Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition - CAIR Coalition

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A Fact-Checking Guide for Immigrants’ Rights Supporters This Thursday evening is the first debate for the 2024 presidential election. Do you know people in your family, friend groups, community, or network who will likely take the anti-immigrant statements…

After 25 years of client-driven legal advocacy, Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition starts a new chapter. CAIR Coalition is now officially the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (“Amica Center” for short).

Follow our new page to stay up to date! Amica Center for Immigrant Rights

Make sure to follow our new page to stay up to date! Amica Center for Immigrant Rights

Andrés García, a former CAIR Coalition client, came to the U.S. in 2016, fleeing anti-LGBTQ+ violence in El Salvador. He recently told his story of the asylum process to The Guardian

While Andrés has since won asylum, the new executive order shuts down the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers like Andrés when the average number of people arriving surpasses 2,500 per day, over a seven-day period.

This order will cause immense harm to people seeking safety, including LGBTQIA+ migrants and other vulnerable communities. CAIR Coalition strongly condemns this action which violates international and U.S. refugee law, and we will continue to defend the rights of all people seeking protection.

You can read Andrés’s full story at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/04/asylum-process-first-person-esssays

The Biden Administration issued an executive order today banning asylum on a massive scale. This order is akin to the bans and border shutdowns initiated by the Trump Administration that harmed tens of thousands of people fleeing persecution, violence, and death. Click here to read our statement: https://bit.ly/Bexecorder

As the most restrictive border policy issued by any modern Democratic President, President Biden’s Executive Order shuts down the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers when the average number of people arriving surpasses 2,500 per day, over a seven-day period.

Because the average number of daily arrivals is currently higher than 2,500, this means the asylum ban will go into effect immediately. In violation of due process, people seeking safety will be rapidly turned away without the right to a hearing, forced to seek dangerous routes, and deported to life-threatening situations.

Today, the Biden Administration announced a new plan focused on further criminalizing the Southern Border.

The Administration plans to significantly increase resources for the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security at the southern border with a goal of increasing criminal prosecutions for immigration violations at the border.

This will result in more prosecutions of people seeking safety, hamper asylum, and increase the separation of families.

Instead of leaning on the criminal system and weaponizing old laws to punish immigrants, President Biden should be focused on leading with humane, protective, and sensible immigration policies.

Read our full statement at https://www.caircoalition.org/2024/05/31/biden-administrations-new-plan-further-criminalize-southern-border

Last week, we rallied with organizations and community members to urge Congress to pass the Fairness to Freedom Act. The Fairness to Freedom Act would establish a universal right to federally funded legal representation for anyone facing deportation who can't afford a lawyer on their own.

During the rally, former CAIR Coalition client Andrés shared his story of seeking asylum, his hopes for the future, and why he supports the Fairness to Freedom Act.

Tell Congress to pass the . Every person should have the right to a court-appointed attorney, including those facing deportation: https://secure.vera.org/a/fair2free

Last week, a federal court temporarily knocked down a key part of Florida’s anti-immigrant law. This is the beginning of what could be a massive win for immigrants' rights against anti-immigrant state laws!

On May 22nd, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging the main provision of Florida's anti-immigrant law SB1718. This means that this part of the law is temporarily stopped while the full case continues to be litigated.

Congratulations to our partner organizations ACLU Southern Poverty Law Center American Immigration Council and Americans for Immigrant Justice for leading this lawsuit and securing this initial win! CAIR Coalition Immigration Impact Lab Senior Attorneys F. Evan Benz and Daniel J. Melo and American Immigration Lawyers Association's Amicus Committee also submitted an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit.

As we see more and more states seek to pass anti-immigrant laws at the state level following Florida's lead, this decision granting the preliminary injunction in this case is an important milestone moment in the efforts of advocates to fight back.

Congratulations to David,* his family, and his pro bono attorney Ben Osorio of Murray Osorio PLLC for their recent asylum victory in immigration court.

David left his country after facing political violence and corruption that culminated in the death of a close family member and serious threats against David’s family. The immigration judge granted David asylum, and David’s family members won asylum, as well.

We wish David and his family all the best, and we are grateful for Murray Osorio’s amazing pro bono work with CAIR Coalition-referred clients.

*To protect the privacy of the people we work with, names, photos, and other identifying information have been changed.

Last Thursday, we invited our volunteers—translators and interpreters, jail visit and hotline volunteers, pro bono volunteers, Legal Advisory Committee members, and Board members—to join us at Colada Shop in DC for our annual appreciation event.

Thank you to everyone who attended, and to all our volunteers who help us continue to defend one another every day. We are grateful for you!

Last week, the Biden Administration pushed through a new expedited immigration court docket process, which prioritizes rapid adjudication of claims by asylum-seekers who have recently arrived alone in five cities with large immigrant communities—Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. The Administration provided no notice, circumventing the legally required notice and comment process for new agency rules.

