The stories of the individuals and families that come through our doors each and every day inspire our work here at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota—stories of perseverance, hope, and a shared desire to create a better future for themselves, their family, and their communities. Today you can be a part of that story: Give to the Max Day is getting ready to kick off! On November 17th, you’ll have the opportunity to help ILCM raise funds to keep families together, strengthen communities, and create a more welcoming state for Minnesota’s immigrants and refugees. You can schedule your donation today.

Your donation may also help us to receive an additional donation of $10,000! Two donations made on GiveMN.org during the Give to the Max Day campaign will be randomly selected to receive a $10,000 Super-Sized GiveMN Golden Ticket! The more people who show their support, the better chances we have of receiving an additional $10,000 donation.

To top things off, every gift made on GiveMN.org will be entered into an hourly drawing for a $1,000 GiveMN Golden Ticket to be awarded to a nonprofit organization. Your gift of $10 or more could instantly turn into an extra $1,000!

Thank you for your generosity, which allows us to continue our important work with immigrants and refugees in our Minnesota communities!

 

 

This fall, ILCM received an Equal Justice Works Fellow to better provide holistic services in outstate Minnesota through close collaboration with rural hospitals and clinics. Kerry McGuire is proud to join ILCM and to build legal/medical partnerships in outstate Minnesota.

The Equal Justice Works (EJW) Fellowship empowers recent law school graduates to pursue worthy social justice projects across the country. Kerry’s fellowship is generously sponsored by 3M and Fish & Richardson. She chose to team up with ILCM because of her interest in immigration as a law student and her previous case management work with Latino immigrants in Chicago.

For her two-year fellowship, Kerry gives immigration legal advice in English or Spanish to patients at outstate clinics and hospitals. Few nonprofit service providers exist in greater Minnesota, and even fewer that speak Spanish or have expertise in the legal field. Kerry’s project fills that significant gap in services.

Meeting with a lawyer can be intimidating for new members of the community. Hospitals and clinics are good outreach locations where trust is already established and periodic visits do happen. Medical staff can refer clients directly to Kerry, who will consult with them one-on-one to help them with their immigration legal need.

Kerry is excited to establish regular weekly visits in rural medical facilities. Her hope is to solicit pro bono volunteers to provide legal advice either in person or through video calls to help additional clients.

In the future, Kerry hopes to become an advocate for immigration reform. We are happy to provide her with this experience as she works to achieve her goal.

In the year preceding the presidential election, Pro Bono Project Director Anne Applebaum has matched many volunteer attorneys with clients that are seeking to naturalize as citizens in time to vote in November’s election.

Sofia is one of those clients. She was thrilled to attend her swearing-in ceremony on Monday, October 26^th, and will vote in the 2016 American presidential election for the first time in her life.

When Sofia was young, she left her home in Uruguay to make a new one in Miami, Florida. She eventually settled in Minnesota. While the north was considerably colder, it offered a better education for her children. In Minnesota, Sofia found “the opportunity to live and thrive, which inspires [her] to give back to [her] community.”

Naturalization was an obvious next step for Sofia because Minnesota is her home now. Yet the path to citizenship can be confusing. Luckily, a friend directed her to ILCM where she received help immediately. From there on out, she felt secure in her choice to trust ILCM. The Pro Bono Project paired Sofia with a volunteer attorney, who made sure her application for citizenship was strong, and helped her prepare for the citizenship test.

Now that Sofia is a citizen, she knows her future is before her. She is taking classes at Century College, attends the First Unitarian Church in Minneapolis, and also takes time to meditate and relax. With ILCM’s help, Sofia feels inspired to help those around her and contribute to society. And on Tuesday, November 8^th Sofia will cast her vote!

In October, Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota awarded ILCM staff Martha Castañon their Partner in Justice Award to recognize her incredible career of public service.

The Partner in Justice Award celebrates Martha as a “skilled, dedicated advocate who, through extraordinary service and achievement, has made a major impact on the lives of many.”

