Higher Education Legal Services (HELS) provides free immigration legal services to students, staff, and faculty at San Diego and Imperial County Community and State colleges. See eligibility information below.
The Higher Education Legal Services (HELS) program provides trusted, accessible, and high-quality immigration legal services to college communities within the California border regions, directly on campus. HELS also empowers immigrants through education and by building lasting relationships that recognize their dignity, complexity, intersectionality, and hopes and dreams.
For an update on the most recent DACA decision, click here.
If you need a DACA renewal, we recommend that you make your appointment 6 months before your DACA expires and we advise all DACA recipients, those with pending DACA applications or those who are DACA eligible to make an appointment with a trusted legal services provider.
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For more information about the HELS program, call (858) 637-3345 or email [email protected].
For general information about JFS Immigration Services, call (858) 637-3365.
HELS provides services to all California Community Colleges in the San Diego and Imperial Valley regions including Palomar College, MiraCosta College, San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, San Diego Miramar College, Cuyamaca College, Grossmont College, Southwestern College, and Imperial Valley College. Services are available to current students, staff, and faculty. Dual enrollment high school students and students taking classes in adult education through one of these community college systems are also eligible.
HELS also provides services to the California State University campuses San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos. In addition to services to students, staff and faculty, their immediate relatives (spouse, parents, children, and siblings) are eligible for services through HELS. Students continue to be able to receive HELS services for two years after graduation.
In a national report from November 2021, CAP analysis finds that DACA recipient households pay $6.2 billion in federal taxes and $3.3 billion in state and local taxes each year — that’s $9.5 billion that support communities across America.
Approximately 29,000 healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, dentists, physician assistants, and pharmacists, rely on DACA protections to be able to provide critical care to communities across the country. (The Center for American Progress)
DACA recipients and their households are critical, too, in local economies. After taxes, these households hold $25.3 billion in spending power. They own 68,000 homes, making $760 million in mortgage payments and $2.5 billion in rental payments annually, money that could be in jeopardy if DACA goes away.
November 9, 2023
What Immigrants need to know about earning income in the US.
October 5, 2023
Learn about the DACA Decision released on September 13, 2023 and what it means for our community.
May 11, 2023
This overview focuses on humanitarian immigration relief that may be available to survivors of crimes, and those who have experienced abuse or trafficking. Included is a discussion of asylum and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) as well as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).
All information submitted is confidential and will not be shared with government or other agencies.
