OmarAdvocate. Immigrant. Defender.Omar was a teenager when he saved nearly $2,000to cover his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, orDACA, application and attorney fees. He was in highschool when Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee RightsCoalition (TIRRC), his now-employer, presented aboutimmigrant and refugee rights. That’s when he becameinterested in their work. He says he had struggled to bemotivated in school and make good grades.“I struggled to just find hope in my future.”TIRRC told him about DACA and helped him begin hisapplication. Even with the guidance, the processwas difficult.“I was in a single-parent household, so finances werealways kind of tight and just not knowing what theprocess was like and finding an attorney that doesn’twant to charge you a huge amount.”He and his mom were able to save enough for theapplication and attorney fees.“The application is $495, but on top of the attorneyfees, I think I paid $1,400 the first time. Then to renew,I went through the same attorney until I found aFacebook group for DACA recipients where they sharea lot of resources, and I was able to renew on my ownthe second to last time that I did it. And then this lasttime, I had some help from TIRRC.”Omar was 18 years old working as a busboy andgetting paid in cash while he waited for his applicationto go through. He used his lunch break to call hisattorney to ask for an update. That’s when he foundout he had been approved.“I’m on my break crying because I was approved …to finally be able to work and have a license and doall these things that normal people do. It was veryrewarding,” he says. “And I think DACA has definitelyopened up some doors that otherwise wouldn’t havebeen there without the program and TIRRC.”In 2019, a manager at TIRRC messaged Omar aboutan open position. He applied and got the job. Now,as a program coordinator, Omar oversees TIRRC’sassistance line where people call to connect withservices such as signing up for English classes ormaking a vaccine appointment.“Another call that’s been popular since the pandemicstarted is people needing rent or utility assistance. Alot of people are obviously out of work, whether they’recitizens or not. And a lot of our base clients are usuallywomen. We have domestic workers that reach out tous—people that clean homes or take care of kids andolder people. A lot of them have just lost employmentand are undocumented, so they don’t have any otherresources. They can’t apply for unemployment.”At the start of COVID, they’d have 200 people callingat once needing help navigating the SNAP website.United Way selected TIRRC as a grant recipient for theCOVID-19 Response Fund and Metro CARES funding.TIRRC used that funding to help families pay rent,utilities and keep food on the table.“We were helping people navigate the website andmaking accounts for them. And our attorney on staffkept advocating for more language access or justmaking that application process a lot easier. Justfinding resources and knowing where to look hasalways been difficult, especially for someone whodoesn’t speak the language or who’s a newer arrival.With the pandemic, it’s even more difficult.”The pandemic has taught him how short life is.“Just going for the things that we’re truly passionateabout. I’m passionate about helping people especiallywhen it comes to immigrant and refugee backgrounds,so just focusing more on that work and figuring outwhat the community needs are and helping people.”Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition
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