How to Plan an Immigration Relief Presentation
Thank you for your interest in our Immigration Relief Presentation materials. As members of the University of
Iowa Advanced Immigration Law and Policy course, we hope these materials help you and your organization
give an informative and helpful presentation about President Obama’s new administrative relief programs. Our
presentations focus specifically on how the new programs affect Iowa residents. The following information will
explain our project, the materials we developed, and how our immigration relief presentations functioned.
What is the Immigration Relief Project?
On November 20, 2014, President Obama used his executive power to enact several new immigration programs.
President Obama announced the new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the Deferred
Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program, and expanded eligibility for advance parole, and provisional
waivers. The President also announced a reorganized set of immigration enforcement priorities that affect all
noncitizens, regardless of status. The President’s speech left many community members excited that something
was being done, but also prompted many questions: Am I eligible for this new DAPA program? Is my child
eligible for the new DACA program? Is there a program that will provide me with some form of relief or work
authorization? Do I fall into one of the new enforcement priority? In light of these questions, we focused on
creating an informative but simple immigration relief presentation to help community members understand how
these new programs affect them and their families. We hope that by educating communities in Iowa, people can
determine their eligibility and weigh the risks of whether or not they should “come out of the shadows.”
What presentation options do I have?
We created three presentations to meet the needs of various communities: 1) Interactive Community
Presentation, 2) Volunteer Training Presentation, and 3) Informative Community Presentation. Presentations
can be given to inform the community about administrative relief, or to prepare community members for an
immigration relief clinic to be held at a later date. If you are interested in planning an immigration relief clinic,
please visit www.ailp.law.uiowa.edu and consult our Immigration Relief Clinic Guide.
1) Interactive Community Presentation: This
presentation will be most helpful if your
organization is planning an Immigration Relief
Clinic to follow the Presentation. We created a
“self-screening worksheet” in English and Spanish
that participants complete at various stages
throughout the presentation. The worksheet is
designed to help a participant determine whether
he or she may be an enforcement priority and
whether he or she is eligible for any of the new
programs. The participant will also write into the
worksheet the supporting documents he or she may
need to collect before applying. The participant is
not required to complete the top portion of the
worksheet at the presentation asking for personal
information. The participant is encouraged to keep
the worksheet for future reference. If you plan on
holding an Immigration Relief Clinic following the
Presentation, participants should bring their selfscreening worksheet to the Immigration Relief
Clinic. At this point they can complete the identifying top portion of the worksheet. This presentation also
includes “example” slides that will invite participants to assess whether or not an example scenario in the slide
renders the subject an Enforcement Priority or eligible for immigration relief. The Interactive Community
Presentation is followed by an Iowa Courts Online Check and individual consultations with immigration
attorneys or accredited Board of Immigration Appeals Representatives (“BIA Rep”).
2) Volunteer Training Presentation: This presentation is intended to train all volunteers participating in the
Interactive Community Presentation. This presentation is similar to the Interactive Community Presentation,
but has additional “Volunteer Tip” slides that alert volunteers to common questions and areas of concern. The
presentation also explains the self-screening worksheet, how questions will be handled, and how the
individual consultations will proceed after the presentation. We recommend training the volunteers in the days
leading up to the Interactive Community Presentation.
3) Informative Community Presentation: This presentation is identical to the Interactive Community
Presentation, except the self-screening worksheet and examples have been removed. This presentation
provides communities with accurate information, but does not act as a prescreening process for future clinics.
Where should I give the immigration relief presentation?
Our immigration relief presentations are designed to be as adaptable as possible. While larger spaces are generally
better, the only physical requirement is that there is some way to project the presentation slideshow. We have
given presentations in a variety of locations including public libraries, churches, and labor organizations.
How far in advance should I begin planning the presentation?
It will not take you very long to plan and prepare for an immigration relief presentation. However, we recommend
allowing a few weeks to advertise the event to ensure maximum attendance. If you are giving an Interactive
Community Presentation, you will need one day to train your volunteers. We generally try to give the Volunteer
Training Presentation a day or two before the presentation, while the information is still fresh in everyone’s
memory. Lastly, you will need time to make copies of the materials.
What help do I need to give an immigration relief presentation?
1. Legal Professionals: You will need at least one immigration attorney or BIA Rep to give the presentation,
answer question, and provide individual consultations following the presentation (optional, but
encouraged). Although volunteers are trained on the basic principles of the new immigration relief
programs, they cannot give legal advice. The presentation will likely lead to specific questions from
participants and your presentation will be most effective if trained immigration professionals are present
to give advice and help answer fact-specific questions.
2. Volunteers:
➢ If you are giving an Interactive Community Presentation, you will need several volunteers who are
willing to participate in a two hour training about the immigration relief programs and the presentation.
This training is particularly useful because the volunteers will be trained to help answer questions and
initiate discussion during the community presentation. We recommend finding volunteers from the
local community because they make participants feel welcome and comfortable.
