RMIAN’s Children’s Program has an immediate opening for a Staff Attorney to support RMIAN in providing free legal services to unaccompanied children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and held in Colorado.

RMIAN’s Children’s Program has an immediate opening for a Legal Assistant to support RMIAN in providing free legal services to unaccompanied children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and held in Colorado.

RMIAN has an immediate opening for a full-time Detention Legal Orientation Program Attorney to expand capacity for screening cases at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility and join its team of attorneys, social workers, and paralegals devoted to supporting LOP participants in Aurora, Colorado.  

RMIAN has two (2) immediate openings for full-time Detention Legal Orientation Program Legal Assistants to expand capacity for screening and placing cases with pro bono legal representation at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility and join its team of attorneys, social workers, and paralegals devoted to supporting LOP participants in Aurora, Colorado.

RMIAN is hiring a Children’s Representation Project Fellow. Come join our team!

RMIAN will host a full-day training on Immigration law in Denver on Friday, October 18, 2019. The event, co-sponsored by the Colorado Bar Association Immigration Law Section, will train attorneys and advocates to represent children, families, and detained individuals.

Attorneys who take a pro bono case from RMIAN in the coming year attend the training for only $75. Full training details, agenda, and faculty information can be found here. Register today using this link.

RMIAN has an immediate opening for a full-time social worker to expand the Social Service Project’s ability to address the behavioral health needs of adults encountered in immigration detention. The Bilingual Staff Social Worker will serve a small number of detained adult clients who have been deemed by the immigration court to be mentally incompetent to represent themselves and are appointed counsel under the National Qualified Representative Program. Finally and may also help support some child and adolescent clients of RMIAN’s Children’s Program.

RMIAN has an immediate opening for a full-time advocate who will work to support respondents on the expedited family unit docket through RMIAN's Children's Program.

RMIAN’s Human Trafficking Project Attorney, Caleb Stewart, will be among the speakers during two days of events at Front Range Community College’s Boulder County campus focused on helping community members understand the impacts of human trafficking in Colorado and the importance of fighting the problem locally. Additional event info can be found here.

RMIAN Volunteer Attorneys Amanda Milgrom & Alex Kimata, of the law firm Milgrom & Daskam, reflect on their experience representing an asylum seeker from East Africa. In describing their experience, Amanda wants other attorneys to know that, “by doing this work, you have the opportunity to impact someone’s life” and Alex says, “this is way you go to law school!” Their client went on to win asylum and, after the paperwork on the case is wrapped up, they plan to take another asylum case with RMIAN.

The Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network admonishes the recent raids that took place in Colorado and Wyoming and will steadfastly work to provide support to those who are directly impacted. While this administration works to separate families and lock-up treasured members of our communities in the darkness of immigration detention, RMIAN is dedicated to shedding light on their due process rights and walking alongside our clients and their loved ones before the immigration court.

The Yale Center for Asylum Medicine will present a conference that outlines the unique and important contribution clinicians can make for asylum seekers. The conference, entitled, “Medical Forensic Evaluation of Asylum Seekers: The Role of the Clinician in Documenting Human Rights Abuses,” will take place on Saturday, October 5, in New Haven, CT. Registration information can be found here.

RMIAN was featured in Sunday’s Denver Post as the Nonprofit of the Month by philanthropic strategist and columnist Bruce DeBoskey. Read the full column here.

Registration continues to be open for AILA Colorado’s 9th Annual Fall Conference - Immigration Narratives, Civil Rights & Advocacy. The Conference will be held Friday, October 11, at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. Additional information here.

Jeff Pearson came out of retirement to take a pro bono asylum case after a close friend told him about RMIAN’s work. Read about Jeff’s experience representing an East African man and helping him to win asylum and freedom from persecution. Jeff wants to encourage other retired attorneys to volunteer. “It’s important work,” Jeff says, “and there are many deserving clients who need your representation now.”