One year ago, ILCM hired Martha Castañon to open a new ILCM office in Moorhead. She has lived and worked in Moorhead for most of her life, and brings a wealth of community connections to her position at ILCM. She spends much of her time conducting outreach across the northwest region, and has connected with clients in Bemidji, Thief River Falls, and East Grand Forks. She also makes biweekly visits to Crookston, Minnesota.

Martha currently serves on the Board of Directors of Community Health Services, Inc. in Moorhead, volunteers with the local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and is a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court Committee for Equality and Justice. Congratulations on your most recent award, Martha!

ILCM is proud to announce our new on-site MNsure Navigator Tammy Villegas. Tammy has received specialized training from Health Access MN, which will help her to connect our uninsured clients with health insurance.

Tammy’s new role is part of ILCM’s ongoing partnership with Health Access MN. Health Access MN works to provide outreach and enrollment assistance to immigrants and other disproportionately uninsured groups.

MNsure Navigators are familiar with the inner workings of healthcare coverage. They work on-site at nonprofits and community centers where they can help clients access affordable healthcare plans like MinnesotaCare. This additional skillset enhances the safety net Tammy provides to clients in her additional, critical role as ILCM’s Intake Specialist.

 

 

Another round of congratulations is in order for ILCM’s 2016 Award Winners: National Advocate of the Year, the Center of New Americans; State Advocate of the Year, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Minnesota; Pro Bono Partner of the Year, the Volunteer Lawyer’s Network; Pro Bono Attorney of the Year, Judge Joseph Dierkes; and Volunteer of the Year, Jennifer Peredia. ILCM relies on the continued support and effort on the part of our 2016 award winners, who deserve recognition for their work that goes above and beyond.

The Center for New Americans deserves special praise for the hard-fought victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in Mellouli v. Holder. The case’s decision has far-reaching implications for immigration and deportation for minor crimes. The center is the only program of its kind in the United States and is home to three dynamic clinics that offer students hands-on educational experiences in deportation defense, asylum, and impact litigation. ILCM celebrates the incredible success of this unique project through the National Advocate of the Year Award.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Minnesota (CAIR-MN) has worked tremendously hard over the past year to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. Their work has grown in importance and visibility, as Minnesota has seen increased and dire intolerance, hatred, and violence towards Muslims. Jaylani Hussein, CAIR-MN’s Executive Director, accepted the award on behalf of the organization. His bold leadership, courage, and commitment are representative of each of CAIR-MN’s staff, and ILCM is proud to recognition the organization’s contributions with our State Advocate of the Year Award.

Judge Joseph Dierkes began volunteering for ILCM in 2009, and has donated close to 500 hours of pro bono services. He has volunteered on over 65 matters, nearly all of those full representation cases. His pro bono caseload has covered an array of case types, including naturalization, derivation of citizenship, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and family petitions. What is truly special about Judge Dierkes’ work, however, is not the quantity but the quality of his representation and his dedication to clients. As an organization, ILCM echoes those feelings and deep appreciation for all of the support Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Judge Dierkes has provided our Pro Bono Program and our clients.

The Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) achieves broad impact by pairing legal professionals with individuals to ensure that low-income populations can obtain equal representation under the law. In 2015, VLN partnered with ILCM to establish the Family Unity Self-Help Clinic as a response to the tremendous demand for assistance with family reunification for immigrants and refugees. The clinic provides brief legal counsel for low-income immigrant and refugee families seeking the legal assistance necessary to reunite spouses, children, and parents across borders. The tireless work of our Pro Bono Partner of the Year is a testament to how dedication to client-centered services and commitment to partnerships inspires innovation and clear victories for clinic participants.

Jennifer Peredia contributed to ILCM through hundreds of volunteer hours. She developed expertise in immigration law as a legal volunteer, evidenced especially through her exemplary service to clients seeking Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Her dedication and strong work ethic brought her into the office many evenings, as she balanced her volunteer hours here, her job at a law office, and her student workload. In 2015, she spent over 250 volunteer hours at ILCM, even while earning her spot as valedictorian of her class at Hamline University. Finally, in addition to being an invaluable asset to the ILCM and our clients, her wonderful and witty personality makes her an absolute joy to be around. We hope that all our volunteers can emulate the compassion, dedication, and drive shown by our Volunteer of the Year, Jennifer Peredia.

