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Home My WebLink AboutR-87-0479J-87-470 S/14/87 RESOLUTION NO. 87-479 A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THAT THE DADE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD DONATE SURPLUS FURNITYRE TO THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA FOR HACAD. 1 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section I. The Dade County School Board is hereby requested to donate surplus furniture to the City of Miami, Florida for HACAD. 1/— PASSED AND ADOPTED this 14th day of May 1987. XAVIER 4REZ, MAYOR ATTEST: TY HIRAI CITY CLERK PREPARED AND APPROVED BY: ROBERT F. CLARK CHIEF DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY APPROVED ' TO FOR14 AND CORRECTNESS: LVV n cr. aiv vim... CI Y ATTORNEY RFC:bss:M425 1/ This acronym stands for the Haitian American Community Association of Dade County. CITY COKM1S5IAN MEETING OF MAY 14 1987 eSOLUTM ho�W-4 7S . ! MATTY HIRAI CESAR H. ODIO r s, City ManAger City Clerk a . \9�-co i F`pQ��. June 17, 1081 Dr. Leonard Britton Superintendent Dade County School Board 1450 N.E. 2 Avenue Miami Florida 33132 RE: SURPLUS FURNITURE Dear Dr. Britton: Enclosed herein please find a copy of Resolution No. 87-479, passed and adopted by the City of Miami Commission at its meeting held on May 14, 1987, which is self explanatory. On behalf of the City of Miami, thank you for your attention. Very truly yours, Matty Hirai City Clerk MH:sl ENC: a/s R - Its• *19 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK/City Hall/3500 Pan American Drive/P.O.Box 330708/Miami, Florida 33233-0708'(305) 579-6065 familiarity with the American legal system that will enable them to take appropriate advantage of the law. In addition to paying anticipated filing fees of perhaps $185 pet person ($420 for a family of four), applicants for legalization will also have to pay attorney's fees, possibly ranging between $750 and $2500. Because the process A Unowd way SupWWO Agency � 7y-1 8'7-4'75 i MAR 2 4 1987 74s Haitian mrrican Tommunitv ssariatw*n 0f +� Labe Q..01111tU'�:�,��.��F �, i111C. 5901 N. W. 2nd Avenue / Miami, Florida 33127 Telephone: (305) 751-3429 - 751.3458 March 17, 1987 a Mr. Cesar Odio City Manager City Manager Office 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, Fla 33133 Dear Mr. Odic: HACAD requires funding in the amount of $40,000 per year over a two year period in order to pay the salaries of two paralegals who will be joining the agency's legal staff for that period. These para- legals will serve the many clients who will be coming to the agency over the next two years for assistance in obtaining residency under the Immigration Reform Act of 1986. 11ACAD' s t`:lo attorneys currently offer civil legal assistance to approximately 1200 clients a year in the areas of ],andlord -tenant disputes, consiamer fraud, and employ- ment discrimination. To supplement the legal staff and thus address what will.. be a major need within the com-nunity over the next few years, HACAD has requested that the United Way Response Pool fund two additional attorneys. They will work under Ira Kurzban, HACAD's supervising attorney and president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The INS has determined that HACAD will be one of two agencies in Little Haiti that will process applications under the adjustment and legalization programs. The first program beings March 10, the other May 5. Even with additional attorneys, the burden of providing assistance to the thousands of clients who will visit the agency in the months ahead will be too great for them to handle alone. The presence of paralegals will be essential. The following paragraphs document the need for an immigration program at HACAD and described the services the program will offer. NEED FOR THE PROGRAM Over 40,000 Haitians potentially can benefit under the new law, but only if they apply for residency within the 18 months allowed by the government. Yet most of these people do not have the economic re- sources, literacy skills and competency in English, as well as familiarity with the American legal system that will enable them to take appropriate advantage of the law. In addition to paying anticipated filing fees of perhaps $185 pet person ($420 for a family of four), applicants for legalization will also have to pay attorney's fees, possibly ranging between $750 and $2500. Because the process A Limed way Supported Agency 8'7-4'75 Mr. Cesar Odio Page 2 March 17, 1987 of obtaining residency will be a complicated one, attorneys will be required in most cases. Aliens who have lived in the country for years under assumed names and who have hidden their presence from the authorities must now prove that they were, in fact, here. Most will also have to secure copies or records, such as birth certificates, from Haiti. Such papers will be extremely difficult to acquire. Farmerworkers, paid in cash by crew bosses who maintained no records and who may be impossible to locate, will have to prove that they did engage in farm work. In all such cases, the task of obtaining residency will be costly and time consuming. Even in the more -or -less straightforward cases that do not require complicated searches for documents, most applicants do not have the education that will enable them to fill out forms without assistance. Some may visit private consultants to obtain assistance. Such con- sultants charge high fees and may take unfair advantage of their clients' ignorance of the law by offering inappropriate services. (Moreover, the Supreme Court of the State of Florida has stated that any person other than a licensed attorney who assists in the prepara- tion of applications for a fee is unlawfully practicing law in violation of Florida statutes and will be prosecuted.) Applicants who have been poorly served by incompetent consultants may then lose the opportunity to establish legitimate claims for refugee status. The complexity and. critical nature of the adjustment and legalization programs requires that most applications be monitored by attorneys who are familiar with the process and its various pitfalls. Those in the community who cannot