Immigrant Defenders Law Center

The Biden administration MUST end Title 42. Rather than process Haitian babies and their families into safety in the U.S. under a Trump policy, ICE is continues deporting them into a political crisis. Despite having grounded previous flights after reports of severe inhumane treatment for African people in ICE custody, on Monday ICE deportation flights to Haiti resumed, with over 20 children on board. #EndTitle42 Read more: https://www.theguardian.com//us-ice-immigration-customs-en

The deportation machine hasn't stopped under the Biden administration, and Black migrants are disproportionately affected. Despite the severe political crisis in Haiti, the Biden administration deported 900 Haitian migrants in February alone under the Trump-era Title 42 policy. Worsening realities in Haiti are compounded by the pandemic. We urge the Biden administration end Title 42, and allow Haitian and other Black migrants waiting at our borders to enter in the U.S. for refuge. To learn more follow our friends Haitian Bridge Alliance and support their efforts. Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com//biden-administration-is-depo/

Sharing this wonderful moment when the first asylum seekers in Matamoros, known for it's extreme conditions and constant threats, finally step foot into the U.S. to await their asylum hearings. We want to thank the amazing groups on the ground who helped make this moment possible as well as the Biden administration for making this possible. @Texas Civil Rights Project, and so many more. #WelcomeWithDignity

Over 14,000 people continue to be detained in dangerous ICE prisons despite having never committed a crime or only committing minor infractions. Our client, Ernesto has been detained at the Adelanto Detention Center for 7 months now. Many of his colleagues at the detention center have been there for years, enduring inhumane conditions and often without the right to a pay a bond for release. We join Ernesto in demanding that @POTUS review every detained person's case operating... under the presumption of freeing them all. Our government is failing our community members, and these individuals must be freed if we ever hope to achieve the type of change the Biden administration promised to create. #FreeThemAll #ImmDef #ImmigrantDefendersLawCenter #Justice #AbolishICE #ImmigrantRights #Immigration #Asylum #AsylumSeekers #HomeIsHere #DueProcess #Racist #Discrimination #HumanRights

While in MPP our client José was robbed, beaten, and extorted by the Mexican police. Despite several requests for a non-refoulment interview on behalf of his attorney Paulina Reyes, the US turned their back on him for months. On Monday he crossed into the U.S. I feel safe at last. Jose fled political persecution in Nicaragua. In Mexico he experienced severe discrimination as a migrant. He hopes to reunite w/family now that he is here, & try to work again as an electrician a...s he awaits his asylum proceedings. Thank God, I am here already," he told The New York Times. The road ahead to secure asylum is long and not guaranteed for José and many others. Thousands wait for another sign of hope from the Biden administration, while most Black migrants are left out of the possibility of entering through MPP. Title 42 remains in place meaning anyone else trying to enter the border will be turned away, or worse, expelled to their home countries. Read the story: https://www.nytimes.com//politi/biden-border-migrants.html #ImmDef #immigrantdefenderslawcenter #immigration #asylum #asilo #EndMPP #saveAsylum #DefendAsylum #WelcomeWithDignity #socialjustice #nonprofit #501c3 #donate

Even in its numbered days the Trump Administration continues to enforce trauma on children. Children in government custody have been held indefinitely at a Houston hospital where they are reportedly being forcibly drugged and isolated for long periods. This is one of many reasons why it is so important for every child in America to have a lawyer by their side regardless of citizenship. ImmDef fights for universal representation so that more people are protected in court. Universal representation saves lives and reduces trauma. The Biden/Harris Admin must hit the ground running towards justice in immigration policy, for these children and thousands more. Read more: https://www.vice.com//migrant-teen-describes-forced-inject

Until all families are reunited, Until every child is protected, Until immigration detention ends, Until asylum is restored, Until universal representation is nationwide,... Until a pathway to citizenship is guaranteed for the undocumented community, #LaLuchaSigue Join in the fight to restore justice in immigration courts at immdef.org/support CC: @joebiden @kamalaharris #ImmDef

Today is #InternationalMigrantsDay, and the theme for 2020 is "Reimagining Human Mobility." We are lucky to have the support of Lush Cosmetics North America who have shined a light on the issues that impede family reunification and justice in immigration court and the U.S./Mexico border. ImmDef's Managing Attorney, Margaret Cargioli, along with her team, has been a beacon of hope for many migrants searching for safety in the U.S. Learn how to help our clients and what is currently at stake by watching this video.

