CLC’s Division of Student Life announced that it will be offering legal consultation for undocumented and DACA students. 

The college partnered with the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic to help students receive legal advice. Students can schedule a 30 minute appointment to receive consultation.

Although the partnership will not allow the students to receive any legal representation through the North Suburban Aid Clinic, it will help them gain better understanding and knowledge of their personal situation.

The Division of Student Life’s goal was to give CLC students undocumented and DACA students access to a service that they may or not have been able to afford otherwise.

This program completed a successful trial run in the spring and will now be implemented at the college full time.

“We want to bring people in to get real them real help,” Dean of Student Life Gabe Lara said.

Dr. Lara also discussed how it was difficult at first for the Division of Student Life to determine the need for the service because many of the undocumented students at the College of Lake County “are in the shadows” or they did not want their status to be known. 

When it first started this program, the college would have a difficult time determining the outreach it could have. However, the program ended up being a success as over 30 students took advantage of it.

“The number might seem low for now, but it’s 30 people who felt comfortable to use the service,” Dr. Gabe Lara said. “The more knowledge people have of the service, the more people will use it.”

On top of this new program, the Division of Student Life will also be providing two new workshops to the College of Lake County campus that will help undocumented students handle a situation in which an issue arises with their immigration status. 

Although this is the first legal service provided by the college, there is work in place for a free general legal consultation service to be established by the end of the fall. This program would help students with issues such as DUIs, traffic violations, domestic violence or any other legal issue. 

The Division of Student Life’s goal at the College of Lake County is to allow students who may not have the resources to receive legal help an opportunity to gain access at no cost.