The Ventanilla program represents a new integral part of service delivery at the Mexican Consulate and provides Mexican immigrants who are new to the U.S. financial system with access to vital resources for getting banked, gaining access to free tax preparation and the Earned Income Tax Credit, establishing credit and building a secure financial future within the trusted and culturally relevant setting of the Consulate strengthening the financial stability of immigrant households by embedding financial empowerment strategies into local and intergovernmental infrastructure.

To learn more about Ventanilla de Asesoria Financiera click here.

Ventanilla De Salud (VDS), in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate, provides health education and health service referrals to the San Antonio immigrant community. The objective of the VDS is to improve access to primary and preventive health services, increase coverage in public insurance and promote a culture of health prevention for Mexicans living in the United States. In addition, VDS can provide information on educational, legal, and financial guidance.

You can also make your inquiry by email at [email protected] or by phone at (210)956-6943, (210) 227-9145 ext. 3626, or from 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM at (210) 433-9922 ext. 235.

VDS operates at the Consulate of Mexico.

This 6-week class is taught in English to help adults prepare for the U.S. Citizenship interview. Each applicant must complete an interview in English, which will test the applicant's ability to read, write, and speak English and test their knowledge of U.S. history and government.

Adults 18+ who are preparing to take U.S. Citizenship interview.

Free.

This course prepares students to take the U.S. Citizenship test and prepares them to answer History and Government Questions, Personal questions, and Writing Questions.

Call (210) 554-2453 or click here for eligibility and other details.

Free.

This course prepares students to take the U.S. Citizenship test and prepares them to answer History and Government Questions, Personal questions, and Writing Questions.

Call (210) 554-2450 or click here for eligibility and other details.

Prospera believes that a strong investment in adult education and development provides comprehensive opportunities to build an enhanced community, increase cultural diversity, and strengthen the economy. We strive to encourage self-endurance to motivate our adult residents to explore educational opportunities by promoting the value of long-term benefits including better jobs, increased wages, and overall prosperous quality of life. Our Services Managers play a vital role in helping residents locate and enroll in appropriate adult programs and services available in our Community Learning Centers as per the needs and interests of the residents at each property as well as the resources available in the surrounding community.

Adult programs and services include, but are not limited to:

• GED Preparation
• ESL Classes
• Citizenship Classes
• Life Skills Classes
• Parenting Programs
• Financial Literacy and Budgeting
• Computer Literacy
• Home Ownership and Credit Counseling
• Job Fairs and Job Skills Training
• Online Employment Searches and Application Assistance
• Skills and Recreational Hobby Groups

This program is for residents of Vista Verde Apartments .

RAICES provides legal services to asylum-seekers that may be eligible to obtain relief on humanitarian grounds. The primary claim for asylum could be on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Individuals who have been persecuted or who have a credible fear of persecution and who are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of their country of origin can apply for asylum protection from the U.S. government.

The asylum cases that we handle are complex, fraught, and challenging. Asylum seekers are coming from countries where there is no stability, where violence against them or their families is common, and where they have no hope of building a peaceful life for themselves or their children.

Call 210-222-0964 to make an appointment.

Our Direct Services team consists of social workers and case managers devoted to ensuring our client’s basic necessities are being met.

We carry out these services by providing individualized needs assessments, emotional support, resource linkage, empowerment, and education.

Our services include, but are not limited to:

• ICE/ISAP/Court Accompaniment
• School Registration
• Access to:
  • Nutrition
  • Clothing Assistance
  • ESL Classes
  • Medical Care
  • Mental Health
  • Dental Care
  • Housing
  • Internet Connection/Wifi
  • Safety Planning
  • Transportation

For more information, contact us.

Each RAICES office handles DACA renewals, and our attorneys advise DACA recipients on all aspects of their immigration cases.

DACA and other federal programs are complex and are cost-prohibitive. RAICES helps beneficiaries of DACA and other programs with fee assistance as well as paperwork filings and other legal advice for recipients of these programs.

