RMIAN Denounces Attorney General's Decision to Limit Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence

Contacts: Mekela Goehring, mgoehring@rmian.org, 720-370-9102
Ashley Harrington, aharrington@rmian.org, 720-370-9104
Laura Lunn, llunn@rmian.org, 720-370-9100

On June 11, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a far-reaching and abhorrent decision that will have a devastating impact on asylum-seekers, in particular for domestic violence survivors. Invoking a rarely-used procedural mechanism, Sessions unilaterally overturned a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision granting asylum to a victim of ongoing, brutal domestic violence and overruled Matter of A-R-C-G, a 2014 precedential BIA decision, which solidified that victims of domestic violence could be eligible for asylum protection in the United States. RMIAN joins its partner organizations across the country such as the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies and the National Immigrant Justice Center, as well as many former immigration judges and BIA members, in condemning this decision as an “affront to the rule of law” and yet another politically-motivated attack on those seeking refuge in the U.S.

“This decision is the latest blatant attempt by this administration to inflict harm on the most vulnerable refugees fleeing to the U.S. to save their lives and the lives of their children. Just like the administration’s recent appalling policies of ripping children away from their parents when they reach our border, this decision sends a clear message that the United States will no longer be a safe haven for these desperate families,” said RMIAN’s Children’s Program Managing Attorney Ashley Harrington.

This decision will have grave consequences for many of the clients in RMIAN’s Children’s Program, as well as many of the parents currently separated from their children and detained at the immigration detention center in Aurora, Colorado.  

“How do I explain to my detained client that yesterday, she had a well-recognized bona fide asylum claim and today, she is facing the very real risk of deportation and indefinite separation from her daughter? This decision is antithetical to how a healthy judicial system should operate. Human lives depend on a consistent application of the law that is not politicized in such a way where one man has the authority to change decades of hard-fought legal precedent. This decision is tantamount to a death sentence for innumerable survivors of domestic violence who will be sent back to their home countries and punished for fleeing their abusers,” said RMIAN’s Detention Program Managing Attorney Laura Lunn.

RMIAN is committed to resolutely fighting for the rights of all families and children to pursue asylum and protection under the law.  If you are a RMIAN attorney with a domestic-violence or child-abuse asylum case, please await further guidance unless your case is scheduled for an interview or hearing within the next 90 days. RMIAN refers over 200 cases a year to pro bono attorneys. RMIAN is working diligently and collaborating with national experts to ensure that everyone gets the best guidance possible regarding next steps and best practices to continue fighting for asylum-seeking clients.

Please consider taking action against this shameful decision and standing up for justice with RMIAN through one of the following ways:

1) Publish an op-ed or letter to the editor expressing your support for survivors of domestic violence seeking asylum in the U.S. See sample here.

2) Share your support on social media.

3) If you are a lawyer, contact RMIAN’s Children’s Program Pro Bono Coordinator Lauren Duke at lduke@rmian.org or RMIAN’s Detention Program Pro Bono Coordinator Jessica Burnett at jburnett@rmian.org to sign up to provide pro bono representation to an asylum-seeker facing deportation under this new ruling

4) Donate to RMIAN to support critical efforts in Colorado to provide free legal representation to women and children affected by this decision.

 

RMIAN Family Separation Statement

RMIAN Fights for Families Impacted by Cruel Separation Policy

The separation of mothers and fathers from their children as they seek asylum in the United States is not just affecting those at the border; this tragic and horrific policy now has arrived in Colorado.

Over the last several weeks, the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) has met with dozens of parents at the Aurora immigration detention center who came to the United States seeking protection, and then were cruelly separated from their children, some as young as five years old. 

These parents describe their last memories of their children. They hear the sound of their screaming voices echo in their minds, reliving the moments when their most precious loved ones were torn from their arms. Tears stream down the faces of those recounting these traumatic moments. In a lingering state of shock, parents describe the horror of not knowing where their children are being held or who is taking care of them.

