We will discuss new developments in the DACA program, including a review of some of the stickier DACA eligibility and practice issues, and provide updates on any amendments to the program by USCIS. Renewal requirements and trends that have been seen in the DACA renewals process will also be covered. Finally, the session will include a brief discussion advance parole and adjustment of status after receiving DACA.

Presenter: Lena Graber, ILRC Special Projects Attorney

Lena has been involved in immigrant rights work for ten years, focusing on enforcement and detention issues. Lena joined ILRC in 2013 as Special Projects Attorney to lead ILRC's work on DACA services and trainings, as well as contribute to ILRC legal manuals and enforcement advocacy. Prior to joining the ILRC, Lena was a Soros Justice Fellow at the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, where she supported local campaigns against ICE detainers, provided training and education on the detention and deportation system, and litigated constitutional rights cases related to ICE enforcement. Previously at the National Immigration Forum, Lena worked with border communities to improve accountability for human rights abuses by Border Patrol, and contributed to national immigration policy advocacy and reform efforts. Lena graduated from Wesleyan University and George Washington University Law School, during which she worked on international human rights litigation in South Africa, co-managed a domestic violence email hotline, and aided local racial justice work with the Advancement Project and ONE DC. Lena is a proficient Spanish speaker, a tap dancer, and once she was an immigrant rights mime.

Co-Presenter: Joseph Wiener, Staff Attorney - Public Counsel

Joseph Weiner is a staff attorney in the Immigrants' Rights Project at Public Counsel, a pro bono law firm in Los Angeles, CA. He runs Public Counsel's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and had handled numerous DACA requests that involved juvenile delinquency and adult criminal issues. Joseph was formerly the immigration staff attorney at the HIV and AIDS Legal Services Alliance in Los Angeles, and prior to that was in private practice.