"Nervous as ever, she stepped into the waiting room and looked up at a television. On the screen: government officials threatening to deport undocumented people. But Verduzco had a leg up: A team of experts from the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area had been working with her, preparing her for this interview, helping her understand her rights and organize her documents, and offering emotional support along the way."
"This year, folks are calling the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area in record numbers seeking to learn their legal rights, receive education about the citizenship process and find emotional support from a team of hard-working experts at an institution that's over a century old. In January 2024, the institute received about 8,000 calls from folks looking for help. One year later, the same month President Donald Trump was sworn in, the institute received more than 16,000 calls."
Cynthia Verduzco, born in Mexico and raised in Los Angeles and Newark, applied to become a U.S. citizen after building her life and raising three children in the United States. Her husband, a U.S. citizen, was not allowed into the Department of Homeland Security interview room while images of officials threatening deportation played on a television. The Immigration Institute of the Bay Area prepared her for the interview, explained rights, organized documents and provided emotional support. The century-old institute experienced a surge in calls, rising from about 8,000 in January 2024 to more than 16,000 one year later.
Read at The Mercury News
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