Undocumented Legal Services Center Honored by White House Initiative
The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics has chosen the University of California Undocumented Legal Services Center for inclusion in "Bright Spots in Hispanic Education," a national online catalogue of more than 230 programs that invest in key education priorities for Hispanics.
Operating out of UC Davis School of Law, the Undocumented Legal Services Center provides high-quality legal assistance to support the needs of undocumented and AB 540-eligible students and their families at UC campuses without law schools: UC Merced, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and UC Riverside. Under Executive Director María Blanco, the groundbreaking program offers legal advice and representation, informational and know-your-rights sessions, legal support for campus clinics and workshops to assist with applications for benefits available under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA), and other immigration-related relief programs, assistance in filing humanitarian and educational travel applications, and in-depth consultations and direct representation in immigration court or before immigration agencies.
"UC Davis School of Law is proud to host the Undocumented Legal Services Center, which is playing such an important role in providing the high quality legal assistance students need in order to complete their educational journey and become our state's next generation of entrepreneurs, engineers, and community leaders.," said Dean Kevin R. Johnson. "It is very gratifying to learn that this groundbreaking program has been honored by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics."
The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics was established in 1990 to address the educational disparities faced by the Hispanic community. It seeks to leverage the Bright Spots to encourage collaboration between stakeholders focused on similar issues in sharing data-driven approaches, promising practices, peer advice, and effective partnerships, ultimately resulting in increased support for the educational attainment of the Hispanic community.