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.

Source: The StarTribune

ILCM was recently quoted in a StarTribune article about the rise of citizenship applications in 2016. 

Nationally, the number of naturalization applications shot up by 13 percent in the first few months of this year, compared to the same period in 2015. In the Minnesota field office, where data includes North Dakota, South Dakota and western Wisconsin, applications have surged by 12 percent in that period.

Read the full article here.

Source: Star Telegram

This morning, the Supreme Court issued a 4-4 decision in United States v. Texas, the case challenging expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). Given the tie, the lower court decision will stand, and the new programs will remain blocked by a nationwide injunction.

The 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was not challenged by the lawsuit, will continue. Learn if you, a friend, or family member qualify for DACA here.

ILCM, along with many allies who recognize the benefits of expanded DACA and DAPA, is disappointed by this news. Personal and family stories remind us of how much the United States has to gain by improving national immigration policies.

Despite this setback, advocacy around programs like expanded DACA and DAPA, as well as comprehensive immigration reform, won’t stop. ILCM will continue working to keep families together, and to create a more welcoming and inclusive Minnesota.

Infographics regarding the Supreme’s Court decision are available in English and Spanish.

As always, individuals should continue to be aware of the rights that all of us have in the United States, regardless of immigration status. For more information, please visit our “Know Your Rights” page.

 

Strong public safety reasons support creating a license for immigrants

ILCM worked with many elected officials, allies, partners, and other leaders to create a two-tiered REAL ID compliant system in Minnesota in 2016. First-tier licenses would be compliant with all federal purposes, such as boarding an aircraft and gaining entrance into federal facilities. The second-tier license, as contemplated in the federal REAL ID act, allows for a state to create a “state-only” license for those who do not wish to share their personal data with the federal government, those that do not intend to use it to board aircraft, and for the state to license all immigrant drivers.

During the 2016 session, we successfully repealed the 2009 state prohibition on REAL ID planning and passed the two-tier system in the Senate. Unfortunately, the House legislation specifically included statutory language to prohibit undocumented Minnesotans from obtaining a driver’s licenses in the future. This would have codified the prohibition in statute for the first time in Minnesota history, leading to a conflict with the Senate and the Governor’s office.

While REAL ID stalled on the last day of the 2016 session, it is important that the process to obtain drivers licenses for all immigrants did not take a step backwards during this process. Strong public safety reasons support creating a license for immigrants to allow them to pass driving tests and obtain auto insurance. There is still time for Minnesota to resolve REAL ID, as Homeland Security has granted a continuing extension of current licenses for boarding aircrafts into 2018. ILCM will continue to work with all partners and leaders to resolve both issues in a timely fashion.

Source: The Politic

The Supreme Court will soon determine the constitutionality of President Obama’s 2014 executive actions around immigration, likely by the end of the week of June 20th or the beginning of the week of June 27th. 

 

In November 2014, President Obama announced a series of administrative actions related to immigration. One proposal expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for unauthorized youth who had entered the United States before the age of 16, and a second action, called Deferred Action for Parents of Childhood Arrivals (DAPA), would defer the deportation of certain parents with children who are U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs). The implementation of DAPA and expanded DACA is currently stalled pending a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The original DACA program will remain in effect, regardless of the upcoming decision.

 

ILCM joins with 136 law professors in asserting that President Obama’s executive actions were within the legal authority of the executive branch. ILCM, along with many other organizations nationwide, have advocated for the Supreme Court to accept the case and subsequently to side with the President’s position in an amicus brief.

 

If the Supreme Court does allow the expanded DACA and DAPA programs to move forward, as many as five million parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents and DREAMers could obtain temporary protection from deportation and apply for work permits. Data from ILCM’s Deferred Action clients demonstrates the impact of DACA on immigrant lives: Seventy-percent of DACA recipients obtained a new or different job, almost three-quarters were making more money than before, and percentage increases of individuals with a bank account, healthcare, and government IDs were 25% and 50%, respectively. In addition, 88% of DACA recipients reported securing a state identification card, and 63% reported securing a driver’s license. Overwhelmingly, DACA recipients report the sentiment that “Now, I feel like I belong.”