The CLSEPA Immigration Program provides legal assistance to immigrants in and around East Palo Alto, where two-thirds of the population is Latino or Pacific Islander. Our two full-time immigration attorneys help local residents navigate the federal government’s complicated immigration processes.

In an effort to teach local immigrants their rights and responsibilities, we give presentations at a number of venues in the area, including community health and social service agencies, immigrants’ rights groups, churches, schools, women’s shelters, and community events.

For individual clients, we specialize in the following immigration issues:

• Adjustment of status (green cards)
• Limited deportation defense (mainly for survivors of domestic abuse)
• ICE raids defense and community education
• Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
• Family visa petitions
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
• State or federal criminal background checks
• Work permit renewals
• Consular processing
• Green card renewals
• Domestic-violence-based U visa and VAWA self-petitions

Our immigration team also provides life-changing assistance to survivors of domestic violence and victims of other crimes who are without immigration papers, helping clients apply for and obtain relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and through U-Visa relief. These programs help our clients secure a change in immigration status, enabling them to take important steps toward eliminating violence and fear for their lives and the lives of their children.

Handouts in Spanish are available on a variety of topics. All of our full-time staff members speak Spanish.

To schedule an appointment, please call our office at 650-326-6440, or for more information, email us at info@clsepa.org.

The CLSEPA Housing Program strives to safeguard decent and affordable housing by working with individual clients and their families to resolve specific housing problems. Our Housing Program also advocates with local and state agencies to protect homeowners both locally and state-wide.

Our staff counsels and represents tenants in order to:

• help tenants eliminate unsafe and unhealthy housing conditions;
• keep tenants in their homes by defending them against unlawful eviction;
• ensure that tenants receive their security deposits after moving out of a home;
• and protect tenants against unlawful landlord behavior, like discrimination, retaliation and illegal utility termination.

Education and empowerment are key elements of our housing project. We work with the local community to increase the capacity of individuals and groups to advocate on their own behalf. In those cases where a client lacks the capacity to represent him/herself, we attempt to secure outside counsel to represent the client on a pro bono basis.

When there is no clear legal solution to a problem, we will explore with the client alternatives to legal action, such as direct negotiation with the client’s landlord or referral to mediation and/or social service agencies.

To schedule an appointment, please call our office at 650-326-6440, or for more information, email us at info@clsepa.org.

Volunteer Attorney Program