To celebrate our two-year anniversary in Fresno, we hosted our first-ever Community Open House fundraiser at the historic Tower Theatre Lounge on Thursday, April 11. The intention was to gather with our friends and allies (old and new!) and showcase everything that we have accomplished in Fresno so far, and explore what we can still achieve together in the years to come. Our team was moved to witness the Central Valley community show up and engage in discussions with folks who offered partnerships, ideas, and resources in support of our work to protect queer and trans immigrants.

Oasis Legal Services has been selected to receive a transformative $2 million award from MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving for our work supporting LGBTQ+ immigrants. This grant will allow our Affirmative Asylum Program to be 100% free for clients. Additionally, our Residency and Naturalizations Programs will be free to LGBTQ+ immigrants living with HIV.

Since Oasis’ founding in 2017, our volunteers and staff have prioritized sending each of our active clients an annual birthday card. As our client community continues to grow, we made the decision to involve our amazing supporters and volunteers. To kickstart 2024, we hosted our first volunteer birthday card event at the beautiful 1951 Coffee Company in Berkeley.

Pablo Baeza Breinbauer, our former Social Services Manager reflects on the profound impact of humanitarian protection and immigration relief on LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. Drawing from years of experience, they delve into the intersecting challenges of trauma and material deprivation faced by clients fleeing persecution. Through client anecdotes and their personal commitment to systemic reform, Pablo underscores the transformative power of asylum in fostering empowerment, dignity, and hope. Read about the journey of resilience within LGBTQ+ immigrants pursuing a stable life in the United States.

After fleeing persecution, navigating a new country and culture can be a lonely experience. Join us in celebrating our wonderful clients by writing and decorating birthday cards for them. Students, service providers, and professionals are highly encouraged to come. This is an opportunity to meet others from the Oasis community and expand your network.

“LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and immigrants are among the most targeted and exploited, and this bill would create insurmountable obstacles for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers to present their case and find safety,” said Adam Ryan Chang, Executive Director of Oasis.

Medical marijuana use can offer therapeutic advantages, including relief from intense chronic pain, the treatment of conditions like narcolepsy, and more. However, because marijuana remains prohibited at the federal level, immigrant community members are sometimes forced to choose between medical relief and jeopardizing their immigration status. Ari Jones, our Residency & Naturalization Programs Director, explores this frustrating situation…

Are you our next Social Services (SoS) Program Director? Oasis is seeking an MSW to head up our dynamic SoS program, which provides life-saving wraparound services to LGBTQ+ immigrants throughout their immigration journeys. The SoS Program Director will supervise a team of staff & MSW interns, build strong partnerships with other social service providers throughout California, and collaborate closely with the legal team to ensure our clients' holistic needs are addressed. You can click here to view the full job description.

As 2023 draws to a close, we reflect on the profound impact the Oasis community has had on LGBTQ+ immigrants and the important task of continuing and expanding our efforts in the new year. The reality is that despite an estimated 60,000 undocumented LGBTQ+ immigrants in California, only 4% of LGBTQ+ funding in the U.S. supports LGBTQ+ immigrant issues (that’s 4 cents for every $100). For this reason, we rely heavily on community support to help sustain our life-saving work…

Personas de todo el mundo están saliendo a las calles en forma de marchas y protestas para expresar su apoyo al pueblo de Palestina y contra la opresión de los palestinos por parte del Estado de Israel. Si es inmigrante y se pregunta si puede participar en estas manifestaciones, la respuesta corta es que sí. Pero para poder participar de manera segura y evitar problemas con las autoridades policiales y de inmigración, Oasis ha creado esta guía para ayudarlo a prepararse y comprender mejor sus derechos mientras protesta.

When immigrants apply for certain immigration benefits in the U.S., they expect to receive their approved paperwork in the mail. However, often, applicants do not receive these documents at all. OLS and other legal experts provide information on the consequences of these missing documents, and what someone can do when their green card, work permit, or other important immigration paperwork is lost in the mail.

Join Oasis Legal Services for a free training for mental health professionals! This training is intended for mental health providers interested in providing mental health evaluation reports for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. The event will provide an introduction to asylum law as well as a review of why mental health evaluation reports are needed in LGBTQ+ asylum cases. We will also cover how to conduct the mental health evaluations for asylum seekers and how to draft mental health evaluation reports

We are thrilled to introduce you to the newest addition to Oasis’ Fresno team, Vasmer Vang. As a queer, Hmong, non-binary native of Fresno, CA, Vasmer's journey is deeply intertwined with Oasis’ mission. Their personal connection to supporting LGBTQ+ immigrants and people of color in the Central Valley is at the core of what they do.

Join us for the 2023 Regional Conference on Immigration Integration hosted by CVIIC on November 15 in Fresno, CA. This annual event will feature insightful panels by over 70 organizations and agencies dedicated to addressing priority issues in immigration services. Oasis’ Social Services Coordinator Juana Echeveste-Davis will present in a panel moderated by our Executive Director, Adam Ryan Chang, about the importance of joint, culturally responsive social and legal services. Free registration required. Don't miss out!

Nearly 25 years ago, Oasis client Ruby made the difficult decision to leave her native Mexico to escape a life of violence and discrimination and pursue protection in the United States.  Ruby is just one of many transgender individuals who have had to flee their country of origin to seek refuge on a daily basis in the U.S. After a long road and years of challenges in this country, Ruby was awarded her citizenship in May 2023!

Join us at our 6th Annual Community Celebration as we honor our clients’ journeys through asylum and beyond, celebrate the supporters that have helped us to build a safe haven for LGBTQ+ immigrants, and discuss what the Oasis community has in store. Early Bird tickets are on sale now for $150 - take advantage of this discounted pricing today! Starting August 22, individual tickets will be $200 per attendee.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Accredited Representative Program was created with the intention to increase access to the legal profession for those from non-traditional legal backgrounds and provide more inclusive legal representation as a result. Oasis currently has five Accredited Representatives supporting our clients — four in Berkeley, and one in the Central Valley. A recent convening of DOJ reps from Oasis and organizations throughout the Bay Area offered a chance to reflect on this program and its impact on the community.

Asylum seekers already face abuse and exploitation when escaping their home countries and this new rule increases structural barriers to the asylum protections guaranteed to them under long-standing US and international law. This rule converts asylum into a privilege for the wealthy and makes it unattainable for the communities that Oasis serves – LGBTQ+, Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income members of the community.

Asylum Legal Advocate and DOJ Accredited Representative, Anuar Arriaga Esquivel, represented Oasis on an advocacy trip to the state capital in Sacramento. Oasis Legal Services joined the California Welcomes Coalition and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) to advocate for various proposed bills that benefit the well-being of immigrants. Anuar reflects on the trip, and his journey from undocumented to advocate.

As we enter Oasis' sixth year of existence, we hope you join us as we look back on the past year, celebrate our clients' journeys, and reflect on our team's successes through the 2022 Impact Report. Click below to read on about the work that you made possible!