Become an Immigration Specialist with DOJ Accreditation with Joanne McAfee

Welcome to episode 36 of The American Dream in The Eyes of Immigrants Podcast. I am your host, Heidy De La Cruz, and I am on a mission to change the narrative of immigration one immigrant story at a time! Today’s episode is a little different than usual because instead of speaking to an immigrant, I am speaking with someone who is an immigrant ally and works in the immigration space without being an immigration attorney. Her name is Joanne McAfee and we connected through the Facebook group Women of Welcome! She had posted that she was partially accredited with the DOJ but was working on getting fully accredited, however, this was the first step. Joanne explained that she is able to service migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers while seeking full accreditation. This, of course, piqued my interest because I had never heard of this program before. In today’s episode, Joanne explains the process of how she got into becoming accredited, what type of work she does, and the program she did with Villanova University. I hope this episode is insightful if you are looking to serve in the immigration space without becoming an immigration attorney. Thank you for being here! With Love, Heidy P.S. Here is the article that I referenced in this episode about the countries that take in the most refugees. Connect with Joanne: TikTok: @jojospeaks7 Joanne's Bio: Joanne McAfee Maldonado is a native Delawarean residing on the ceded lands of the Nanticoke (Nan-tee-coke) and Leni Lenape (Lenny Len ah pay) tribes. Joanne traveled to the El Paso/Juarez border in 2019 to find out for herself what was going on. She is married to a Mexican national and was perplexed by the news reports of family separation and the dismantling of the legal asylum system. She worked as an Ambassador for over a year with Women of Welcome but wanted to find a practical way to make an impact in immigrant services. With a new and more educated perspective, she sought out additional education with Villanova University's VIISTA program and became an DOJ Accredited Immigration Law Representative. Joanne continues to advocate for our foreign-born brothers and sisters by educating, raising awareness, and staying in touch with her local elected officials. She remains vigilant concerning the border by following several organizations that have boots on the ground. Here are a few ways you can support this podcast. Share this episode with a friend. Subscribe on Spotify. Write a review. Sign up for the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Donate money. If you’d like to advertise your business or sponsor an episode, please send me an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Heidy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you or someone you know would like to share their immigration story, please message me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Stay up to date with new episode information sent to your email - sign up for the podcast newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! If you want to start a podcast – I want to be your coach! I can help you with a successful podcast launch in just 6 weeks. More information here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.