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“Current Equal Justice Works Fellow at Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota Focuses on DACA:” 3M Equity, Justice, & Inclusion Annual Report

Posted on May 03 2022

As an Equal Justice Works Fellow working at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) and sponsored by 3M and Faegre, Drinker, Biddle, & Reath, I have been able to provide much needed legal resources and support to immigrant young adults in the Twin Cities area. My Equal Justice Works project focuses on responding to any and all legal changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program through education and outreach to local schools and community organizations, as well as individual representation.

Over this past year, I have been able to help many individuals with their DACA renewal applications. It has been especially rewarding to help people get their DACA renewed who have more complicated cases, such as those with past criminal convictions. I have helped multiple DACA renewal clients receive Advance Parole so that they can visit their family in their home countries. For most of my clients, it is the first time that they have been able to see their family in decades. I am also in the process of helping a DACA client apply for a U visa, which if granted, would enable them to get a green card and become a United States citizen. Helping people renew their DACA—which means obtaining a new work permit that then allows them to keep their job and driver’s license—as well as obtaining advance parole for clients and possibly a U visa for a client, is so meaningful and I am thankful my fellowship has allowed me to do this work.

I have also been able to help several clients apply for DACA for the first time. Unfortunately, due to a federal district court injunction issued on July 16, 2021, USCIS stopped adjudicating initial DACA applications. Because of this injunction, my clients who applied for DACA for the first time are stuck in limbo, hoping that USCIS will begin adjudicating initial applications again. It is more important than ever that a federal Dream Act is passed so that Dreamers can not only have a pathway to citizenship but also for all those people who are now eligible for DACA but are unable to apply.

While it has been disappointing to not help more people receive DACA for the first time, there is still lots of work to be done on DACA related matters. Former 3M Equal Justice Works Fellow and current ILCM pro bono manager Timothy Sanders Szabo and I have been able to host multiple pro bono DACA renewal trainings this year. In October of 2021, we participated in the 3M Day of Service and trained 3M employees on filing DACA renewals. We were able to place multiple cases with 3M attorneys and paralegals and many 3M folks have continued to do pro bono DACA work with ILCM. We are very grateful for all the time and effort that 3M employees have contributed to the DACA pro bono project.

I have also participated in many different outreach presentations with community colleges, high schools, and other organizations. This year I have been able to do more “Know Your Rights” presentations in high schools—including South High School in Minneapolis and High School for the Recording Arts in Saint Paul—focusing on teaching students how to protect themselves when interacting with the police and ICE. I was also able to present for a CLE through the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and I gave a presentation to the Warren E. Burger Inn of Court. Through these presentations, I have developed partnerships with several community colleges, high schools, and organizations, and I am looking forward to working with them more in the future.

Thanks to 3M, I have been able to help many Dreamers and other immigrant young adults in Minnesota. I am very honored and thankful that with the support of my sponsors and through my work, I can continue working toward getting DACA and other forms of immigration status for as many immigrant young adults in Minnesota as possible.

– Mackenzie Heinrichs

Read the full 3M Equity, Justice, & Inclusion Annual Report here.