CAIR Coalition strongly condemns the Biden Administration’s new immigration rule that undermines the rights of asylum-seekers and violates due process. Read our full statement here: https://bit.ly/Aattack

Immigration authorities are abusing civil immigration powers to increasingly collect genetic DNA material - the most intimate of biometric data - from millions of people, particularly people of color, putting everyone at risk.

Click here to read the report from the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law: https://bit.ly/raidinggenome

The samples they collect are then turned into profiles which are entered into a database accessible to law enforcement across the country without a warrant.

CAIR Coalition is excited to announce that we have been awarded the 2024 Pro Bono Program Maryland Pro Bono Service award from the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland in partnership with the Maryland State Bar Association - MSBA.

As the only nonprofit in the Capital region dedicated to providing free legal services to immigrant children and adults who are detained and at risk of deportation, CAIR Coalition collaborates with more than 70 law firms, corporate legal departments, and law school clinics to free our clients and protect their futures in the U.S.

Thank you to our longtime Board member Karen Grisez for nominating us! We’re proud to be recognized for our unwavering commitment to building a just and humane immigration system.

Through the National Qualified Representative Program (NQRP), CAIR Coalition offers court-appointed legal representation to immigrants who are detained with severe mental or developmental disabilities who would otherwise lack representation—many of whom have survived persecution or violence in their countries of origin.

Swipe through to learn more about our work with NQRP.

: In the US, the immigration court system is separate from criminal courts. This means that immigrants DO NOT have the right to a court-appointed attorney. This includes children, elderly, and even babies.

Each year, thousands of immigrants are deprived access to high-quality, independent legal representation, facing separation from their families and communities, detention, and deportation, and are forced to navigate a confusing legal system completely alone. It doesn’t have to be this way: no one should have to face the consequences of deportation—physical exile from home, separation from family and community, and the potential return to conditions of persecution and torture—alone. with the !

Click the 🔗 link in our bio and tell Congress to pass the , support immigrant communities, and keep families together.

CAIR Coalition’s 2023 Impact Report is here!

Last year, we developed a first-of-its-kind habeas project to free adults from prolonged detention, worked with more unaccompanied immigrant children than ever before, litigated tirelessly to stop the deportation of our clients, and advocated against policies that will further harm the immigrant community.

Thank you for your support! Together, we can create a future in which we are all safe, free, and supported.

Read the full report athttps://www.caircoalition.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023%20Impact%20Report%20Booklet.pdf

Last week, the Biden administration proposed a new rule that will further deprive newly arrived immigrants from seeking asylum.

In an interview with NTN24, Deputy Program Director Eric Lopez explains what the new proposed rule means.

“This rule gives the asylum officer authority to disqualify a person from asylum during the initial screening phase of the process. Asylum claims are incredibly complicated legally and factually, and an Immigration Judge is better equipped to make legal determinations re bars to asylum. A Judge can take time to review the facts, evidence and listen to expert witnesses and assess whether someone has legally triggered a criminal bar to asylum. Furthermore, they can exercise their discretion to determine whether someone merits asylum. Shifting this responsibility from a Judge to an initial screening asylum officer is unjust and is a recipe to deport people who may actually qualify for asylum.”

Watch the interview here:

Gobierno de Estados Unidos endurece proceso para solicitar asilo en la frontera | NTN24.COM Las medidas buscan identificar rápidamente a migrantes que "representen un peligro para el país” y decretar su expulsión inmediata.

The Access to Justice Initiative works. The FY25 cuts will deny DC residents meaningful access to justice. We urge the DC Council to restore ATJ funding of $31.668M.

CAIR Coalition condemns the Biden Administration’s latest attempt to deprive newly arrived immigrants from seeking asylum.

On Thursday, May 9th, the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed a new rule that will allow the immediate and erroneous removal of people seeking safety by giving asylum officers new and dangerous authority to decide who is a “criminal” and who is a “national threat.” This new proposal only compounds existing inhumane procedures in the credible fear process and introduces new ones.

This proposed policy is exclusionary and is at odds with the fact that seeking asylum is a human right for all people under U.S. and international law.

CAIR Coalition urges the Biden Administration to stop using immigrants as political pawns and find humane solutions to lawful pathways for immigrants seeking safety.

Read our full statement at https://www.caircoalition.org/cair-coalition-condemns-biden-administrations-latest-attempt-deprive-asylum-newly.

Did you know that ICE continues to detain some immigrants, even after they have won protection against deportation?

A recent Law360 article tells the story of Nylssa Portillo Moreno who was wrongfully detained by ICE despite having protected status. Unfortunately, Portillo Moreno’s case is not an outlier.

CAIR Coalition’s Immigration Impact Lab is fighting back against wrongful and prolonged detention in a class action lawsuit filed along with ACLU of Virginia and National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild so that impacted people can be freed from detention and reunite with their families once again.

