Court Observers Are Shining a Light on the Immigration Court System

Connecting children with volunteer lawyers can greatly assist immigration cases. Nonprofits like the Safe Passage Project and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) work to provide children, often separated from their families, with legal defense. Without a lawyer, many children face immigration hearings alone, adding great trauma to a complicated process. A majority of unrepresented children are deported. Nonprofit legal groups across the US are working to create a safety net of legal counsel.

Over 20 U.S. cities have passed municipal I.D. laws, which provide a form of identification to undocumented immigrants. “Municipal IDs are one of the most effective measures that cities can implement to protect and empower undocumented people.” Poughkeepsie, New York, is the latest city to pass such a law, and several others are in the process of doing so.

In a time when many Western countries are closing their doors to refugees, Colombia has been particularly welcoming to migrants and refugees. The country has enacted a series of laws that make it easier for incoming Venezuelans to find work and become a Colombian citizen. One policy, called Permiso Especial de Permanencia, or PEP, provides legal status to Venezuelans who entered the country without a visa. Nearly 600,000 Venezuelans had been granted PEP as of October 2019.

A campaign called Muslims for Migrants by the Islamic nonprofit CelebrateMercy raises money to pay bond fees for immigrant parents who are detained while awaiting trial. The funds are donated to another nonprofit called the National Bail Fund Network, and so far the funds have released ten parents back to their families. The director of CelebrateMercy says that the forced separation of families is against everything taught by the Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic faith.

A small Turkish city named Gaziantep, only 60 miles from war-torn Aleppo, is a role model when it comes to taking in and integrating migrants fleeing violence in Syria. Gaziantep has already taken in 500,00 refugees (growing their population by 30%), piped in extra water from 80 miles away, built 50,000 new homes, and started integrating Syrian and Turkish children in schools. Government officials say that there has not been any significant crises yet and the Turkish people are welcoming newcomers with open arms.

A series of churches in Phoenix, Arizona are stepping up to help migrant families released by ICE by providing them up with a place to stay temporarily, medical care, donated supplies, and the beginnings of a plan to find a place to stay. So far volunteers have estimated that they have helped over 60,000 migrants with no end in sight.

In the state of New Mexico, policy makers, activists, religious leaders, and the community are all working hand in hand to make the state a safe harbor for undocumented immigrants. The state is refusing to cooperate with ICE and aside from California is one of the most friendly to immigrants. A community organizer says, “We wanted to push back against this narrative that ICE just gets to come in our communities and kidnap people from their homes.”

Non-profits in California worked together to set up a national network for undocumented immigrants to fight isolation and support legal aid. Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC) offers a free confidential hotline to report human rights abuses at detention centers and help families locate each other. CIVIC’s volunteers receive 14,000 calls a month from 210 detention centers in the United States.

For the past year, community organizers in Baltimore have been going door to door to share Know Your Rights materials, as well as hosting trainings to help residents get involved in rapid responses against ICE operations in the city. Hundreds of people have been trained so far and the effort has led to the formation of about a dozen community-based ICE watch groups.

The Poetry Project provides a platform for young refugees to create poetry, share their stories, and learn about German culture. The initiative started with weekly meetings for 7 young refugees to workshop poetry about the refugee experience, including leaving loved ones, why they left, and how they feel in their new home country. Their live performances have won prizes and their audiences respond emotionally. The group’s success allowed it to expand to more participants and reach a wider audience. The experience helped some participants integrate more smoothly into German society, where they have thrived.