UH law clinic offers free naturalization workshops, deportation defense hotline

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - As President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown sparks fear and confusion about detentions and deportations, demand is high for legal counsel.

Immigration attorneys Danicole Ramos and Stephanie Haro Sevilla, fellows at UH Law School’s Refugee & Immigration Law Clinic, joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about resources to help those seeking asylum, deportation defense, and naturalization.

They said there’s increased demand for people interested in becoming U.S. citizens. Starting April 4, the law school will be hosting Cardholder to Citizenship (C2C) workshops every Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Attorneys and law students will be available to help qualified applicants complete their naturalization application forms for free.

Qualified applicants may include green card holders and non-citizens who served in the U.S. military.

“We encourage people who are eligible to apply for citizenship to avoid any issues with deportation, to vote, and to open up more job opportunities for themselves,” Ramos said.

To sign up for the citizenship workshop, call (808) 956-0836 or visit bit.ly/CitizenHNL.

The Hawaii American Immigration Lawyers Association also set up a Deportation Defense Hotline at (808) 204-5951.

“This administration has instituted unprecedented arrest quotas on ICE, tearing apart families and communities,” Haro Sevilla said. “We created a hotline where we can provide free consultations to those detained by ICE. We want to ensure due process for everyone.”

Ramos is also being honored with a Clare Hanusz Award for Emerging Leaders in Immigrant Justice by nonprofit The Legal Clinic at a fundraising event on April 10 at Cafe Julia from 5-7 p.m. For ticket information, visit tlchawaii.org/guardians-of-immigrant-justice.