Many parents are contemplating giving up their meritorious asylum cases because they have no idea where their children are and the only thing that matters to them—in fact the reason they fled their home countries—is their children’s safety. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is taking deliberate action to induce unusually cruel suffering to asylum seekers who have come to the United States seeking refuge. RMIAN is working quickly to respond to the needs of these families and stand up against this injustice. RMIAN’s attorneys are representing individuals in detention who have been separated from their children, and RMIAN already has referred seven cases involving family separation to pro bono attorneys.

Please join us in fighting against this cruel and inhumane policy, and help us demand that our country protect the most basic of human rights---the right of a family to be together.

If you are a lawyer, please sign up to provide pro bono legal representation to those impacted by the family separation policy. Please contact RMIAN’s Detention Program Pro Bono Coordinator, Jessica Burnett – jburnett@rmian.org.

If you are bilingual and would like to serve as a volunteer interpreter or translator, please contact RMIAN’s Detention Program Paralegal, Mayra Prieto – mprieto@rmian.org.

Please donate to RMIAN’s work to ensure individuals have access to a lawyer to protect their most fundamental of rights.

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RMIAN Denounces Attorney General's Decision Restricting Administrative Closure

May 21, 2018
Contact: Ashley Harrington, aharrington@rmian.org, (720) 370-9104

Last Thursday, May 17, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision in Matter of Castro-Tum that will have a devastating impact on the independence of U.S. immigration judges, the efficiency of immigration courts, and the ability for immigrants to receive justice. With the stroke of his pen, Sessions overruled years of binding court precedent allowing immigration judges to “administratively close” removal proceedings. This important procedural tool has been used by judges to temporarily remove cases from their active court calendars, most commonly to allow people to pursue applications for immigration relief outside the court—thus allowing the courts to focus on cases that are ripe for resolution. There currently are approximately 350,000 cases that have been administratively closed that could now be returned to the courts’ active dockets, which are already strained and overwhelmed with more than 650,000 cases pending nationwide.

“This decision will add to an already overly-burdened immigration court docket and severely impact the efficiency of the immigration court system for all, including our nation's most vulnerable immigrants. Many abused, abandoned, and neglected children, unaccompanied children, and victims of serious crimes have had their removal proceedings properly administratively closed while they pursue applications for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, asylum, and U visas with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which has sole jurisdiction over these applications. These applications are severely backlogged and can take years for USCIS to adjudicate. It makes no sense to return these vulnerable children and families to the active court docket while they are pursuing immigration status outside the court's jurisdiction,” said RMIAN Children’s Program Managing Attorney Ashley Harrington.

RMIAN joins the The American Immigration Lawyers Association in denouncing this harmful decision.

For more information, please see the following news reports from National Public Radio, the Huffington Post, and the New York Times.

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RMIAN Celebrates Important Victory: Legal Orientation Program Will Continue

April 25, 2018
Contact: Mekela Goehring, mgoehring@rmian.org, (720) 370-9102

Two weeks ago the Department of Justice announced that it would end funding for the Legal Orientation Program (LOP), effective April 30, 2018. Today, RMIAN is proud to announce an important victory: the Legal Orientation Program will continue. In comments made today before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the program will continue throughout the evaluation process. 

“Continuing a program — the LOP — that serves both justice and efficiency should have been a no-brainer from the start. That this administration has reversed — at least for the time being — its initial decision to end the program is welcome news for all who care about due process, the rule of law, and fiscal responsibility. But this close call is a reminder that even the most bipartisan and sensible efforts to do justice are at risk in this administration. We at RMIAN are resolutely committed to overcoming this and future challenges, to make sure that we keep working for justice for immigrants — and justice for all,” said RMIAN Board Member Hiroshi Motomura.

“The near disappearance of the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) is a call to action for all of us who care about the rule of law and justice for immigrants in the United States. RMIAN is thrilled that the Department of Justice has reversed its decision and is now doing the right thing by allowing the Legal Orientation Program to continue. However, we know this battle is not over; RMIAN will continue to fight for the rights of our fellow community members ensnared in civil immigration detention in Colorado, and ensure this vital lifeline continues well into the future,” said RMIAN’s Executive Director Mekela Goehring. 

