Central Florida Launches Immigrant Litigation Assistance Program
ORLANDO, Florida. — A program to help the immigrant community with litigation in Central Florida officially launched on Thursday.
Project Hello is an immigrant orientation program held on the first Thursday of each month at the Orlando Justice Center and Christiana Renuevo Church in Kissimmee.
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Organizers said the program is designed to help newcomers to the area join communities in Orange and Osceola counties.
“We will be able to go through this process,” said chief executive Melissa Marantes. “Help them understand how to navigate the system, what’s going on with the court and when they have one.”
Hello Project provides face-to-face and virtual sessions with bilingual attorneys to help answer immigration questions.
The initiative was made possible through community investment grants and a partnership with the City of Orlando and the Caminos de Esperanza Latin American Federation.
“These people come here for a number of reasons,” Orlando Commissioner Tony Ortiz said. “They want to be documented. They want to work. They want to be part of the system. It gives such an opportunity.”
More than 125,000 cases were heard in Orlando Immigration Court in 2023, and only 21.1% of immigrants had a lawyer to help, according to the Orlando Justice Center.
“I don’t think anyone should navigate this complex legal system alone and in a language they don’t understand,” Marantes said. “Family stability depends on the ability of certain family members to work, provide for their loved ones, and these immigrant families go out of their way to do what the courts require of them.”
The free legal orientation will be held at 10:00 am on the first Thursday of every month until November 2nd.
Those interested in the Hello Project can respond to an inquiry at the Orlando office by calling 407-246-4310 or the Kissimmee office by calling 407-787-9859.
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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.
