Advocacy

ILCM works at the local, state, and federal levels to promote fair and just public policies that support immigrant and refugee communities and protect their rights. ILCM works with the immigrant community, immigrant advocates, nonprofits, business and civic leaders, law enforcement, and policymakers to increase awareness of the contributions and needs of immigrants and refugees and to advocate for equitable, pragmatic, and welcoming policies.  

ILCM has engaged on issues ranging from access to driver’s licenses, healthcare, and legal counsel for noncitizens to the implementation of legal settlements around custody and care of unaccompanied minors. In 2024, ILCM also plans to engage on improving workforce development for immigrants and refugees, reducing barriers to access, and protecting immigrant and refugee rights.

Sign up to receive our Action Alerts on how to take action in support of immigrants and refugees!

Education

ILCM complements its free immigration legal representation with education and training sessions, including Continuing Legal Education (CLE) sessions and community presentations on a variety of immigration-related subjects. Presentations are tailored to meet the needs of each individual group and provide accurate and up-to-date information. 

Interested in hosting an immigration-related education session? Fill out the ILCM’s Presentation Request Form. 

Legal Projects

ILCM continues to remain flexible and responsive to the legal needs of Minnesota’s immigrant and refugee communities. In 2023, ILCM staff provided services to 3,033 cases across programs.

All clients earned less than 187.5% of the federal poverty guidelines, and came from 102 different countries: 37% of clients originated from Mexico, 18% from Central and South America, 20% from Asia, and 16% from Africa, and the remainder from countries in Europe, Oceania, and North America.

Center for New Americans Collaboration 

• The Center for New Americans Collaboration is a partnership with the University of Minnesota which supports impact litigation advancing protections on civil rights for immigrants. University faculty and students, pro bono counsel from local law firms, ILCM and other legal nonprofit staff together contribute expertise to the project.  

Citizenship Project 

• The Citizenship Project focuses on increasing the number of lawful permanent residents in Minnesota who become U.S. citizens and collaborating across sectors to promote the importance of citizenship. ILCM works with clients to file the citizenship application and accompanies applicants to the citizenship interview. Many naturalization cases are placed with private attorneys trained and supervised through our Pro Bono Project. 
• Naturalization is critical for immigrant families to secure the legal rights and protections of U.S. citizens. Only U.S. citizens are permanently protected from deportation and can vote. U.S. citizen adults are also able to derive citizenship for their children and spouses, which supports family unity and stability. U.S. citizens are better able to access employment and scholarships, enhancing income, career advancement, and associated benefits, such as home ownership, health insurance enrollment, and workforce participation. 

Community Defense Project 

• The Community Defense Project provides advice and brief service to clients who are detained in custody, represents clients who qualify for asylum or other protections against deportation, and presents appeals to defend the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental liberties of immigrants. 
• This project accepts calls from immigrants detained in custody, providing advice and brief service to every individual that reaches us. Individuals who qualify for protection and relief may be eligible to receive full representation, where ILCM represents the individual in court and, if necessary, through the appeals process. Oftentimes, people in immigration detention are longtime Minnesota residents, productive employees, and parents of U.S. citizen children, who are detained for a civil crime such as driving without a license and then face deportation proceedings.  

Dreamers Project 

• The Dreamers Project provides legal representation and outreach for current recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program who are eligible to renew their DACA status. 
• The DACA program de-prioritizes certain immigrants for deportation, granting them a level of stability. DACA recipients are also eligible for a two-year renewable work permit, which allows them to work legally, file taxes, open a bank account, and obtain a driver’s license. Although the recipient is still barred from participation in many benefits programs and is not immune to deportation, DACA status is still life-changing for individuals.  
• For more information on the current status of DACA, please click here. 

New Beginnings Project 

• The New Beginnings Project assists immigrant survivors of domestic violence or other serious crimes and their qualified family members in obtaining legal status and gaining self-sufficiency needed to escape a cycle of violence. Survivors receive priority intake at ILCM and are immediately provided with safety planning services and referrals. ILCM then assists many of these vulnerable immigrants and their families in applying for legal status. 
• If you are in crisis, please call 911, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224. The hotline has information about shelters, mental health care, legal advice and other types of assistance, including information about filing for immigration status. For more information, visit the National Domestic Violence website. 