Affected clients, nonprofit partners, community members, and elected representatives mobilized in the past two weeks throughout Colorado to save this essential program. Mayor Hancock and nearly all the Denver City Council members sent a letter urging the continuation of the Legal Orientation Program to Attorney General Sessions. Representative Jared Polis and Senator Bennet wrote and signed on to statements demanding the Legal Orientation Program continue. RMIAN’s clients spoke out against the program’s termination. This tireless advocacy helped change the course of a decision that would have had disastrous impacts on individuals ensnared in civil immigration detention in Colorado and beyond. RMIAN extends its heartfelt gratitude to the amazing network of supporters who rallied to fight for justice for immigrants.

“RMIAN is relieved that we can continue upholding the most basic levels of due process for the individuals held in the civil detention facility in Aurora, Colorado. Information is power, and stripping noncitizens of access to legal providers would effectively deny them of the rights to which they would otherwise not know they are entitled. Although we cannot breathe easily because there is an ongoing review of the program, we are pleased to continue serving those who are forced to navigate this complex legal system with limited resources,” said RMIAN’s Detention Program Managing Attorney Laura Lunn.

For additional information about RMIAN and ways you can help, please see www.rmian.org.

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We believe that justice for immigrants means justice for all.

April 11, 2018                    
Contact: Mekela Goehring, mgoehring@rmian.org, (720) 370-9102

Yesterday the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) learned that the Department of Justice is ending funding for the Legal Orientation Program (LOP), effective April 30, 2018. The Legal Orientation Program provides essential legal information to individuals in civil immigration detention who are navigating complex immigration deportation proceedings, including here in Colorado. 

“Ending the Legal Orientation Program is a gross injustice to individuals in civil immigration detention throughout the United States, and a betrayal of our nation’s fundamental commitment to due process and access to justice for all. Here in Colorado, RMIAN is able to provide critical legal information to over 2,300 individuals in civil immigration detention every year through the LOP. For the vast majority of these individuals, the opportunity to talk to RMIAN staff members is their only opportunity to learn about their legal rights, understand removal proceedings, and be connected to pro bono attorneys. This decision is antithetical to who we are as a country and our commitment to fundamental fairness,” said RMIAN’s Executive Director Mekela Goehring. 

RMIAN has been providing legal services to detained individuals through the Legal Orientation Program for nearly fifteen years. RMIAN was selected by the Department of Justice in 2003 as one of six pilot programs nationwide to implement the Legal Orientation Program. Through a demonstrated track record for both improving court efficiency and promoting access to justice, the LOP subsequently was expanded to 38 sites throughout the United States.

RMIAN will continue to tirelessly fight for the legal rights of individuals in civil immigration detention here in Colorado and throughout the United States. Every day RMIAN sees the profound impact legal information, and the connection to pro bono attorneys, has on individuals’ cases and justice in the immigration court system. RMIAN stands for inclusion, equality, and justice and will fight for due process and equal access to justice for all. 

For additional information about RMIAN and ways you can help, please see www.rmian.org or contact Executive Director Mekela Goehring at mgoehring@rmian.org or (720) 370-9102.

RMIAN is a nonprofit organization that serves low-income men, women, and children in immigration proceedings. RMIAN promotes knowledge of legal rights, provides effective representation to ensure due process, works to improve detention conditions, and promotes a more humane immigration system, including alternatives to detention.

Upcoming Trainings Offered by RMIAN's Children's Program

On April 11 from 12:30-2:30pm, Ashley Harrington and Emily Brock will present a CLE to the Colorado Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on best practices and current issues with representing unaccompanied children. Please contact AHarrington@rmian.org if  you are interested in attending. 

On April 11 at 5pm Ashley Harrington is presenting a CLE to the Colorado Bar Association Immigration and Juvenile Law Sections on working with immigrant juveniles. Please contact AHarrington@rmian.org if  you are interested in attending.  

On April 24 Ashley Harrington is co-presenting a CLE on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and other options for immigrant youth with Katie Glynn and Tim Eirich from Grob & Eirich, LLC, at the Convening Conference on Children, Youth and Families in Keystone, Colorado.  

On April 27 Ashley Harrington is co-presenting a CLE on immigration issues impacting youth in delinquency proceedings to juvenile defenders and guardians ad litem at the Excellence in Juvenile Defense Conference in Denver. 

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