Farmworker Legal Services of Michigan - Home Page

Farmworker Legal Services (FLS) is a legal aid office with attorneys and other advocates who provide free legal assistance and referrals to migrant and seasonal farmworkers throughout the state of Michigan. FLS is a division of Legal Services of South Central Michigan, a non-profit organization funded primarily by the federal Legal Services Corporation.

This website presents some information about FLS and the work that we are doing. We hope that by reviewing the site you will learn more about farmworkers and the obstacles that they still face today.

WHAT'S NEW:

April 2008:

· Farmworker Legal Services has prepared an Issue Brief regarding whether an applicant for a marriage license in Michigan must have a social security number. The Michigan Attorney General issued a formal opinion on this matter in March 2008. Click here to see the FLS Issue Brief.

MARCH 2008:

· We have added two Issue Briefs that FLS prepared recently. The first is a Migrant Housing Issue Brief related to the state's lack of migrant camp inspectors. We added the Issue Brief to the Housing section of our Current Issues and Advocacy section. The second is a Migrant Health and Safety Issue Brief that discusses the problems caused by the lack of an appropriate enforcement protocol by MIOSHA. The Issue Brief has been added to the Employment section of our Current Issues and Advocacy section.

· We have completed our law student hiring for the upcoming summer. We will post our 2009 internship materials in October 2008

· The Michigan Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association is organizing two Citizenship Day events on April 19. It's an opportunity for Legal Permanent Residents to receive professional assistance with their applications for citizenship. The volunteer attorneys and paralegals will not be charging for their assistance, although a $20 donation is requested to cover the costs of supplies. Applicants will also be responsible for paying the $675 application fee to the Department of Homeland Security.

Clinics will be held in Grand Rapids and Detroit on April 19. You can find the following fliers with information about the events:

Grand Rapids (English) Grand Rapids (Spanish) Detroit (English)

The clinics will be operated on a walk-in basis, so interested individuals are strongly encouraged to review the required documents that they must bring. If applicants do not bring the necessary documents, the volunteers may not be able to assist them.

FEBRUARY 2008:

· We are compiling a listing of Michigan agricultural employers who have applied to import foreign workers under the federal H2A guestworker program. To see the list, click here or visit the H2A Guestworker Program section of our website.

JANUARY 2008:

· Our January 2008 newsletter, titled Todos Tienen Derechos, is now available. This is the first newsletter in our new format. You may view the newsletter by clicking here, or by visiting our Newsletter page. The newsletter contains information about the October Naturalization Clinic that FLS co-sponsored, information about the recent Michigan Attorney General opinion that will result in driver's license restrictions for many immigrants, and information about recent cases and activities that FLS has been involved in.

· We are still accepting resumes from law students for our summer 2008 internship. Go to our Summer Internships / Hiring page to see the posting and a description of our summer internship.

OCTOBER 2007:

· We are now accepting resumes from law students interested in our 2008 summer internship. Please see our Summer Internships / Hiring page for more information.

· On October 20, 2007, FLS will be co-sponsoring a Naturalization Clinic in Kalamazoo. Other co-sponsors are the Diocese of Kalamazoo Immigration Assistance Program and the Kalamazoo County Bar Association Pro Bono Committee. At the clinic, pro bono attorneys will be on hand to assist Legal Permanent Residents with applications for naturalization in order to become U.S. citizens. The attorneys' services will be free, although clients will have to pay the government filing fee for the application.
Naturalization Clinic Flyer: English Spanish

SEPTEMBER 2007:

· On September 17, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published regulations for the U Visa. The U Visa was created by Congress in 2000 in order to provide immigrant victims of crimes (and certain family members) with an avenue for applying for lawful immigrant status if they have helped law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of the crime. The immigrant must also have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse. Since 2000, however, without implementing regulations from the Department of Homeland Security (or the Dept. of Justice before DHS was created), the USCIS (formerly INS) could not issue U Visas. There was not even an application form for victims of crime to use in order to apply for the U Visa. USCIS has only been able to grant "Interim Relief" for one-year intervals while it waited for the regulations to be finalized. The new rule will be effective on October 17, 2007, after which time immigrants can apply for the U Visa. See the following documents for more information:
U Visa News Release: English Spanish
U Visa Questions and Answers: English Spanish
U Visa Fact Sheet - Certifying U Status

· In August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposal that would require Legal Permanent Residents (LPR) who have green cards without expiration dates to apply for new cards. Under the proposal, LPR's would have 120 days to apply for a new card. After that period, DHS could institute a date after which old green cards would no longer be valid, such as for travel or employment purposes. This is just a proposal for now. DHS will make another announcement if they finalize the rule. See the following documents for more information:
Green Card Replacement Proposal Press Release: English Spanish
Green Card Replacement Proposal Fact Sheet: English Spanish
Green Card Replacement Proposal Questions and Answers: English Spanish

· In August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new rule regarding Social Security No-Match letters. It would result in employers taking adverse action against employees for whom the employer receives a "no-match" letter from the Social Security Administration. Visit the National Immigration Law Center for more detailed information. The following documents may be helpful in understanding the basics of no-match letters:
No-Match Letters - Questions and Answers for Workers: English Spanish
No-Match Letters - Top 10 Tips for Employers

· On July 30, USCIS implemented a new fee schedule for immigration applications. See the following documents for details:
USCIS Fee Schedule: English Spanish