Call 210-222-0964 to make an appointment.

The Karnes Pro Bono Project was launched in 2014 by a group of attorneys committed to serving the legal needs of women and children in the newly opened Karnes family detention center (“Karnes”). The project has since come under the direction of RAICES, providing free legal services to people in ICE custody at Karnes. The families are typically forced to pass a credible or reasonable fear interview before they can be released to pursue asylum. The failure to meet these requirements for asylum can lead to deportation, which can mean a return to persecution and death.

RAICES provides support to detained families by preparing them for their screening interviews, representing them in hearings before an immigration judge if they fail their interview, and submitting requests for reconsideration to the Asylum Office if the immigration judge affirms the negative interview decision. When the need arises, RAICES has helped persons detained at Karnes with parole requests, bond motions, asylum applications, representation in final asylum hearings in immigration court, and in appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Our work also includes public advocacy campaigns and regular involvement with litigation and policy advocacy.

For more information, contact us.

RAICES established the LEAF fund to ensure that children coming to this country can receive quality legal representation both in detention centers and once they are released. In 2018, our specially-trained team provided ongoing legal counsel to 400 children, and more than 4,500 children received training to help them understand their rights here in the United States.

The LEAF fund is a major source of support for the many RAICES programs benefiting unaccompanied children. Our children’s programs include:

• “Know Your Rights” presentations and legal screenings for thousands of children
• An advocate for children who have had their rights violated
• Legal representation for children both in detention and post-release
• Post-detention care, including ongoing access to counsel for children in their immigration cases
• Assistance with other fees associated with immigration documentation, forms, and applications

Call 210-222-0964 to make an appointment.

The RAICES Bond Program is a Texas-based bond fund that seeks to mitigate the harmful effects of and otherwise dismantle ICE detention.

The RAICES Bond Program started in 2014 to cover release of mothers and children then held in Family Detention Centers in Texas and Pennsylvania. In June, 2018, the program grew when a viral Facebook fundraiser inspired more than 500,000 individual donors who were furious at the government ripping families apart and the otherwise inhumane treatment of immigrants in the United States. Since then, we have responded to daily requests from people in detention, and our Bond Program covers people within the geographic scope of the state of Texas.

We have been on the ground during workplace raids and the Zero Tolerance Family Separation of 2018. By building closer connections with participants, the Program gives people a wider array of resources and a greater degree of agency with which to navigate the complex immigration system and U.S. society, more broadly. We believe that paying an individual’s bond is a short-term intervention to free someone from detention, while our long-term goal is ending the harmful practice of ICE detention.

We are proud members of the National Bail Fund Network, a network of bail and bond funds who seek to end mass incarceration including ICE detention.

To apply for assistance through our bond fund, please fill out our form.

For questions, contact us.

RAICES serves community members in all of our Texas regions in defending themselves against deportation in Immigration Court. Because immigration proceedings are a civil rather than a criminal matter, immigrants have the right to counsel but the onus to pay for an attorney is borne by the immigrant and the “lack of appointed counsel may have a profound impact on immigrant’s ability to receive a fair hearing.”

RAICES attorneys represent people in detention who are seeking release through bond, and we handle a full range of defenses both for people in detention and those who are fighting their court cases following release.

To request help in defending a case in Immigration Court, you or your family can call the RAICES office nearest to you, or if your home is in San Antonio, please call our Immigration Detention Hotline at (800) 409-2893.

Know someone who is currently detained? Click here to get help.

The path to citizenship in the United States is a long and often torturous road. The list of eligibility requirements is long and the process is complex. Even so, each year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services grants citizenship to roughly 700,000 – 750,000 people.

RAICES provides low-cost assistance with residency or citizenship applications.

Appointments are available at all RAICES offices, where, for a small fee, a lawyer will meet with clients. The consultation will also determine eligibility for RAICES services.

Please call 210-222-0964 to make an appointment.

