Announcing funding for legal services
As you may recall, we launched the Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund (CIJF) last year, with a vision for providing legal services to detained immigrants.
We are passionate about this because we know that immigrants make our country stronger and because thousands of immigrants with a legitimate legal claim to live in this country are deported simply because they do not have access to legal counsel. Subsequently, many often face life-threatening circumstances when forced to return to their countries of origin.
Last September, we were able to provide legal services for Oumar from Mauritania, who won his freedom as a result, and today we are announcing some exciting new developments.
Announcing funding for legal services
Recently, the CIJF team reached agreements to provide $6,000/month to two attorney for 3 months.
Elizabeth Lopez runs the Southern California Immigration Project and provides legal services to immigrants detained at the Imperial Detention Center in Calexico, California. The funding provided by CIJF enabled Elizabeth to hire an additional attorney, and she anticipates that she will be able to take on asylum cases for 9 immigrants over the next 3 months. Elizabeth has won roughly 80% of the asylum cases she has taken in the past.
Lara Nochomovitz is an attorney based out of Jena, Louisiana and provides legal services for immigrants detained in several of the detention centers in the region - and in places where immigration judges rarely grant asylum. It is quite possible that Lara will consult with hundreds of immigrants in Louisiana over the next 3 months - a large percentage of whom will likely be released from detention so that they can continue their cases in other parts of the country.
If a lot of people give a little each month . . .
So far, nearly 140 people have donated to the Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund, and 87 folks are giving a total of nearly $3,600/month. If we can raise more money, we can provide funding for Lara and Elizabeth beyond 3 months, and hopefully for other attorneys as well.
Our hope is that a growing number of folks will sign up to make modest donations ($5, $15, $25 or more) each month. Our initial goal is to reach $6,000/month, so that we can fund legal services for a growing number of immigrants. Of course, one-time donations are appreciated as well!
An old proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.
Will you consider helping us go far? If so, you can donate here.
With hope and gratitude,
Greg Mortimer on behalf of the Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund team