Since January 2017, at least 48 people have died in ICE custody. 2020 has been the deadliest year in 15 years with 21 people tragically passing this year alone. Thousands of documents have been obtained and reviewed showing that many of these people were denied adequate medical care and died as a result. The documents revealed that guards falsified records to cover up the fact that they did not perform welfare checks as they should have. Many died as a result. Immigration detention is deadly and it must end. Vote to end these unnecessary deaths. https://www.buzzfeednews.com//here-are-thousands-of-docume

ImmDef is proud to join the YES Immigrants Forward Coalition! For decades, this country has been sending a one-word message to immigrants: no. Even as it accepts our labor, this nation says no to our families. Even as it accepts our ingenuity, ... the United States says no to our dignity. Even as it accepts our sacrifice, this government says no to our freedom. Immigrants are ready for YES: YES to honoring family unity; YES to a stable future; YES to fair legislation; YES to freedom from fear; YES to just relief during this COVID-19 pandemic. As we say YES to Immigrants Forward, we recommit, in this campaign, to work with a new administration to realize the justice and legalization immigrants have sought for years. This past election showed immigration justice is a political mandate, and it takes the shape of big and bold immigration reform that must pass in the first two years. Such reform includes an end to immigrant detention and deportation, taking immigrants into account in rebuilding our democracy, and advancing the welfare of immigrant workers. In this moment, it also means including immigrants in COVID-19 relief legislation. So today, we throw off the history of no that we’ve heard so often and we choose to say: YES to united families, YES to workers, YES to students, YES to refugees, YES to real reform, YES TO IMMIGRANTS FORWARD. Learn more: chirla.org/yesimmigrantsfwd

Representing yourself in court would seem like an impossible feat for most people. Add to that the trauma of being recently separated from your family, fleeing severe persecution in your home country, not understanding the language let alone the legal proceedings in a new language, and being thrown into an ICE prison where adequate medical care is ignored and people are dying all while a pandemic threatens your existence. It is more important than ever for anyone entering a U....S. court to have to be protected with a lawyer by their side, especially individuals and families who are facing deportation. Our client Ana is represented by ImmDef Staff Attorney Mona Iman. She is a mother went through all of us this while separated from her son after entering the U.S. Thanks to the Vera Institute of Justice and the Long Beach Justice Fund, Ana and her son are now protected in court with ImmDef's legal team by her side. "If I hadn’t had a lawyer, I would have felt totally alone and without support. I would probably have given up and agreed to be deported." Ana is now ten times more likely to remain in the U.S. thanks to the Long Beach Justice Fund. That's ten times more likely to give her son a better future, contribute to her community, and fulfill her dreams thanks to #UniversalRepresentation. For Ana, and millions more like her we join in calls to encourage the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris team to advance federally funded universal representation for immigrants facing deportation. #DueProcess4All Read Ana's story: https://www.vera.org//my-publicly-funded-immigration-lawye

Our client Gustavo is one of the thousands of unaccompanied minors expelled at the U.S./Mexico border during the pandemic. "We were forced to do it," a former CDC public health official shared with CBS News in response to the Trump Administration's pressure to close the border. While waiting in Ciudad Juárez for their U.S. court hearing, ImmDef client Elida's 12-year-old-son Gustavo was nearly kidnapped. Out of fear she sent him ahead of herself hoping he could reunite with ...his grandfather in the US. Instead, Gustavo was expelled to Guatemala alone while Elida remained in Ciudad Juarez without any idea of what had happened to her son. Gustavo lives with disabilities and his own family members were murdered in the streets of his home town where he remains with his father. According to interviews with former CDC officials, Stephen Miller "aggressively pressured the CDC to implement the order, bypassing objections from experts at the agency who believed there was no public health basis to invoke a 1940s law to shutter U.S. borders to migrants, asylum-seekers, and children." This is why we fight for justice in immigration court. It’s a fight that will continue no matter who wins the election. Read the story: https://www.cbsnews.com//trump-administration-closed-bord/

Our clients are counting on you to vote. Vote to #FreeThemAll Vote to #EndFamilySeparation Vote to #EndMPP Vote to #RestoreAsylumNow... Remember, the fight for justice in the immigration system continues no matter who wins this election. Share these posts to raise awareness. #ImmDef #immigrantdefenderslawcenter #LaLuchaSigue #Immigration #asylum #asylumseeker #refugee #undocumented #undocumentedandunafraid #iamanimmigrant #immigrant #vote #remaininmexico

This is what's at stake this week. Use your power to vote if you have it. #FamiliesBelongTogether

