Advocating Against Family Separation
This little girl has been separated from her mother for a month. She is in foster care; her mother is in detention, and is allowed one video call with her child every week. In this call, the toddler will not look at her mother, and cries to be held by the foster parent.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/an-asylum-seekers-quest-to-get-her-toddler-back
Lawyer Moms of America and Project Corazon (L4GG Foundation) have formed a travel bank to help reunite families and to support lawyers going to the border to do pro bono work. Since July 2018, they have received and used more than 1.2 miles and $12,000 to provide more than 75 flights to families in need and to attorneys traveling to the border. If you have airline miles or points to pledge, you can fill out this form: https://airtable.com/shrpUVKpfAtL5QiU9
Note: you need to fill out the form once for each airline you are donating miles from.
The Trump Administration announced today that it will start forcing asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while waiting for their asylum cases to move through immigration courts. Immigration cases can take years to come to conclusion, and for those fleeing violence and deprivation, this is in effect a denial of asylum without hearing, plus a condemnation to remain in the squalid camps of Tijuana or return to the horrors of their homes.
Read more here: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/688470513/u-s-plans-to-enforce-remain-in-mexico-policy-on-central-american-asylum-seekers
Crossposting from the OWLS listserve:
Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services will be training attorneys on U Nonimmigrant Status for Immigrant Victims of Serious Crimes on Wednesday, February 20. Presenting the training will be several experienced members of the staff of Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services.
Please note that while the morning content is introductory, the afternoon content is intended both for practitioners new to immigration law as well as those looking to sharpen their U visa skill set and will include time for questions/discussion. A tentative agenda is attached.
Practitioners who complete this training are potentially eligible to represent a pre-screened Catholic Charities client and his or her family members pro bono, with technical supervision from Catholic Charities.
We are in the process of applying for 6 CLE credits, including Access to Justice credits.
What: U Nonimmigrant Status for Immigrant Victims of Serious Crimes
Where: 2740 SE Powell Blvd, 4th floor
When: Wednesday, February 20th – 9 am to 4:30 pm (1 pm to 4:30 pm for afternoon session only)
Cost: $40 (full day, includes lunch); $20 (afternoon session only)PLEASE FORWARD this message to any colleagues that you think may be interested in attending. Please call 503.688.2617 or email egumper@ccoregon.org with any questions or to RSVP.
The news is out: even before the 3,000 children separated from their parents in 2018, there was a sharp increase in the numbers of children separated from their parents or guardians. And because of a lack of coordinated formal tracking, the true numbers of these children is officially given as “unknown.” It is estimated to be thousands more than first reported.
Read more about it here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/us/migrant-children-inspector-general-family-separation.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
More than 1,000 Hondurans participating in the latest migrant caravan have begun heading by foot and in vehicles toward neighboring Guatemala with the hope of eventually reaching the far-off U.S./Mexico border.
Some left San Pedro Sula late Monday and others departed in the predawn hours Tuesday, all headed west for Guatemala — from where they plan to cross into Mexico and then push overland toward the United States.
The size of the caravan — official estimates put the number at 800 to 1,000 or so, while advocacy groups said 1,500 to 2,000 people were involved — is likely to increase as others join the assemblage winding slowly along the roads. It is unknown yet whether they will head for Tijuana, 2,800 miles north, or whether they will take a somewhat shorter route to another of the border crossings.
Read more about it here: https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-mexico-caravan-20190115-story.html
OWLS Unite Families 