FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Jeremy Bermender
Catholic Charities Dallas
469-907-8401
jbermender@ccdallas.org

DALLAS – April 28, 2021 – Catholic Charities Dallas (CCD) has received a $20,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to provide free or reduced-cost legal aid to those seeking initial or renewed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status.

Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $22 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitably-funded bar foundation.

CCD’s Immigration Legal Services program assists “Dreamers” – undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children – with initial DACA applications, as well as renewal applications. The funding from Texas Bar Foundation will allow CCD to provide a more financially accessible option for low-income families, reducing the financial burden on individuals and families and ensuring professional and reliable legal counsel as they navigate the immigration system.

According to the American Immigration Council, there over 107,000 DACA recipients in Texas as of March 2020, with 134,058 people receiving DACA status since 2012. As of 2019, 56 percent of DACA-eligible immigrants in Texas had applied for DACA status. President Biden’s administration has pushed to preserve and fortify the DACA policy, which has led to an uptick in DACA applications.

“With the generosity of the Texas Bar Foundation and its members, Catholic Charities Dallas is able to provide low- or no-cost legal aid to help prospective ‘Dreamers’ receive their DACA status,” said Dave Woodyard, President/CEO of CCD. “We are ever so grateful for the foundation’s support and partnership, as well as their commitment to the mission of supporting programs that provide legal assistance for the underserved.”

For more information about CCD’s Immigration Legal Services department and the DACA program, please visit: https://www.ccdallas.org/services/immigration-legal-services/.

About Catholic Charities Dallas

CCD is an independent, 501(c)3 non-profit organization and one of the leading social service providers in the greater Dallas region. We educate, serve and empower more than 200,000 clients in need annually across a nine-county region of North Texas, addressing the root causes of poverty and homelessness. A large multi-disciplinary agency, CCD provides services in the following core areas: hunger alleviation through boxed food pantries, client choice pantries and mobile community pantries; early childhood education; low-income elderly supports; permanent supportive housing for homeless elderly; immigration legal resources; pregnancy, parenting and adoption counseling; refugee resettlement; shelter and foster care for unaccompanied refugee and immigrant minors; financial coaching and career development assistance; disaster preparedness and relief; community relations, advocacy and more. For more information, see www.ccdallas.org.