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

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 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 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.

The 14th Annual Immigrant Liberty Awards, themed "We All Belong," will be held Friday, April 12, in Denver and feature a dinner, a silent and live auction, and the Immigrant Liberty Awards Ceremony. Purchase your tickets today!

Federal agencies that adjudicate immigration matters may operate differently during the government shutdown. For all current and prospective RMIAN pro bono attorneys, click here to learn more about how the government shutdown may affect your case and clients.

Around 90 percent of those detained at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Aurora, Colorado, don’t have a lawyer. Denver is trying to improve that statistic. The city officially opened a fund in November for people who can’t afford legal representation in their immigration cases. RMIAN will receive funding and hire two full-time attorneys through this initiative.

The SAFE Network is a diverse group of local jurisdictions dedicated to providing publicly funded representation for people facing deportation. This short video describes the need for and impact of SAFE from the perspective of network members and those directly impacted—local government leaders, attorneys, and clients.

Artist Calvin Lee will donate 90 percent of the money he makes during December’s First Friday Art Walk to the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, which provides free legal services to immigrants in the United States.

Calvin Lee, lawyer, artist, and RMIAN volunteer attorney, recently went to the Greek island of Lesvos to help refugees landing at night on rafts. On Friday, December 7, Calvin will be showing refugee art in watercolor and oil inspired by his experience. Join Calvin and RMIAN staff members for wine, appetizers, and art this Friday in Denver.

At a time when harsh immigration policies are disrupting our community, separating children and parents, and increasing detention and deportation, the City and County of Denver celebrates the successes of the first year of work with the Vera Institute of Justice’s Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Network. The SAFE Network is a diverse group of a dozen cities and counties across America dedicated to providing publicly-funded universal representation for people facing deportation and to build evidence for its effectiveness.

Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, The Denver Foundation and the Vera Institute announced the first $377,000 in grants from the Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund. The grants will support RMIAN and other local grantees in providing access to legal representation for qualified individuals in immigration detention and facing deportation and those seeking assistance in such areas as citizenship and asylum-seeking or renewals for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

RMIAN seeks volunteer interpreters to provide critical language skills to clients in need. RMIAN pairs volunteer interpreters of all languages, though mainly Spanish, with volunteer attorneys to allow for attorney-client communication. RMIAN will hold a Volunteer Orientation on Monday, October 15, in Denver. Information here.

On Wednesday, October 3, Mayor Michael B. Hancock and members of his community commissions honored 10 individuals and organizations, including RMIAN, with 2018 Mayor's Diversity and Inclusion Awards.

RMIAN Staff Attorney Natalie Petrucci recently spent a week volunteering with families detained in Dilley, Texas. Here she provides a reflection of her time in Texas and the ways in which family detention has lasting effects on the families RMIAN works with here in Colorado.

RMIAN’s Ashley Harrington will be presenting at two upcoming events. Details below.

Colorado Bar Association/Denver Bar Association lunch training on Friday, September 21. Intersections Between Family Law and Immigration Law: Special Juvenile Status (SIJS) Training

The Office of the Child’s Representative Fall Conference on Monday, September 24: Beyond the GRID: Integrating Law & Social Science to Improve Outcome for Children, Youth & Families