North Dakota Immigration Project  

• The North Dakota Immigration Project provides services to refugees, asylees, and new arrivals from Afghanistan and Ukraine. It focuses on applications for employment authorization, green cards, and citizenship. This project began in the fall of 2022 when ILCM opened an office in Fargo, North Dakota.  

Pro Bono Project 

• The Pro Bono Project increases ILCM’s capacity to serve immigrant and refugee communities by recruiting, training, and supervising private attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants to assist clients in high-demand areas of immigration law.  

• To learn more about volunteering for the Pro Bono Project, click here. 

Refugee Services Project 

• The Refugee Services Project collaborates with community organizations in providing immigration legal services and advice to Minnesota’s newest refugees. ILCM supports refugees and asylees from all over the world in applying for lawful permanent resident status. After refugees have been admitted and lived here as legal permanent residents, we also assist them in naturalization, the process of becoming citizens. 
• Minnesota is a leading refugee resettlement state and is home to some of the largest refugee populations in the nation. Minnesota has the largest Somali population, the largest Karen population, and the second-largest Hmong population (after California) in the United States. 

Rural Immigration Project 

• The Rural Immigration Project provides legal representation and education to immigrant individuals and families living in Greater Minnesota. This project focuses on providing services in the areas of Minnesota where the highest immigrant and refugee populations reside, and immigration legal services are least available. Services are based out of satellite offices in Austin, Moorhead, and Worthington. The offices opened in 2016, 2015, and 2010 respectively.  
• ILCM’s work in Mower County is supported in part by a grant from the United Way of Mower County. 

Temporary Protected Status Project 

• The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Project provides representation for individuals from countries granted TPS from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). TPS is a temporary immigration status for individuals who are unable to return home safely due to civil war, natural disaster, or other conditions or circumstances preventing their return to their home country. During the designated TPS period, TPS holders cannot be deported from the United States and cannot be detained by DHS on the basis of their immigration status. TPS holders are eligible for an employment authorization document (EAD) and for travel authorization. 

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ILCM at a Glance

ILCM 2023 General Fact Sheet

ILCM Strategic Plan

To better realize our mission, ILCM is pursuing strategic goals as outlined in ILCM’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.

Annual Report

ILCM’s Annual Report reviews financial and program data, important organizational developments, highlights, and success stories for the given fiscal year.

Annual Report Fiscal Year 2022

 

Audit

Annual Audit Fiscal Year 2022

 

990 Form

Submitted yearly to the Internal Revenue Service as part of ILCM’s tax-exempt status, these forms detail important financial information.

990 Form Fiscal Year 2022

 

Governing Documents

Articles of Incorporation
Bylaws
Conflict of Interest Policy

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The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) was founded in 1976 as Oficina Legal, a program of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS). Oficina Legal established itself as a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1996 due to federal restrictions on legal aid offices. The agency was later renamed to reflect the increasing diversity of the immigrant population it served. Over the last two decades, ILCM has established itself as Minnesota’s premier provider of free comprehensive immigration legal representation to low-income clients of all nationalities.

In 1996, ILCM opened its first office in the Neighborhood House in St. Paul. In 2004 we moved our main office to the Community Action Center in St. Paul Midway. In 2010, we opened an office in Worthington. In 2015, we expanded our services to Moorhead, and in 2016, we opened our office in Austin. In 2022, ILCM entered into a contract with the state of North Dakota to provide services to refugees, asylees, and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders in the Fargo area. ILCM supports these clients with obtaining green cards and ultimately citizenship. ILCM was invited to assist in North Dakota because, currently, there are no other providers of free or low-cost immigration legal services supporting refugee green card cases in North Dakota.

In 2018, ILCM teamed up with Visionaries, a nonprofit documentary producer that highlights organizations creating social change, to film our documentary Indivisible. Together we documented the stories of ILCM, our work, and the immigrant and refugee communities we serve. The documentary was broadcast on public television and reached households in North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota, parts of South Dakota, and Montana. 

