On July 25, Heidi Altman, legal director at CAIR Coalition was quoted in a Washington Post article on how forcing the unaccompanied Central American children who have arrived at the US southern border back to their home countries would be sending them back to horrible gang violence.
Heidi discusses how CAIR Coalition has represented many Central American children who arrived from border detention since 2012 and that often they had suffered unimaginable violence at home or during their journeys to the United States.
Members of Congress want to roll back critical legal protections that ensure children who face violence and persecution, human trafficking, and other human rights abuses are not deported to places where their lives are in danger. CAIR Coalition calls upon our lawmakers to talk protection, not deportation and we need you to help us uphold protections for child refugees.
CAIR Coalition Urges President to Reconsider Plan to Expedite Deportation of Central American Children Fleeing Violence
In a letter sent to the White House on July 3, CAIR Coalition joined dozens of other immigrant, civil rights and human rights organizations in urging President Obama to reconsider plans to expedite the deportation of unaccompanied immigrant children fleeing violence in Central America.
The idea of taking on a pro bono immigration case with a component in the state court may sound daunting. Fear not! CAIR Coalition’s Detained Children’s Program has successfully mentored many attorneys through the complex Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) process and has had a steady stream of successes in Maryland, DC and Virginia.
CAIR Coalition’s Detained Children’s Program is happy to announce our recent expansion into long-term foster care! In November of 2013, we began serving unaccompanied immigrant children living with local foster families in Richmond, Virginia. This federal long-term foster care program is provided through the Commonwealth of Catholic Charities, and is overseen by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Through its "Pro Bono Heroes" recognition program launched in Spring of 2013, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recognizes individuals and organizations from across the country that embody the ethical responsibility to provide pro bono service, through promoting and contributing to pro bono work, taking on complex pro bono cases or handling a significant number of pro bono cases or pro bono hours.
Each quarter AILA solicits nominations for Pro Bono Heroes from AILA Chapters covering four regions:
Through its “Pro Bono Heroes” recognition program launched in Spring of 2013, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recognizes individuals and organizations from across the country that embody the ethical responsibility to provide pro bono service, through promoting and contributing to pro bono work, taking on complex pro bono cases or handling a significant number of pro bono cases or pro bono hours.
Each quarter AILA solicits nominations for Pro Bono Heroes from AILA Chapters covering four regions:
As the holidays approach, many of the immigrant youth that CAIR Coalition serves are filled with mixed emotions. These children have all recently crossed the border unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. After escaping danger, abuse and abandonment in their native countries, many of these children are simply relieved to be safe.
On December 12th, 2013, the House Judiciary Committee will hold hearings entitled, "Asylum Laws and Abuse." The lawmakers who have convened the hearings claim that the asylum process, particularly for those arriving at our borders, is the subject of frequent abuse. We disagree.
This poem is the second in a series of poems written by detained youth served by CAIR Coalition. This poem, "Father," was written by a 17 year old boy from Honduras. This boy is currently living in a shelter facility for unaccompanied immigrant youth and is receiving legal orientation services from CAIR Coalition’s detained immigrant youth program. We are grateful to him for sharing his art with us.