Yolo County organizations aid fellow immigrants

GRAPHIC: Showing aid provided by NorCal Resist to immigrants. Canva graphic by Maya Malinowski

By Ava Giovannettone

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff-

Parents trying to find a better life for their kids; young adults looking for more opportunities, and a better education; these are the mindsets many immigrants have while trying to enter the United States.

According to data found by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the process of entering the US can take up to 11.8 months. And that doesn’t include the process of becoming a citizen, which can take on average 18-24 months.

As Dean of the UC Davis School of Law, Kevin R. Johnson has experience as an attorney for immigrants, and is intimate with the process.

“It is generally: Applying for a visa in one’s home country, interviewing for a visa in the U.S. The Embassy of that country, granting or denying the visa, and admission into the United States,” Johnson said.“There are relatively few visas compared to the high demand for them.”

Johnson also talks about the “Immigration and Nationality Act”, also known as the McCarran–Walter Act. This act was created in 1952, and reorganized the structure of immigration law.

According to lbjlibrary.org, “The Immigration and Nationality Act abolished quotas, opening the doors to ‘those who can contribute most to this country – to its growth, to its strength, to its spirit.’” It basically created a system that focuses on the work skills immigrants have, in order to contribute more to the US economy and society.

“The Immigration and Nationality Act offers limited visas and places limits on immigration,” Johnson says, explaining how it’s more likely for immigrants with certain skills to enter, even though some immigrants don’t have the opportunity to accumulate those skills.

Although the immigration system is flawed and limited, Johnson thinks the city of Davis does a great job of welcoming immigrants and making them feel like they belong.

“Davisites are accustomed to many different people coming to town, and are generally open and inclusive,” Johnson says.

Davis and the nearby cities also have organizations that are meant to help immigrants, and make them feel welcome, such as NorCal Resist.

NorCal Resist is an organization based in Sacramento, California, with the goal to “engage with the immigrant community and the non-immigrant community through mutual aid and solidarity,” and to “show that regular people can build a better world,” according to Autumn González, volunteer for NorCal Resist.

When asked what NorCal Resist does to help immigrants in YOLO county, González explained many different ways they help. “We do a lot of different things including providing food, housing, and help navigating things like getting kids into school, medical care, and the immigration legal process,” González says.

Many immigrant families in YOLO County have gone through the NorCal Resist program over the years, and González says that they have seen a huge impact.

“We’ve seen people find community and stability through the programs we have created,” González said “It feels really good to see people succeed despite the many hurdles and to know we have played a role in that.”

Some of these programs include monthly food and diaper distribution events, free brake light repairs and accompaniment to ICE check-ins, court appearances, and other essential appointments.

Many people who help out and work for NorCal Resist come from immigrant families, or are even immigrants themselves, so they know the struggles and challenges of people who are striving for a better life.

“It’s a shared belief in our organization that everyone is entitled to basic dignity, rights and respect and to a good life for themselves and their kids,” González said. “We try to live our values through our organization.”