CIJF’s continued support for migrants arriving in Denver
CIJF team member Selky Azaah in the news!
In 2019, Casa de Paz volunteers visited Selky Azaah while he was detained in the Aurora Immigrant Detention Center. Selky fled life-threatening conditions in Cameroon in 2018, and was in need of legal assistance to win asylum. His friends raised money to hire an attorney on Selky’s behalf, and he was granted asylum in August 2019.
The experience motivated my friends and I to start the Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund, and Selky is now a member of our team.
After being separated for four years, Selky and his family were reunited last October. Rocky Mountain PBS recently published this story about their reunion and their first Christmas in Colorado!
CIJF supports migrants arriving in Denver
One of the migrant shelters in Denver. CIJF has joined others to support this effort.
Venezuelan migrants are continuing to travel from the US/Mexico border to Denver. As of noon on December 28, the City of Denver had served 2,627 migrants this month and was providing shelter for 694 migrants.
CIJF is to partnering with other nonprofits to welcome the migrants to Denver, in two specific ways:
We hired a trusted attorney to take on the asylum case for a recently-arrived Venezuelan family of 5.
On December 29, we partnered with the City of Denver, the Justice And Mercy Legal Aid Center (JAMLAC), and 8 volunteer immigration attorneys to host a legal orientation workshop for 150 migrants. We are also working on plans to offer numerous additional workshops in January and beyond.
Wrap up 2022 with a Gift to CIJF!
We cannot sufficiently express our gratitude for the over 200 people and organizations who have donated to our work. If you are looking for a year-end giving opportunity, please consider donating to CIJF.
Thank you for all of your support!
With hope and gratitude,
Greg Mortimer, on behalf of the Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund team