Voting is a privilege. Use it! ImmDef Director of Litigation and Advocacy shares an important call to action. Our immigrant communities contribute so much to this country, but despite their sacrifices, many are barred from advocating for themselves and exercising their well-deserved right to help shape our government. Keep them in mind when you go to the polls, and encourage everyone you know to get out there! #Vote #Vota #VotoLatino #Vote2020 #VoteForChange #ImmDef #Immigration #Immigrants #ImmigrantDefendersLawCenter #Asylum #UseYourVoice #Change #2020Election #RegisterToVote #2020USElections #Latinx #Latino #UseYourVoice #Advocate #Politics #SiSePuede #LatinoVote

Sintonice a Telemundo a las 12:30 PST y escuche a la abogada administradora de ImmDef, Margaret Cargioli, hablar sobre la demanda que ImmDef y nuestros socios hemos lanzado contra el programa Quédate en México @Jewish Family Services of San Diego, @Innovation Law Lab, @National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and @Southern Poverty Law Center #ProtegeAsilo

Family separation will have lifelong consequences for families torn apart by the zero-tolerance program. This week Acting Secretary of DHS Chad Wolf claimed some deported parents "have chosen to separate their children from themselves." In this clip of @juliancastrotx's podcast #OurAmerica our friend @jacobsoboroff shares a story of ImmDef client Juan and his son Jose. Juan and Jose were separated for 5 months by the government during the zero-tolerance program. Thanks to Im...mDef's Family Unity Program he was reunited with his son. Juan did not choose to separate himself from his son, nor did many others like him. Family separation must end #ForOurFamilies #EndFamilySeparation Listen to the full episode: (link in bio) https://omny.fm/s/our-america-with-juli-n-castro/separated #ImmDef #immigrantdefenderslawcenter #jacobsoboroff #juliancastro #immigration #familyseparation #zerotolerance #family #unity #asylum #undocumented #refugee #asylumseeker #saveasylum #restoreasylumnow #AbolishICE #podcast

*ACTION ALERT* Lifting up @haitianbridgealliance post to prevent mass deportations of Haitian and Black immigrants. Haitian and Black immigrants are being unfairly targeted in the immigration court system with longer stays in ICE prison, exponentially higher bond fees, physical abuse, medical abuse, medical neglect, retaliation for speaking with media, and mass deportations. On October 13, 60 Cameroonian and 28 Congolese asylum seekers were "choked, beaten, pepper-sprayed &... threatened with more violence to make them sign [their deportation orders]." via @theguardian. After fleeing torture, African asylum seekers are subjected to it again within the very system that should be protecting them. In October alone 12 deportation flights to Haiti have been recorded in a marked increase from 1-2 every four weeks prior. Call now to demand justice. #ImmigrationisaBlackissue #DefundHate #BlackLivesMatter #AbolishICE #HaitianBridgeAlliance #Haitian #immigrant #immigration #asylum #asylumseeker #refugee #activist #socialjustice #actionalert #callnow #justice #FreeThemAll

Less than one month after Trump took office the Administration began strategizing how to enforce family separation. Today documents made public by the Committee on the Judiciary U.S. House of Representatives report titled, "The Trump Administration's Family Separation Policy: Trauma, Destruction, and Chaos, "confirmed, "Despite full knowledge that hundreds of children would likely be lost to their families forever, the Administration chose to expand the pilot program into a permanent nationwide policy." The Trump Administration had no plan to reunify separated parents with their children. Family separation must end in 2020 #ForOurFamilies #EndFamilySeparation Read the report: https://judiciary.house.gov//the_trump_administration_fami

As the news headlines continue to circulate about the unconscionable policies from 2017 family separation pilot and 2018 zero tolerance program, it's important to note that family separation never ended. ImmDef was lucky to have Alida Garcia, VP of Advocacy at FWD.us, with us on our panel for our 5th anniversary virtual gala. Here Alida explains how family separation continues today. To hear from other inspiring speakers, watch the full recording of our Gala. https://bit.ly/...2FIyqX5 #ImmDef #ImmigrantDefendersLawCenter #Gala #VirtualGala #PowerfulWomen #Activist #Defenders #SocialActivist #Kind #Love #SocialJustice #Justice #Immigrants #Immigration #Asylum #AsylumSeekers #Attorney #HumanRights #CivilRights #FamilySeparation

In September we shared that 8,800 unaccompanied children had been expelled at the US/MX border during COVID-19. That number has now jumped to 13,000. Each child was sent back alone, afraid, and deprived of their right to due process by the Trump administration. #RestoreAsylumNow Read the story: https://www.buzzfeednews.com//border-officials-turned-away