How Can I Get My Papers?

Immigrants Rising, Dec. 5, 2019

"Today, Immigrants Rising released a report containing groundbreaking data on undocumented immigrants, How Can I Get My Papers: Lessons from a Decade of Online Legal Intakes for Undocumented Immigrants. Immigrants Rising analyzed ten years of online legal intakes for close to 3,000 undocumented immigrants to identify trends and develop recommendations in the areas of education, immigration relief, criminal justice, and more. As the report details, Immigrants Rising outlined new best practices for immigration legal service providers; exciting new demographic trends and data for advocates and researchers; and key opportunities for policy makers at all levels of government.

Key findings from the report:

• Over a fifth (21%) of respondents were eligible for permanent relief, such as family sponsorship.
• Ninety-three percent of respondents would be eligible for relief if Dream Act-related legislation passed.
• Less than half (41%) of respondents previously received legal assistance.
• Respondents had higher rates of educational attainment than the national average in terms of high school graduation, associate’s degrees, and a bachelor’s degree.
• Respondents had lower rates of criminal history than the national average.

Executive Summary
Full Report
Legal Service Testimonials (videos)
Stakeholder Briefing Recording
Press Statement (English | Spanish)

Feel free to distribute and share this report with your networks and on social media—we’ve included a sample tweet and Facebook post below. If you have any questions regarding the report, please contact Katharine Gin at kathy@immigrantsrising.org."