation, please contact us.
