Orozco Workshops

Orozco Parents Get Facts About Immigration
By Maureen Kelleher on Thursday, January 15, 2009
Address: Orozco Community Academy, 1940 W 18th St., Chicago, IL

Nobody likes paperwork. But filling out applications for Food Stamps or state health insurance for children gets even harder when you fear that putting your home address on a form could bring agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) knocking on your door to arrest and deport you.

Although the state's All Kids health insurance program is available to families in Illinois regardless of their immigration status, undocumented immigrants are often unaware they can take advantage of benefits like this. Many are afraid to work with any government agency for fear of deportation.

"The biggest fear is giving out your information, giving out your address," said Teresa Fraga, home-school coordinator for Orozco Academy.

Presenters and participants in Elev8 Orozco's first parent workshop, on money matters, celebrate the event with a photo. More workshops will be held through 2009.

To help dispel the many myths about public benefits and immigration law, Elev8 Orozco – a partnership among the school, The Resurrection Project, Alivio Medical Center and Instituto del Progreso Latino – held a parent workshop on December 13. More than a dozen parents turned out to get the facts about a variety of public benefits, who is eligible for them, and how to apply. They also heard tips for getting a job, buying a home, and eating healthy without breaking the bank.

During the workshop, Mayra Diaz of Instituto del Progreso Latino explained who is and isn't eligible for Food Stamps. U.S. citizens and immigrants with five years of legal permanent residence are eligible; undocumented immigrants are not.

Many families have members in more than one of these categories. For example, all children born in the United States are citizens, so a family may have children who are eligible for Food Stamps even if the parents have less than five years of legal permanent residence or are undocumented.

Diaz also made the point that applying for Food Stamps does not hurt an immigrant's ability to reside in the U.S. or apply for citizenship. Undocumented parents applying for Food Stamps for eligible children will not be asked for immigration papers for themselves. Eligible immigrants may apply for Food Stamps without affecting their chances for citizenship.

Mayra Diaz of Instituto del Progreso Latino dispelled myths about public benefits and immigration and laid out the facts about which benefits people may take advantage of regardless of their immigration status, including Food Stamps and All Kids, Illinois' health insurance plan for children.

Diaz discussed other benefits, too. While the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program requires applicants to have a Social Security number, AllKids, the state's health insurance program for children, is available to all children and pregnant women regardless of their immigration status.

Diaz's presentation sparked questions that revealed the depth of misinformation regarding benefits. One woman explained that she and her family have been legal residents "for a while now," and that she recently received a letter about welfare. "I asked my husband about it and he told me not to get the help, because if we get the help, they'll send our kids to the war. Is this true?"

"No, it's not true," Diaz assured her. However, if legal permanent residents use TANF (welfare) cash benefits and then apply for citizenship, it could hurt their applications. Diaz invited her to come to her office for further conversation if she wanted to know more.

Afterward, parents said the workshop was helpful. One undocumented parent said it had helped overcome fears. "I didn't know about the benefits that were available. People who are undocumented are sometimes scared to get help and ask questions. That was my fear. I thought, 'Oh, what if they ask me and I don't have any documents?' I will use the suggestions they gave me."

More workshops will be held through 2009. "I promise to bring in more people to be a part of this, so they can come and see the benefits they can use," said parent Lourdes Sanchez.

Ana Saldana contributed to this report.