 

ILCM’s Case Load Growth

• In 2006 ILCM provided legal services in 1,266 cases. Since then our caseload has grown. In 2020 ILCM worked on 3,792 cases.
• Since 1996, ILCM has provided legal services in approximately 45,000 cases, impacting over 135,000 individuals.
• Over 25 years ILCM has served clients coming from 163 countries, with 39% from Mexico, 26% from countries in Central and South America, 17% from countries in Asia, 16% from countries in Africa, and the remainder from countries in Europe, Oceania, and North America.

ILCM Stories

• October 2022 – “Green Cards for the Family”
• July 2022 – “Welcome New Citizens!”
• November 2021 – “Veena Iyer: Here’s why LEAP High School in St. Paul must remain open”
• January 2021 – “Compassion, Commitment, and the Extra Mile: Isbely McKeen’s Work with Immigrant Women Survivors of Crime”
• December 2020 – “A Traditional Karen Dress, a Pair of High heels, a Pandemic, and an Office Telephone Tree: Shall Ber’s Last Ordeal on the Road to Citizenship”
• June 2020 – “‘I believed that opportunity would open:’ After his refugee journey, Laueh Roland opens opportunities for others”
• January 2020 – “Austin’s Future Filmmaker: Sow Reh”
• December 2019 – José – “To All Those Who Supported Me: A Thank You Letter”
• December 2019 – “ILCM’s Sara Karki named a 2019 Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer”
• November 2019 – “Melissa Pfeiffer Named One of the Top Women in Finance by Finance & Commerce Newspaper”
• November 2019 – Layiet, Thatcher, and Ninn – “Highlighting Immigrant Stories in Austin, Minnesota”
• September 2019 – Pwe Ku – “So Grateful: For Refuge, Citizenship, College, and Family”
• October 2018 – “Rosa’s Story: Keep My Mom Here!”
• September 2018 – Argenis, Valentina, Erika, and Chris – “Citizenship: A Family Affair”
• September 2018 – Oogi – “Mongolia to Minnesota: One New Citizen’s Story”
• April 2018 – “Daniel’s story: Living the Dream”
• March 2018 – “Anne Applebaum, ILCM Win Statewide Recognition for Pro Bono Work”
• March 2018 – “Fighting trafficking and abuse: Camila’s story”
• September 2017 – “Juventino Meza: ‘I’m ready for what’s to come.'”
• April 2017 – “One new citizen’s journey: Norma Garza Montemayor”
• March 2017 – “One life at a time: Four-year-old girl reunited with family through ILCM’s work”
• November 2016 – “Sofia’s Citizenship Story”
• March 2016 – “Martha Receives Partner in Justice Award”
• December 2014 – Jacobo Gabriel Tomas – “ILCM Helps Client to Stay with His Wife and Children in the U.S.”

The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) is a nonprofit organization that provides free immigration legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees in Minnesota and North Dakota. ILCM also works to educate the community about immigration matters and advocates for public policies which respect the universal human rights of immigrants.

Mission
The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota enhances opportunities for immigrants and refugees through free immigration legal representation for low-income individuals, and through education and advocacy with diverse communities.

Values
ILCM’s values are grounded in respect for and partnership with our immigrant and refugee clients.

• We bring our full legal passion, dedicated attention and highest quality service to our low-income immigrant and refugee clients and their families;
• We value relationships with the communities we serve and seek to express their full potential and contributions through our work together;
• We work with excellence and integrity;
• We believe in taking action to make immigration systems work for all.

Goals

• Remedy legal problems by providing quality immigration legal services to low-income immigrants and refugees of all nationalities;
• Prevent legal problems by providing law-related education to immigrants and refugees of all nationalities; and
• Raise public awareness of immigration issues to encourage sound public policy that protects the universal human rights of immigrants and is both compassionate and practical.

Recognition in the Community

ILCM is a respected and trusted organization in its community. In the past few years our staff has been commended for their work by the Hennepin County Bar Association, Ramsey County Bar Association, Minnesota Alliance on Crime, Finance & Commerce, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota, Minnesota Lawyer, Minnesota State Bar Association, Southwest Crisis Center, Former Governor Mark Dayton, and William Mitchell College of Law.