The San Antonio Community and Donation Center serves RAICES clients as an inclusive and welcoming space for all newcomers.

Eligible clients may receive clothing, shoes, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, small housewares, and baby supplies.

Clients are also welcome to attend community events such as medical clinics, toy and school supply drives amongst others.

Must be a RAICES client.

We are always looking for donations of new items to meet our client’s basic daily living needs. The following donations are only accepted in San Antonio, Tx.

For more information please contact our SACDC staff at [email protected] and review the Community and Donation Centers pamphlet.

Accepted new donations include:

• Clothing (including professional work / court attire)
• Shoes
• Car seats
• Boxes of Diapers (all sizes)
• Baby wipes
• Household Cleaning supplies
• Hygiene Items
• Toys (infant – teen)
• Gift Cards (grocery stores, VISA, Mastercard)

Prospera believes that a strong investment in adult education and development provides comprehensive opportunities to build an enhanced community, increase cultural diversity, and strengthen the economy. We strive to encourage self-endurance to motivate our adult residents to explore educational opportunities by promoting the value of long-term benefits including better jobs, increased wages, and overall prosperous quality of life. Our Services Managers play a vital role in helping residents locate and enroll in appropriate adult programs and services available in our Community Learning Centers as per the needs and interests of the residents at each property as well as the resources available in the surrounding community.

Adult programs and services include, but are not limited to:

• GED Preparation
• ESL Classes
• Citizenship Classes
• Life Skills Classes
• Parenting Programs
• Financial Literacy and Budgeting
• Computer Literacy
• Home Ownership and Credit Counseling
• Job Fairs and Job Skills Training
• Online Employment Searches and Application Assistance
• Skills and Recreational Hobby Groups

This program is for residents of Terraces at Haven for Hope.

This course prepares students to take the U.S. Citizenship test and prepares them to answer History and Government Questions, Personal questions, and Writing Questions.

Call (210) 544-2450 for eligibility and other details or click here for more information.

Free.

Justice For All Immigrants provides low-income individuals and families with affordable, high-quality immigration legal services while engaging in immigration education and advocacy.

Legal Services Offered:

FAMILY-BASED IMMIGRATION

• Adjustment of Status
• Consular Processing
• Family Petitions
• Work Permits
• Green Card Renewals

HUMANITARIAN-BASED RELIEF

• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
• Violence Against Women Act
• U Visa
• Asylum
• Removal Defense
• Temporary Protected Status

CITIZENSHIP

• Citizenship
• Naturalization

We also provide Know-Your-Rights training to help immigrants understand their basic rights under U.S. law, educate our community about the value of immigration, and advocate for compassionate immigration reform.?

Call to schedule a consultation.

(Free and low-cost legal services are available thanks to the financial support we receive from individual donations and grants.?)

To qualify for this service, the individual or family must reside in South Texas and be a low-income household.

Citizenship Education:

The Nuevos Ciudadanos Citizenship Education Program is Academia América’s New Americans Project. The Program has the dual goals of integration and civic engagement. The curriculum, modules in Civics, History and English, facilitate preparation for the naturalization examination and promote civic engagement. Financial Literacy education emphasizes social integration.

Legal Services:

Academia América partners with nonprofit legal assistance providers to facilitate access to low-cost legal services to our clients. Students enrolled in our classes receive assistance with completion of the naturalization application and related forms at discounted rates.

Please call or visit our Facebook page for registration information.

The employment services program provides job readiness skills, lessons on interviewing and assists with employment services and job placements. The employment team works with refugees to provide them skills and knowledge necessary in obtaining, and maintaining, employment, while becoming self-sufficient.

For Information call (210) 222-1294 ext. 2268.

Federally funded, cash assistance program which provides services to enable clients to become economically self-sufficient within 120 to 180 days in the United States. Services required under this program include case management, employment services and cash allowance.

At least one member of the household must be employable for the family to qualify for Match Grant Program and must be enrolled within 31 days of their arrival.

The initial program for all newly arrived refugees resettling into the United States.