➢ As participants arrive, the volunteers can help distribute and explain the self-screening worksheet,
Iowa Courts Online check chart, past addresses chart, and the brochure.
➢ During the presentation, the volunteers will help answer the “examples.” One volunteer should also
be responsible for collecting written questions from participants.
➢ After the presentation, the volunteers should be assigned to particular responsibilities: translators,
helping participants form lines as they wait for an individual consultation, making sure participants
have filled in their self-screening worksheet, directing participants to or helping at the Iowa Courts
Online table, and finally directing participants to speak with attorneys or BIA Reps.
3. Translators: You will need one primary translator for the presentation if the presenter is not bilingual (or
more if you are translating for a diverse community). Following the presentation, you will need several
translators for the individual consultations with immigration attorneys or BIA Reps if they are not
bilingual. It is very important that questions and advice are precisely translated between participants and
the attorneys or BIA Reps.
What materials are included in this packet?
1. Sample Community Presentation Flyers: We have included examples of the flyer we used to advertise
our Immigration Relief Presentations. The sample flyers are in English, Spanish, and French, You should
alter flyers to suit your organization, time, and location.
2. Self-Screening Worksheet: The worksheet is an integral part of the community presentation and
encourages active participation, rather than two hours just listening. As previously mentioned, the
worksheet is designed to help a participant determine whether he or she may be an enforcement priority
and whether he or she is eligible for the new programs. It is important to emphasize that the participant
does not need to complete the identifying information on the top portion of the worksheet. The worksheet
is solely for the participant and will not be turned in. Throughout the presentation, the speaker will direct
participants to answer specific questions on their worksheet. There are also spaces for the participants to
write down what type of documents they will need to collect before applying for DAPA or new DACA.
By the end of the presentation, participants should have a good idea of whether or not they are eligible for
either program. Participants with questions about his or her particular circumstances should write them
down and ask an immigration attorney or BIA Rep during the individual consultations following the
presentation.
3. Volunteer Training Presentation: As mentioned above, it is very important that the volunteers attend a
training presentation to learn about the new immigration relief programs and to understand how the
presentation will function. We have created a Volunteer Training Presentation with accompanying script.
Each volunteer should be given a copy of the “self-screening worksheet” before the training, so they can
become familiar with the presentation materials and format. The presentation should take about an hour
and a half, or two hours with questions. The presentation is very similar to the Interactive Community
Presentation, except with additional “Volunteer Tip” slides that have a gold background. These slides will
help the volunteers prepare for common questions and learn to identify when a participant needs to speak
with an immigration attorney or BIA Rep. We encourage immigration attorneys or BIA Reps to attend the
training so they can help answer questions following the presentation.
*Remember: You should ask all volunteers to arrive 15–30 minutes before the community
presentation so you can explain his or her particular assignment. Volunteers assigned to the Iowa
Courts Online check table may need advance notice so they can visit the site prior to the
presentation and also bring their personal laptop.
4. Interactive Community Presentation: The Interactive Community Presentation is designed to help
participants “self-screen” and determine whether they may be a priority or eligible for one of the new
programs. The Interactive Community Presentation also contains several “examples” or hypotheticals
where the participants will consider and discuss the questions with their neighbors. The presentation is
about one and a half hours, or approximately two hours with questions. Ideally, the presentation should
be given by an immigration attorney, BIA representative, or trained law student. The slides have not been
translated into other languages because the majority of slides contain pictures and very little text. The
script prompts the presenter on when to direct the participants to specific questions on their self-screening
worksheet. In our experience, the self-screening worksheet and the “examples” serve to help the
presentation feel less like a lecture and help participants remember the requirements.
5. Informative Community Presentation: The Informative Community Presentation is designed to be a
condensed version of the Interactive Community Presentation, but with the same accurate, legal
information. Thus, the Informative Community Presentation is identical to the Informative Community
Presentation, but does not utilize the self-screening worksheet or the “examples.” The Informative
Community Presentation takes about an hour to give and ideally should be given by an immigration
attorney or BIA Rep. It is up to your organization whether the presentation should be followed by an Iowa
Courts Online check and/or individual consultations.
6. Past Addresses Check: This chart is solely for the participants to help them prepare to apply for DACA or
DAPA. Often in order to apply for immigration relief or fee waivers, participants must know all past
addresses since entering the U.S. In our experience, some participants find it challenging to remember all
of those addresses if the family has moved many times or lived at a certain location for a brief period of
time. Volunteers should be prepared to explain this chart to the participants and emphasize the importance
of finding accurate past addresses.
7. Iowa Courts Online Check Chart & Key: After the presentation, there should be a table staffed by one or
two volunteers with a laptop who can perform a public Iowa Courts Online check for participants who are
not sure about their criminal history in Iowa. The participants should visit this table before they meet with
an attorney or BIA Rep for individual consultations. An Iowa Courts Online check requires the
participant’s full name and date of birth. The volunteer(s) at this table should fill out the “Iowa Courts
Online Check Chart” indicating the case number, charge, disposition date, and sentence. We have included
an “Iowa Courts Online Key” with case numbers that commonly indicate a criminal, rather than civil,
charge. This should help the volunteers locate criminal charges that may affect the participant’s eligibility
and will help the attorneys or BIA Reps answer questions.
