Legal experts, advocates to hold Las Vegas forum on immigration law changes

By Ana Ley

Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014 | 1:54 p.m.

A coalition of legal experts and Latino advocates will hold a forum in Las Vegas next week to help the public navigate upcoming changes in immigration law.

Organized by Mi Familia Vota, a regional group that encourages civic engagement among the Latino community, the Dec. 18 meeting aims to help undocumented immigrants better understand President Barack Obama's recently announced executive action, which will protect as many as 5 million people living in the country illegally. Under the new deal, parents of children who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents stand to benefit most.

"Right now, each part of the action that the President mentioned is a little grey," said Ebeth Palafox, Nevada director for Mi Familia Vota. "We still don't know how everything will work out, but it's better for people to come up with a million and one questions now; that way they can start figuring out what kind of case they might have and how complex it is."

The event will be held at 5 p.m. on Dec. 18 in the downtown Mexican Consulate office, 823 S. 6th Street. Immigration attorneys, legal experts and civil rights advocates will be on hand to discuss the application process, which won't start until the spring.

Palafox said organizers are planning more information sessions, though plans are tentative.

A similar forum will be held in Northern Nevada on Wednesday at 50 Continental Drive in Reno. That session runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

"We're trying to protect people from scammers," said Deisy Hernandez, outreach coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. "We really want to urge people not to fill out any forms because they haven't even been released yet."

If you go:

Northern Nevada: Wednesday, Dec. 10 | 5:30 p.m. | 50 Continental Drive, Reno NV 89509

Southern Nevada: Thursday, Dec. 18 | 5 p.m. | Consulate of Mexico, 823 S. 6th Street, Las Vegas NV 89101

Resources:

The Federal Trade Commission has a Spanish-language guide warning immigrants about the perils of scammers pretending to be attorneys and legal experts.