afford the services of private attorneys --the vast majority of applicants --must turn to the voluntary agencies in order to obtain the benefits of the new law. Time periods are short as well as critical. The Haitian Entrant adjustment program will be impossible for those few agencies currently providing immigration services to the Haitian community to assist the numbers who are eligible for residency. Because of HACAD's central location and experience as a service provider in the Haitian community, because of the agency's excellent reputation within the community and ability to disseminate information rapidly and effectively to people, HACAD is ideally suited to help Haitians obtain their resident status. Without the presence of attorneys and paralegals at HACAD to serve such clients, many eligible persons in the community will not be able to obtain resi- dency within the time allowed. DESCRIPTIVE OF PROGRAM Given the anticipated costs of obtaining residency, applicants' unfami- liarity with the complexities of the new law, as well as their vulner- ability to dishonest and incompetent individuals, the need for free legal assistance and community education becomes critical. At HACAD such assistance will not only include working with applicants to fill out forms, obtain documents, and represent them at immigration hear- ings, but also conducting community outreach through the media and 8 7-4'7. Mr. Cesar Odio Page 3 March 17, 1987 group meetings in order to educate people about their rights under the law and,to warn them against fraudulent practices. In the cases of -the thousands of Haitians belonging to the migrant stream, exten- sive outreach efforts will be required to acquaint them with the new law so that they will be able to apply for residency within the period complications will allowed. Also, in view of INS' past record, many undoubtedly develop as people apply for resident status. Attorneys will be needed to represent applicants in litigation, to bring class action suits before the federal courts, as well as to enforce the anti -discrimination provisions of the Immigration Reform Act. Creole - speaking paralegals will be required to work with the attorneys, conducting initial screening of clients, interpreting for,the attorneys, assisting clients in filling out forms, and doing community outreach. TARGET POPULATION- OTHER ORGANIZATIONS SERVING THIS POPULATION! COLLABORATIVE EFORTS HACAD will serve Haitians living in Dade County who are eligible for resident status under the new immigration law. The agency will con- centrate its efforts in Little Haiti (Edison/Little River) where HACAD is located and.. -here the greatest concentration of Haitians in South Florida occurs. The only other agencY that will be provid- ing. such services to Haitians in Little Haiti, is the Haitian Refugee Center. Organizations providing these se,, -vices elsewhere in Dade County include Lutheran Ministries, United Methodist Urban tdi.nistries, and the South Dade Immigration ,association (composed of seventeen agencies and church groups). HACAD attorneys and paralegals will meet regularly with the ones at these agencies and cooperate with them in making referrals and doing community,outreach. Working colla- boratively, they will monitor the actions of the INS to guarantee that the legalization and adjustment programs are administered fairly. If lawsuits become necessary, the attorneys will initiate them collect- ively. The precedent for such collective efforts was established recently when HACAD, working under Ira Kurzban, together with the Haitian Refugee Center and Florida Legal Services won a landmark battle in the federal courts against the INS' Operation SAVE. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN The Immigration Reform Act demands that a complex operation be carried out in a brief period of time for a large number of people, most of whom will not be able to afford private help. HACAD will work according to a calendar determined by the INS. As indicated, the Haitian adjustment program begins March 10, and the legalization program begins May 5. Because HACAD has been designated by the INS as one of the agencies that will receive and process applications for residency, the agency will be in direct contact with the INS District Director's Office. As soon as HACAD's lawyers receive information from the INS concerning rules and requirements as well as deadlines, they and the paralegals will disseminate that information to the community through the media. Once application forms become available, the attorneys and paralegals will begin to process the many clients who will be visiting the agency. 3 8 7-4'7ci Mr. Cesar Odio Page 4 March 17, 1987 Should any crisis develop, HACAD will be in a position to make a .direct appeal for -intervention to the'INS District Directors Office. As indicated, HACAD's attorneys will also meet with those of other agencies to deal with such crises collectively. HACAD urgently requests funding--$40,000 a year for two years --to add two paralegals to its legal staff. Their presence will signi- ficantly influence the future of the Haitian community. At present, a sizeable portion of that community lives in limbo, unrecognized under the law, vulnerable to exploitation, and subject to social and economic hardships as well as to psychological stress and depression. Not only do these unfortunates suffer, but the resources of the -City of Miami and Dade County are strained as they struggle to provide these individuals essential services. The economic strain is the more severe in that the county and city lose federal and state funding as a result of the numbers of undocumented persons who are not included in the local census. Regularizing the status of these people is in everyones best interest. In view of the urgency of the situation, I also request to appear before the Commission at its next meeting in order to answer any questions that the Commissioners might have. Sincerely, W Roger E. Biamby Executive Director REB:erl cc: Mayor kavier Suarez Commissioner Miller J. Dawkins Commissioner Rosario Kennedy Commissioner J.L. Plummer, Jr. Commissioner Joe Carollo 8'7-4'79