The national legal community has been a hotbed of activity in responding to the many changes in federal laws, especially in the immigration legal arena. The Chicago Bar Foundation has brought all the legal aid agencies together to educate lawyers on the scope of potential deportations and the implications of the executive orders. CARPLS is a part of the conversation in responding to the needs of our clients. 

Ashlee Highland, CARPLS Supervising Attorney, has attended several legal community conversations on immigration: "we fear there will be an increase in detentions and deportations for small legal infractions or none at all. Our clients need to be prepared with a safety plan for whether they are deported or detained, with guardianship agreements, powers of attorney, and plans for their children and property-so that they can be as prepared as possible." 

In Cook County, 21% of our population is foreign born of which 10% are naturalized and 11% are not. On a daily basis, CARPLS provides services on a wide range of everyday legal matters to immigrants, which represent 11% of our clients.  As a non-federally funded program, CARPLS serves both documented and undocumented people and we provide services in Spanish.  

On Casimir Pulaski Day (March 6th), a holiday named for an immigrant who was a Revolutionary War hero, we will train all our attorneys to further help undocumented residents identify short and long-term strategies for their families and to assess if there are additional options to apply for permanent immigration status. CARPLS is often the first and last place people access an attorney, and we are doing our part on the front lines for the vulnerable immigrant population in the community. One of our major strengths is that we can identify multiple issues from the start of a consultation of an initial benign legal matter.