Advocacy:
state-wide and nationally.
Legal Counsel: IIBA (International Institute of the Bay Area) Sonoma at La Luz Center
and VIDAS, Santa Rosa, provide low-cost counsel in Spanish or English to explain legal options and help immigrants apply for
permanent residency, petition for alien relatives, apply for visas, U Visas, temporary
protected status, and/or asylum.
Know Your Rights: Through informational community meetings, flyers and wallet-sized
cards at schools and businesses, La Luz Center (LLC) and SVAC/CAVS help community
members learn about their legal rights if threatened by police, ICE and/or Homeland
Security. Recommended on-line resources for immigrant rights are:
F amily Preparedness : SVAC and La Luz (https://www.laluzcenter.org) are helping individual
families at risk of deportation to organize family documents and prepare for child care.
Notaries offer free or low-cost services to notarize an “Appointment of Short-Term
Guardian for Minor Children and Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney.” SVAC also
recommends these Family Preparedness resources from the Immigrant Legal Resource
Center (ILRC):
Citizenship: Working together, IIBA, La Luz Center (LLC) and SVAC/CAVS help legal
permanent residents become naturalized citizens by providing citizenship classes, tutoring,
and free or low-cost application assistance. Contact the Family Resource Center (FRC) at El
Verano School, 707-935- 6025, for information about citizenship classes; contact IIBA
Sonoma for naturalization application assistance (https://www.iibayarea.org/contact-
us/sonoma-office/).
- VIDAS (Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services) is
state-wide and nationally.
- Sonoma Indivisible and the Sonoma Valley Democratic Club engage in some advocacy related to immigrant issues.
- Sonoma Valley Action Coalition/Coalición de Acción del Valle de Sonoma (SVAC/CAVS)’s
Legal Counsel: IIBA (International Institute of the Bay Area) Sonoma at La Luz Center
and VIDAS, Santa Rosa, provide low-cost counsel in Spanish or English to explain legal options and help immigrants apply for
permanent residency, petition for alien relatives, apply for visas, U Visas, temporary
protected status, and/or asylum.
Know Your Rights: Through informational community meetings, flyers and wallet-sized
cards at schools and businesses, La Luz Center (LLC) and SVAC/CAVS help community
members learn about their legal rights if threatened by police, ICE and/or Homeland
Security. Recommended on-line resources for immigrant rights are:
- http://wearecasa.org/resources/know-your- rights/
- https://www.ilrc.org/know-your- rights-and- what-immigrant- families-should- do-now
- http://www.chirla.org
- https://www.canalalliance.org/immigration
F amily Preparedness : SVAC and La Luz (https://www.laluzcenter.org) are helping individual
families at risk of deportation to organize family documents and prepare for child care.
Notaries offer free or low-cost services to notarize an “Appointment of Short-Term
Guardian for Minor Children and Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney.” SVAC also
recommends these Family Preparedness resources from the Immigrant Legal Resource
Center (ILRC):
- https://www.ilrc.org/plan-de- preparacion-familiar
- https://www.ilrc.org/family-preparedness- plan
- https://www.ilrc.org/family-preparedness- planning-california- 0
Citizenship: Working together, IIBA, La Luz Center (LLC) and SVAC/CAVS help legal
permanent residents become naturalized citizens by providing citizenship classes, tutoring,
and free or low-cost application assistance. Contact the Family Resource Center (FRC) at El
Verano School, 707-935- 6025, for information about citizenship classes; contact IIBA
Sonoma for naturalization application assistance (https://www.iibayarea.org/contact-
us/sonoma-office/).