UNIFY

Undocumented and Immigrant Family and Youth Success Services

Regardless of citizen status, children living in the United States are legally permitted to receive an elementary, middle, and high school education through the U.S. public school system thanks to the 1982 decision in Plyler v Doe.

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

DREAMer

Anyone who arrived in the United States before the age of 18.

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)

Federal immigration program created in 2012 during the Obama Administration; DACA provides eligible undocumented immigrants with:

  • Temporary protection from deportation
  • Access to work authorization
  • In some cases, permission to travel abroad
TPS (Temporary Protected Status):

Allows individuals from certain countries to remain in the United States if it is unsafe for them to return to their home country due to:

  • Ongoing armed conflict (such as civil war)
  • An environmental disaster (such as an earthquake or hurricane)
  • Other extraordinary and temporary conditions
Undocumented:

Refers to anyone residing in any given country without legal documentation whether they entered the country without inspection and those who entered with legal authorization and overstayed. 

Refugee:

Someone who has been forced to flee his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution, based on the person’s race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, war, or violence.

Asylum:

Asylum is a protection grantable to foreign nationals already in the United States or arriving at the border who meet the international law definition of a “refugee.” The United Nations 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol define a refugee as a person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her home country, and cannot obtain protection in that country, due to past persecution or a well-founded fear of being persecuted in the future “on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

If you have a child or a student who may qualify in one of the catagories mentioned please contact Undocumented and Immigrant Family & Youth Services (UNIFY) at (702) 799-0072 (extension 5019) or email SilvaAV@nv.ccsd.net. You can also visit in-person at the:

CCSD Family Support Center

1720 South Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, Nevada 89104

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