Older FLS News Items

January 2009:

· The Michigan Statewide Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition has a website that lists several resources for Michigan residents who would like FREE help in preparing their 2008 taxes. Go to http://www.michiganeic.org and there are two options for assistance.

First, click on "Free Tax Preparation Sites in Michigan" on the left side of the screen, and then click on the appropriate link to find a county-by-county list of free sites around Michigan. A few of the county sites indicate that Spanish-language assistance is available. It may be a good idea to call the site before attending to find out if there is an income limit for assistance.

Second, taxpayers can prepare their own taxes using the online "ICAN E-FILE" website. From http://www.michiganeic.org click on "I-CAN E-File Free Online Tax Preparation" on the left side of the screen. Then click on "Click Here to access ICAN! E-File". The site is available in English and Spanish. On the ICAN E-FILE site, click on "Haga clic aqui para Espanol" at the top to prepare your taxes using the Spanish site. There is no income limit to use the free ICAN E-FILE site. Any Michigan resident can use the site.

The free E-file service is especially useful to low-income taxpayers who might otherwise pay a tax preparation business hundreds of dollars for the "convenience" of receiving a refund anticipation loan (formerly called a "rapid refund"). The rapid refund fees take money out of the pocket of those who need it the most.

Please be aware that starting in tax year 2008, Michigan has a state earned income credit available to taxpayers; the amount is equal to 10% of the federal EIC amount. Please encourage people to take advantage of the free resources for preparing their 2008 taxes so that they keep as much money in their pocket as possible.

October 2008:

· We have added the Pesticide Action Campaign brochures to our Community Education Materials pages. The brochure is available in English and Spanish.

September 2008:

· We are now accepting applications from law students for our Summer 2009 internship. You can find more information about our internship on our Summer Internships / Hiring page. (9/30/2008)

July 2008:

· Our 2008-2009 farmworker calendar is now available. We are distributing thousands of calendars throughout Michigan in order to share important legal information with Michigan's farmworker community. You can view or download our current calendar by going here.

April 2008:

· Farmworker Legal Services has prepared an Issue Brief regarding whether an applicant for a marriage license in Michigan must have a social security number. The Michigan Attorney General issued a formal opinion on this matter in March 2008. Click here to see the FLS Issue Brief.

MARCH 2008:

· We have added two Issue Briefs that FLS prepared recently. The first is a Migrant Housing Issue Brief related to the state's lack of migrant camp inspectors. We added the Issue Brief to the Housing section of our Current Issues and Advocacy section. The second is a Migrant Health and Safety Issue Brief that discusses the problems caused by the lack of an appropriate enforcement protocol by MIOSHA. The Issue Brief has been added to the Employment section of our Current Issues and Advocacy section.

· We have completed our law student hiring for the upcoming summer. We will post our 2009 internship materials in October 2008

· The Michigan Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association is organizing two Citizenship Day events on April 19. It's an opportunity for Legal Permanent Residents to receive professional assistance with their applications for citizenship. The volunteer attorneys and paralegals will not be charging for their assistance, although a $20 donation is requested to cover the costs of supplies. Applicants will also be responsible for paying the $675 application fee to the Department of Homeland Security.

Clinics will be held in Grand Rapids and Detroit on April 19. You can find the following fliers with information about the events:

Grand Rapids (English) Grand Rapids (Spanish) Detroit (English)

The clinics will be operated on a walk-in basis, so interested individuals are strongly encouraged to review the required documents that they must bring. If applicants do not bring the necessary documents, the volunteers may not be able to assist them.

FEBRUARY 2008:

· We are compiling a listing of Michigan agricultural employers who have applied to import foreign workers under the federal H2A guestworker program. To see the list, click here or visit the H2A Guestworker Program section of our website.

JANUARY 2008:

· Our January 2008 newsletter, titled Todos Tienen Derechos, is now available. This is the first newsletter in our new format. You may view the newsletter by clicking here, or by visiting our Newsletter page. The newsletter contains information about the October Naturalization Clinic that FLS co-sponsored, information about the recent Michigan Attorney General opinion that will result in driver's license restrictions for many immigrants, and information about recent cases and activities that FLS has been involved in.