Nithya Nathan-Pineau, director of CAIR Coalition's Detained Children's Program, sits down with the Service Roads Podcast team and discusses what it's like to represent children in immigration detention. Click here to listen to the podcast.
On Saturday, September 30, Prince George’s County Council Member Deni Taveras (D) announced that CAIR Coalition has been selected to partner with Prince George’s County on their Immigration Services and Language Access (ISLA) Initiative, which will provide full legal representation to immigrant residents of Prince George’s County who have been detained and are facing deportation.
Every week, CAIR Coalition staff travel to court and to government detention facilities to meet with adults and children facing deportation. By using Zipcar as our exclusive method of transportation for client services, Zipcar makes our work possible. We are proud to partner with Zipcar.
On October 10, 2017 Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal will receive CAIR Coalition's Leadership Image Award. The award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated strong advocacy on behalf immigrant communities. Click here to read the full press release.
Interested in Attending CAIR Coalition's Justice for All annual reception? Click here to learn more about the event and purchase tickets.
CAIR Coalition strongly condemns the House’s passing of H.R. 3697, the “Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act.” Under the guise of national security, the House reinforced President Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda by creating a sweeping definition of “criminal gang” activity that will capture innocent victims in its net and then deport them. The Act gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the power to designate as a “criminal gang” any five or more associated people, who violate the law for conduct relating to certain offenses, anywhere in the world, any time in the last five years.
In an article published in the Texas Observer, Nithya Nathan-Pineau, Director of CAIR Coalition's Detained Children's Program, addresses the new trend of ICE detaining 18-year-old immigrants who were detained at youth shelters and placing them into adult detention centers.
Multiple sources are reporting that ICE has canceled plans for a large-scale nationwide raid program. While the nationwide program may have been called off due to potential hurricane impacts, there is no guarantee that ICE will not carry on with local raid programs, starting in mid-September. For attorneys with clients in the Capital region, you should take time to speak to your clients about this possibility.
CAIR Coalition condemns President Trump’s heartless decision to end the DACA program, putting nearly 800,000 young immigrants at risk of detention and deportation. Deaf even to calls from leaders in his own party who wanted the program to continue, Trump has betrayed the trust of hundreds of thousands of young people who have nowhere else to call home. This is a sad day indeed for America, a nation built on the hard work of successive waves of immigrants, who have wanted nothing more than to give of their time, talent and treasure to their new homeland.
This June, the Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a troubling decision concerning the ability of Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judges to issue orders that would allow an undocumented child who has been abused, abandoned, or neglected by a parent to apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), a federal form of immigration relief. The case, Edy Canales v.
Nearly 800,000 young people wake each morning fearing that this is the day President Trump decides to strip them of their legal status. Five years after coming out of the shadows, identifying themselves to the government, submitting to extensive background checks and finally securing the right to live, work and go to school without the threat of deportation hanging over their heads, these young immigrants now face the possibility they will once again be in ICE’s crosshairs.
Thanks to these amazing volunteers, connected to us through Taproot, we now have an awesome new set of materials for describing our work and asking for help from pro bono attorneys and generous donors.
CAIR Coalition’s Legal Advisory Committee (LAC) is comprised of long standing supporters of our mission and our clients. The role of the LAC is to provide advice and input on our programs, our future, and how we interact with the legal community. LAC members are champions of CAIR Coalition and part of the CAIR Coalition family. Check out our member highlight interview below with LAC member Samantha Lee.
Last month, the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling that affects all unaccompanied minors in detention. The Court decided that children have the right to a hearing challenging their continued detention, as determined by a nationwide settlement agreement in 1997.
This month, CAIR Coalition and a pro bono team from Wiley Rein LLP won asylum for Carlos* a teenage refugee who had fled to the United States to escape forced gang recruitment in his native Honduras. The victory capped a hard-fought battle and secured the young man’s freedom after his grueling 2 ½-year detention in immigration custody.
CAIR Coalition joins nearly 400 national, state, and local organizations to urge Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stop the immigration raids targeting unaccompanied children and their sponsors. Click here to read the full sign-on letter that was delivered to Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, on August 10th, 2017.
Today marks my last day as volunteer coordinator and legal assistant at CAIR Coalition, and I wanted to share some words on my experience and how I will carry it with me as I start law school in the fall. I began my tenure at CAIR Coalition in September of 2016 through a fellowship with Avodah: the Jewish Service Corps. This was my first job after finishing my undergraduate degree, and I entered the field of immigration with a great sense of excitement for the start of a career in immigration law.
"Dreaming America: Voices of Undocumented Youth in Maximum-Security Detention" includes the poetry of unaccompanied immigrant children detained in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. These children participated in weekly writing workshops devised and led by poet Seth Michelson. The "crimes" of these teens: entering the U.S. without papers.
One January night a few years ago, Hamed*, a lawful permanent resident from Iran who has lived in the United States for nearly 20 years, was attacked at night by a group of three intoxicated muggers while working by himself at the Virginia convenience store he managed. During the assault, one of the muggers pulled out a boxcutter knife, and in the struggle that ensued, the knife fell to the ground. In self-defense, Hamed grabbed the knife from the floor and used it against one of the muggers. One of the attackers called the cops, and Hamed was arrested.
Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition is proud to stand alongside nearly 200 other organizations urging congressional appropriators to deny Immigration and Customs Enforcement's request for reprogramming of detention funds. Click here to read the full letter addressed to Representative John Carter, Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard, Senator John Boozman, and Senator Jon Tester.