RMIAN will be co-hosting a two-day training on asylum law at the University of Colorado Law School on August 15 and 16, 2019. The conference is free for pro bono attorneys who agree to take a case within the next year. CLE credit, including ethics, will be offered and all proceeds of the conference will go to RMIAN and IRC. Register and get additional information here. 

RMIAN will host an Orientation to recruit more volunteer interpreters on Tuesday, July 30, from 6:00pm-8:00pm, at RMIAN’s office in Westminster. If you or someone you know speak multiple languages (all languages welcome - Spanish most needed) and would like to help immigrants in need, please attend this Orientation and share with your networks. Additional information can be found here. Register here.

RMIAN’s Laura Lunn will present at a June CLE hosted by the Immigration Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association. The training, to be held on June 4th in Denver, will discuss ethical issues related to representing pro bono immigration clients. Register to attend here.

The Taco Passport is a fundraising initiative created with the goal of connecting communities, local restaurants, and customers while raising money for nonprofit organizations. The Taco Passport is a booklet compiled of 2-for-1 coupons from some of the best local taquerias, restaurants, and food trucks in town. A portion of the proceeds raised from Taco Passport sales will be donated to RMIAN. Get your Passport today!

Save the Date and Please Join Us on Wednesday, May 15, from 5:00-10:00pm for a Happy Hour at Hogshead Brewery in Denver. 20% of proceeds during that time period will be donated to RMIAN.

Corporate Counsel at National Multiple Sclerosis Society and RMIAN Pro Bono Attorney Katie Thomas

RMIAN Pro Bono Attorneys and Intellectual Property Attorneys at the law firm Kilpatrick Townsend, Matthew Holohan and Karam Saab, share their story of representing parents separated from their children during last summer’s family separation crisis.

Thank you Rose Community Foundation for highlighting RMIAN's work at your 2019 Annual Breakfast. We are honored to receive your support!

RMIAN Executive Director, Mekela Goehring, will be a panelist in a Town Hall Meeting on How Family Separation Impacts Our Communities Every Day. The Meeting will take place at the Old Town Library in Fort Collins on Saturday, April 27, from 1:00-3:00pm.

RMIAN Celebrates the 2019 Immigrant Liberty Awards with U.S. Representative Jason Crow, Colorado Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, and Colorado State Representative Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez

On March 28, Governor Polis signed into law Colorado House Bill 19-1042, Extension of Court Jurisdiction for Vulnerable Youth, creating vital protections and opportunities for immigrant youth in Colorado.

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver awarded RMIAN the Small Nonprofit of the Year Award at the 32nd Annual Bravo Awards celebration, held March 23, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency Denver.  RMIAN is humbled by this incredible honor, and grateful for its important partnership with the Chamber. Pictured (left to right) are RMIAN Board Member Rachel Lee-Ashley, RMIAN Director of Development My Lo Cook, and RMIAN Executive Director Mekela Goehring.

“We have multiple quarantines in both facilities,” said Laura Lunn, Managing Attorney of RMIAN’s Detention Program, which conducts intakes at Aurora five days a week. Lunn explained that the residents sleep in dorms, so if one is sick his whole dorm faces a quarantine, which typically lasts about a month. “When there’s a quarantine, attorneys cannot meet in person with their clients so there’s only telephonic access, and the people who are quarantined can’t go to court.”

RMIAN has seen an exponential increase in the detained population in Aurora. Laura Lunn, Managing Attorney of RMIAN’s Detention Program, notes that, “Ordinarily we see about 100 people a week. We saw about 100 people on Friday of last week. We have about 700 people on our list to see.”

Photo: Anne Feldman

RMIAN works closely with the Human Rights Clinic at Denver Health to ensure that asylum seekers in Colorado have access to physical and mental health evaluations. “We see that for our clients, these evaluations can often mean the difference between winning and losing a case,” says RMIAN Executive Director, Mekela Goehring.