Services include:

• airport pick up
• apartment set up with furnishings
• food
• clothing
• cultural orientation
• school registration
• English classes
• health screenings

Newly arrived refugees.

Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) is a state-funded, employment-based cash assistance program.

RCA is for clients who are not eligible for assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Assistance is available for the first eight months after arrival in the United States.

For additional information please call 210-242-3137 and speak with the program director, Juliana Horn.

This program is for REFUGEES ONLY.

The Refugee School Impact Program (RSIP) offers activities that lead to the effective integration and education of refugee children. The RSIP supports impacted school districts with services for refugee children. Students between 5 and 18 years of age participate in activities including: English as a Second Language instruction, after-school tutoring, activities encouraging high school completion and full participation in school activities, summer programs and club activities, parental involvement activities and interpreting services.

Refugee and immigrant children between the ages of 5 and 18.

For additional information please contact program director, Elizabeth Vidales at (210) 226-3569 ext 248.

Thousands of unaccompanied children cross the border to the United States from Central America each year and are transferred to the custody of ORR. ORR promptly places these children in the least restrictive setting in the best interest of the child. St. PJ's is an approved ORR shelter.

Licensed short-term emergency shelter providing services for up to 82 international children and youth ages 5 to 17. International children who reside at St. PJ's are provided care in compliance with all regulatory agencies.

St. PJ's also provides temporary foster care homes for international children ages 0 to 12 years old.

The Refugee Wellness & Adjustment Counseling program is offered to all Refugee Resettlement clients.

This program offers free, confidential services with a licensed mental health provider to support clients during their resettlement process.

The program is generously supported by philanthropic funding.

Eligible populations: current or former refugee resettlement client of RAICES.

Free.

The RAICES Refugee Cash Assistance Program is a state-funded program, supporting newly arrived refugees to become self-sufficient.

Services include:

• cash assistance
• refugee medical assistance enrollment
• employment assistance referrals

Eligible Populations:

• Refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders
• Cuban/Haitian entrants
• Asylees
• Victims of Trafficking
• and Humanitarian Parolees

Free.

This program helps clients attain economic self-sufficiency through the provision of comprehensive case management and services leading to employment within 120-180 days after their date of eligibility for the program.

Services include:

• case management
• employment and job skills
• and cash assistance

To be eligible for this program, the applicant must be:

• a newly arrived refugee
• a Special Immigrant Visa holder from Iraq or Afghanistan
• an asylee
• a victim of trafficking
• a Cuban/Haitian entrant
• employable (or a family member of another applicant who is)

The R&P program is the initial and core program welcoming refugees to the United States.

RAICES provides refugees with furnished housing, transportation and interpretation services, and Cultural orientation classes while connecting clients to supportive services including healthcare, education, and English classes. Referrals for benefits and employment opportunities are offered as well.

Our trauma informed case management services are provided to all of our newcomers during the first 90 days from arrival. RAICES staff work in partnership with volunteers, social service providers, local faith-based groups and many community partners and employers to welcome and support refugees in their new home. RAICES is an affiliate of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).

Eligible populations: Refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders.

Free.

Rays of Freedom is a non-profit with the main goal of helping meet the needs of the rapidly growing population of immigrants facing deportation, breakup of families, loss of employment and other disruptive effects of new and anticipated government policy changes by providing low cost immigration application services.

Rayos De Libertad es una organización sin fines de lucro con el objetivo principal de ayudar a satisfacer las necesidades de la población en rápido crecimiento de los inmigrantes que enfrentan la deportación, la ruptura de familias, la pérdida de empleo y otros efectos disruptivos de los cambios de políticas gubernamentales nuevos y anticipados servicios de solicitud de inmigración de bajo costo.

Services offered:

• Family Petitions
• Adjustment of Status/ Counselor Processing
• Citizenship
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
• Temporary Protective Status (TPS)
• Asylum Credible Fear Interviews

Click here to book your FREE immigration assessment.