8. Brochure: Either before or after the presentation, volunteers should make sure each participant gets a
brochure. The brochure captures the highlights of the presentation, focusing on main eligibility
requirements and necessary documents. In our case, the brochure also contained contact information for
the sponsoring organization if participants had further questions before applying. You can alter the
brochure to reflect your particular organization’s needs or remind participants of any upcoming clinics .
The brochure is appropriate for use after both the Interactive and Informative Community Presentations.
How do I address questions throughout the presentation?
In our experience, allowing participants to raise their hands throughout the presentation and answering questions
one at a time made each presentation run thirty minutes to an hour over. Since the presentations are already quite
long, we wanted to avoid making the presentation longer. Our solution was to provide each participant with sheets
of brightly colored paper where they could write down their anonymous questions throughout the presentation.
We then had a volunteer walk around the room and collect the questions in a basket. One volunteer was tasked
with sorting through the questions and creating a master-list of questions to answer at the end of the presentation.
This method was helpful for three reasons: 1) the presentation took less time, 2) we were able to reduce the
overlap in question, and 3) participants could submit their questions anonymously.
What materials will I need to give a Volunteer Training Presentation?
✓ Name tags for all volunteers
✓ 1 projection system (for the PowerPoint presentation)
✓ Chairs (enough for all volunteers)
✓ Copies of the “Self-Screening Worksheet” (enough for all volunteers)
✓ Copies of the “Past Addresses Chart” (enough for all volunteers)
✓ Copies of the “Iowa Courts Online Check Chart” (enough for all volunteers)
✓ Stapler (Self-Screening Worksheet + Iowa Courts Online Check Chart + Past Addresses Chart)
✓ Pencils (enough for all volunteers)
Optional for Volunteer Training:
✓ 1 laptop for Iowa Courts Online check (if you decide to train a volunteer ahead of time)
✓ Copies of the “Iowa Courts Online Key” (enough for the volunteers assigned to this table)
What materials will I need to give an Interactive Community Presentation?
✓ Copies of Presentation Flyers (for advertising)
✓ Name tags for all volunteers
✓ 1 projection system (for the PowerPoint presentation)
✓ Chairs (enough for all participants + volunteers)
✓ 3–4 tables for Iowa Courts Online check + individual consultations
✓ Pieces of colored paper for participant questions
✓ 1 basket to collect participant questions
✓ Copies of the “Self-Screening Worksheet” (enough for all participants)
✓ Copies of the “Past Addresses Chart” (enough for all participants)
✓ Copies of the “Iowa Courts Online Check Chart” (enough for all participants)
✓ Stapler (Self-Screening Worksheet + Iowa Courts Online Check Chart + Past Addresses Chart)
✓ Pencils (enough for all participants + volunteers)
✓ 1 laptop for Iowa Courts Online check
✓ Extension cord for the Iowa Courts Online table
✓ 2-3 copies of the “Iowa Courts Online Key” for volunteers
✓ Copies of the brochure (enough for all participants)
What materials will I need to give an Informative Community Presentation?
✓ Copies of Presentation Flyers (for advertising)
✓ 1 projection system (for the PowerPoint presentation)
✓ Chairs (enough for all participants + volunteers)
✓ Pieces of colored paper for participant questions
✓ 1 basket to collect participant questions
✓ Copies of the brochure (enough for all participants)
Optional For Informative Community Presentations:
✓ 3–4 tables for Iowa Courts Online check + individual consultations
✓ Copies of the “Iowa Courts Online Check Chart” (enough for all participants)
✓ 1 laptop for Iowa Courts Online check
✓ Extension cord for the Iowa Courts Online table
✓ 2-3 copies of the “Iowa Courts Online Key” for volunteers
What is the order of events to plan an Interactive Community Presentation?
1. Advertise for the presentation and locate volunteers.
2. Make copies of all materials for both the Volunteer Training and the Community Presentations.
3. Train all volunteers using the Volunteer Training Presentation.
4. Decide what volunteers should be assigned to which responsibilities at the community presentation.
5. Set up the space that will host the community presentation.
6. Give Interactive Community Presentation.
7. Answer questions submitted by participants throughout the presentation.
8. Individual consultations and Iowa Courts Online check following the presentation.
What is the order of events to plan an Informative Community Presentation?
1. Advertise for the presentation.
2. Set up the space that will host the community presentation.
3. Give Informative Community Presentation.
4. Answer questions submitted by participants throughout the presentation
Optional:
5. Individual consultations and Iowa Courts Online check following the presentation.
We hope these materials help you organize an Immigration Relief Presentation!
We wish you the best of luck!