In collaboration with the Everett Program and the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) in San Francisco, the Speeding Up Immigrant Assistance (SUIA) project will create a series of technological tools to help automate direct service provision to immigrant communities.  I, Steven Carmona Mora, will be leading the project and will create, in collaboration with staff and administration at CARECEN, a digital intake and a constituent relationship management (CRM) system.  These technological tools will help automate processes and innovate mechanisms to reach members in their organizations.

Immigrant communities have long been burdened by the political decisions of previous presidential administrations.  In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act gave legal status to many immigrants nationwide but began criminalizing employers who employed undocumented immigrants.  In 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act significantly changed immigration laws and gave groundwork to the deportation crisis occurring now.  These acts signed in the Oval Office have limited the pathway to citizenship for many immigrants and heightened the levels of criminalization they are subject to.  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals passed in 2012 by President Obama is the most recent form of large-scale immigration relief for the immigrant community.

CARECEN, as a community-based organization, is critical for the immigrant community in San Francisco and greater Bay Area.  

CARECEN provides daily low-cost consultations from 9a.m. to 12 p.m. for immigrants in need of legal advice, form processing, court representation, or deportation defense.  CARECEN also hosts legal clinics and training for immigrant communities.  Giving the anti-immigrant sentiment of the 45th presidential administration, immigrants are lined up outside CARECEN’s doors morning after morning.

Implementing a CRM and digital intake system will be beneficial for 3 reasons:

1. The SUIA project will allow CARECEN to communicate with clients over SMS on important information regarding decisions on immigration at the federal, state, and local level
2. The SUIA project will give staff an in-house database to track participation in workshops, progress on cases, and quantify number of immigrants reached by programming
3. The SUIA project will streamline and incorporate surveys into the intake process at CARECEN

Digitizing an antiquated system of intake and communication will free up staff time and move the organization towards flexibility on data collection.  Your donation to this project will help its successful completion. For every $200 that the SUIA crowdfund page raises, we are able to provide the organization with 1 tablet.  Our end goal of $3000, will provide the organization with 11 tablets, a year-long subscription to an SMS-service provider for their CRM, and funds to conduct training and workshops for individuals with DACA, TPS, or basic “Know Your Rights”.

 THANK YOU!