United Farm Workers Foundation opens Phoenix office to help immigrants
by Emily Gersema
The Arizona Republic
The California-based United Farm Workers Foundation has opened its first office in Arizona to provide legal advice and assistance to immigrants in the Phoenix area.
The UFW Foundation is separate from the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation based in Los Angeles, but the two are related. Both were established because of the 1960s civil-rights movement led by Cesar Chavez on behalf of farm laborers.
The Chavez Foundation is a non-profit group dedicated to promoting civil rights while the UFW Foundation provides legal aid to immigrants.
The UFW Foundation is sharing a Phoenix office with the Radio Campesina Network on Washington Street, said Luis Arellano, a foundation representative.
"The office started its operations a couple of months ago," Arellano said. "They’ve already been able to help upwards as many as 120 families. We expect that number to keep growing."
Arellano said families can get help with everything from FBI fingerprint letters to visa applications and citizenship.
"It’s rather small," Arellano said about the office. "There’s just two staff people: the director and then the assistant."
The UFW Foundation is accredited by the national Board of Immigration Appeals and authorized by the U.S. Department of Justice to provide immigration legal services to immigrants for nominal fees.
The office is in the Radio Campesina building at 1440 E. Washington St., Suite 120. Any immigrant families who need assistance can visit or call the office at 602-889-0933.