 

The 2016 Gala brought together the stories of many individuals, each of whom shared moments from their life, work, and identity. Board member Adam Yang spoke to his family’s journey from Laos to a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand. Today, his dedication as a Minneapolis public defender, and his leadership as Hmong attorney on behalf of several organizations, is still driven by the dream his family pursued in journeying to America. His commitment to giving back to his community is an inspiration for all Minnesotans.

Jaylani Hussein, who is also a refugee, told guests about his identity as a Somali-Minnesotan and his subsequent career. As Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Minnesota, he has dedicated himself to advocacy on behalf of Muslim-American communities. His and CAIR-MN’s tireless advocacy work to encourage dialogue and protect the civil liberties of American Muslims earned the organization our State Advocate of the Year Award. Jaylani’s words demonstrated the importance and the power of his work.

Prairie Home Companion’s very own Garrison Keillor made our Gala a night to remember. He focused on the topic of immigration as well as the sometimes fraught concept of the home immigrants and refugees leave behind. Keillor muses half of songs are about leaving home and the other half are about going back – or, at least, wanting to. He recalls Sunday afternoons where his neighbors of Scandinavian decent would gather in public parks to sing themselves to tears. They reminisced about their countries of origin, even without ever having seen them. Yet, without having left their homes, Keillor points out, his neighbors would have nothing to sing about. Keillor goes on to applaud ILCM for doing the work that gives people cause to sing.

Maria Isa delivers a tremendous spoken word performance. Her work mixes multi-lingual, rhythmic poetry with Spanish ballads and sound-bytes from famous artists like Bruce Springsteen. During her performance, she parodies Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”. While her jeans are ripped like Springsteen’s, her hands are holding maracas instead of a guitar. The work serves to establish her “Sota-Rican” (Minnesotan-Puerto Rican) identity. For Isa, these two identities are inseparable. Thus, she embraces both cultures, each enriching the other. She embraces art and music to carve out a space for a new identity to form.

ILCM is proud to have hosted these powerful storytellers, friends, and artists, and wholeheartedly thanks them for sharing this moment with us. Please enjoy a few more videos of our storytellers, below: ILCM staff Sandra Portilla and John Keller took the stage to share their words as well.

ILCM teamed up with documentary producer Matt Ehling from TwelvePlus Media to tell the story of ILCM’s impact on Minnesota’s immigrant and refugee communities. The documentary brings together the voices of many who have been a part of ILCM’s journey and growth over the years.

The video is begins and ends with the voice of Sandra, our very own employee, who shares her experience of crossing the Mexico-United States border at the age of twelve. Her parents, like many parents before her, brought her to the United States with the dream of a better life for their children. Sandra’s story is remarkable, yet also speaks for the experience of many immigrants.

Partners, clients, friends, and staff that have guided ILCM since 1996 and before appear in the video, speaking to the incredible impact of ILCM’s work. As you will learn, ILCM is the premier provider of legal services to Minnesota’s immigrant and refugee communities, but it is also so much more than that. Minnesota’s immigrant and refugee communities thrive from the education ILCM provides on the legal challenges of naturalization, Deferred Action, family reunification, and much more. ILCM is on the cutting edge of Minnesota’s immigration legislation. When Minnesota’s legislators need advice on immigration policy both on the state and federal level, they turn to ILCM. In the words of Senator Al Franken, ILCM works to secure a “greater measure of fairness” for all. Congresswoman Amy Klobuchar offers praise for the “fine work” ILCM does to help immigrants become citizens and take full advantage of their civil liberties, and Congressman Keith Ellison singles out immigration as one of the most pressing issues his constituents face, and prizes ILCM for their advice on his work in Washington D.C.

We hope you enjoy this short documentary and invite you to share this with your friends and family.

A new report produced by Dr. Katherine Fennelly at the University of Minnesota examining the economic impact of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) is now available.

Sponsoring organizations of the report include the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM), LatinoLead, the Minnesota Business Immigration Coalition, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and the Minneapolis Foundation.

The full report is available here.