Thank you to those who joined us for the conversation featuring author César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández and Adina Appelbaum to discuss the criminal immigration (“crimm-imm”) pipeline.

If you missed the conversation, you can watch the recording at https://youtu.be/wmpGKEXtvk0?si=5XTPfxkhOI2_X46e.

Special thanks to César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, Susan Saudek, and First UCC DC.

In 2013, a federal district judge ordered that immigrants in detention with mental and emotional disabilities who are facing deportation and unable to represent themselves have the right to legal representation.

In a recent op-ed for the Los Angeles Times Talia Inlender recounts the story of Jose Franco Gonzalez, the plaintiff in the case.

His case also led to the establishment of the National Qualified Representative Program (NQRP), a nationwide legal representation program for immigrants with mental disabilities.

NQRP has been instrumental in helping provide legal representation to immigrants with mental disabilities in detention and at risk of deportation.

Dozens of immigrants have joined our first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit against ICE.

CAIR Coalition’s Immigration Impact Lab along with ACLU of Virginia and National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild is challenging ICE’s practice of continuing to detain immigrants after they have won their immigration cases.

A federal judge has certified our lawsuit as a class action lawsuit. This order is the one of the first of its kind since Garland v. Aleman Gonzalez largely barred immigrants from seeking class-wide relief against ICE.

This is the first step towards getting justice for dozens of people impacted by ICE’s unjust and inhumane policy.

Learn more at https://www.caircoalition.org/dozens-immigrants-join-first-its-kind-class-action-lawsuit

Meet Jeffrey Oliver, a member of the CAIR Coalition Legal Advisory Committee (LAC) and a Partner with Baker Botts. The LAC helps us grapple with policy and legal questions to keep our work focused and effective. Jeff joined the LAC fin 2021, after being inspired by his former colleague and CAIR Coalition board member Lee Davis.

When discussing what motivates him to stay involved, Jeff told us, “I am inspired and motivated by my clients, who are amazing and wonderful people. I am thrilled to be able to work with them regularly.”

Jeff has worked on several pro bono cases working with immigrant children. “Each case has been fun, meaningful, enriching, enabling, and lovely. I would have been a happier lawyer had I started doing pro bono earlier.”

Jeff has also been instrumental in Baker Botts’ increased support of CAIR Coalition, particularly towards Spring for Justice, a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign that raises funds for special initiatives at CAIR Coalition. We’re grateful for Jeff’s enthusiasm and his efforts to mobilize his colleagues to get involved with CAIR Coalition.

Outside of work, Jeff enjoys riding his bike and spending time with his wife and three sons.

Without the right to an attorney in immigration court, our immigrant neighbors are left to fight for their rights alone.

The Council of the District of Columbia we’re asking for $7 million in IJLS funding to defend DC residents.

Join us on May 2nd at 6PM for a conversation between César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, author of Migrating to Prison and Welcome the Wretched: In Defense of the “Criminal Alien” and Adina Appelbaum, Program Director, Immigration Impact Lab.

García Hernández is the leading expert on the intersection of the immigration system and the criminal legal system. His TED Talk about closing immigration prisons has nearly 1.6 million views. García Hernández and Appelbaum will discuss the disproportionate consequences of involvement in the criminal legal system on immigrants, including those with significant family and communities throughout the DMV.

This event will be in-person and livestreamed via Zoom. Registration is required. More details here: https://www.caircoalition.org/beyondborders

Special thanks to Susan Saudek, CAIR Coalition and First UCC DC Volunteer.

We’re highlighting three CAIR Coalition volunteers this !

Lily, Kathy, and Lenny’s volunteer efforts allow CAIR Coalition to expand our capacity and continue fighting alongside our immigrant neighbors.

Thank you to Lily, Kathy, Lenny, and all our volunteers!

This , we are excited to share a story from our Pro Bono program, which partners with more than 75 law firms, corporate legal departments, and law school clinics each year to increase access to legal representation.

We are excited to announce that Samson will be released!

Samson*, a noncitizen in immigration proceedings, had been attending all his ICE check-ins, when ICE detained him and said he had missed his immigration court date.

CAIR Coalition staff helped him file a motion with the court to explain that he never knew about his hearing, and the court re-opened his case, but Samson was still being held in detention. We referred his case to the George Mason University Immigration Litigation Clinic to seek his release from detention on bond, a bail-like payment that ensures that the noncitizen will appear for their court hearings. A third-year law student, Saad Amin, successfully prepared the bond motion, along with more than 100 pages of evidence. He appeared in court under the supervision of clinical director Elizabeth Schmelzel for oral argument. After his argument, the Immigration Judge granted bond and Samson will soon be released!

*To protect the privacy of the people we work with, names, photos, and other identifying information have been changed.