One of my favorite things to do is to educate the community about immigration options and immigrant rights – even if they are in the United States without authorization.
I’ve always been a big believer that education can move you forward. Education and knowledge are power. By sharing what I know about immigration and answering questions, I help people to understand their own personal situation and why relief may or may not be available. Sometimes knowing that you’re not eligible for an immigration benefit is just as valuable as knowing you are – at least you know not to spend $10,000 on false hopes.
Last week, I spoke to a group of students in the Master of Public Health program at Emory University. We discussed domestic violence and female genital mutilation as it relates to filing for asylum in the United States.
Earlier this year, I spoke to a group of parents at a head-start program in Norcross about obtaining legal status through their U.S. citizen children. In June, I’ll be presenting at the Annual Conference for the American Immigration Lawyers Association about complicated VAWA issues.
I’ve also spoken to domestic violence support groups about VAWA and U visas, and my audience has included general practice attorneys who want to learn about comprehensive immigration reform, VAWA, DACA, and local USCIS policies.
I’ve read that public speaking is the biggest fear of Americans – even beating out the fear of death. However, I absolutely love talking about immigration. I’m passionate about the subject and I wish more people would ask questions. Immigrants could learn about ways to gain legal status and U.S. citizens would learn about how complicated and broken our immigration system really is.
INVITE US TO SPEAK
The presentations I provide are FREE. If you are involved with a school, church, community center, shelter or other organization that’s interested in having me (or us, if you need a Spanish translator) talk to your group, please contact us. We’re happy to travel around the state to talk about these issues near and dear to our hearts.
– Tracie