Volunteer Lawyers Project prepped for Citizenship Drive at Borough Hall
With deportations on the rise under the new presidential administration, the Brooklyn legal community is coming together to help out.
The Volunteer Lawyers Project and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams are planning an “Embrace Your Hyphen Citizenship Drive” for Saturday, during which they are expected to help more than 150 immigrants, all legal permanent residents already, to fill out their citizenship application forms.
In preparation for that event, more than 100 attorneys gathered Borough Hall on Wednesday night for a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar designed to teach young attorneys how to help them fill out the N-400 application form.
“Navigating government is hard, and if English is your second language, it is unbelievable how difficult it is,” Adams said. “Attorneys are used to walking into government buildings, accessing the court and interacting with police, but to the average person it is so intimidating. What they are doing here is not just helping people navigate the immigration process, but showing people that despite their status and language that they are deserving of dignity and respect.”