2022 Winter Newsletter

MESSAGE FROM THE ILRC

As a child

growing up in Tennessee with an odd last name,

I was asked often where my family was from. The answer was complicated, as those questions often are. I am a tenth generation Tennessean on my mother’s side; graveyards up and down the South hold relatives whose names and dates reach back before the United States was a country. On my father’s side, the facts are fuzzier. My Nanny and Poppy came to New York in the early part of the twentieth century, fleeing the conflict of World War I. Nanny Rae came in a suitcase, hidden in her aunt’s trunk on the ship because she had no ticket. She was somewhere between 5 and 10 years old, and leaving from a city we’ve only recently identified, and a country that has changed names three times during my lifetime. I thought of my Nanny Rae often as I represented unaccompanied immigrant minors early in my legal career. Many of them similarly did not know all the facts of their own lives, such as when exactly they came, or all of the details around why things were not safe in their home country. Most also did not understand the immigration legal system they now had to navigate in order to find safety. I saw my role not only as their advocate, but also someone to help explain the absurdities and inequities of our legal system.

Almost 15 years later, I still see it as my role to advocate, explain, and empower. I am proud to work at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), which is committed to such deep advocacy, community engagement, and technical assistance, and across so many areas of immigration law. The immigration legal landscape continues to change significantly and frequently. These changes, even when positive, cause confusion in the community, as well as the need among legal workers to constantly check information and revise practices.

By Alison Kamhi | ILRC Legal Program Director

At the ILRC, we devote ourselves to monitoring and sharing these changes with communities and legal workers. This commitment takes many forms. Since January, ILRC has already released 27 separate practice advisories on immigration law for immigration practitioners, mostly in response to new court decisions, policy changes, and updated federal guidance. In 2022, following President Biden’s expansion of temporary protected status (TPS), ILRC created its first ever TPS manual, providing guidance on the TPS program that offers work authorization and permission to stay in the United States temporarily for certain nationals following an environmental or humanitarian crisis in their country. When Biden’s Administration created new parole programs for Afghans, Ukrainians, and Venezuelans, ILRC scheduled parole webinars to explain the current uses and limitations of the parole programs and will be issuing an updated parole manual this winter. Several years ago, ILRC began a working group to monitor the numerous immigration regulations that former President Trump was issuing in order to inform advocates and coordinate responses. This group has continued and expanded, meeting monthly to coordinate feedback for President Biden’s regulatory agenda, whether it be constructive comments to push the administration to make bolder and more inclusive reforms or thank you notes to acknowledge where some of our asks have been answered.

Our work is both ambitious and inherently circumscribed. We cannot give someone certainty about the facts of their life—such as where and when they were born— but we can help provide clarity about the immigration system. In immigration law, as in so many other areas, knowledge is power, and every day the ILRC works to use our understanding of the law to inform, empower, and protect our communities.

FIGHTING AGAINST OPERATION LONE STAR

In March 2021, Operation Lone Star (OLS), an unconstitutional and racist Texas law enforcement scheme backed by nearly $4 billion of state funds, began endangering migrants and people of color in Texas. Operation Lone Star uses state law to criminalize and rapidly deport migrants, many of whom seek safety in the United States. Despite the scheme’s illegality and racist roots, OLS has expanded its reach since its implementation, and continues to target and criminalize Black and Brown migrants and communities of color in border areas and across Texas.

The ILRC recognized OLS’s dangerous impact when it was enacted. We remain steadfast in leading the fight to not only to dismantle OLS, but also in preventing it from spreading to other states. The ILRC helps convene working groups at the local, state, and national levels, bringing advocates together to strategize ways to defund OLS and create accurate messaging that demonstrates the operation’s illegality while always centering those who are being harmed.

The ILRC, in collaboration with other organizations, filed a Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Complaint in December 2021, highlighting the unconstitutionality of OLS, and demanding an investigation into its operation. The initial complaint was followed by two supplemental complaints that further detailed OLS’s expansion and harm to communities of color in Texas. Additionally, the ILRC continues to push national and state leaders to end OLS.

We are also pushing corporations involved in OLS to end their collaboration in the scheme. Over the past few months, the ILRC met with Union Pacific (UP) staff to brief them on the illegality and inhumanity of OLS. The ILRC sent a sign-on letter to UP, supported by nearly 70 organizations, asking UP to stop allowing Texas law enforcement on their property to unlawfully target and arrest migrants. Although UP continues to collaborate in OLS, the ILRC remains unwavering in pushing UP and other actors to end its participation in OLS. Understanding the importance of accurate messaging, the ILRC focused its efforts on creating a series of educational OLS resources. Over the past few months, the ILRC released a video and written resources which provide a summary of OLS and highlight how the scheme is one example of the harmful entanglement between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement authorities in Texas. The ILRC was instrumental in creating an OLS website to educate and centralize calls to action, including a petition demanding the DOJ to investigate OLS. In November 2022, several ILRC staff from our Texas and San Francisco offices traveled to Washington D.C. for events demanding the Biden Administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) end its federal collaboration with OLS. The Biden Administration and DHS have not acted against Operation Lone Star and remain complicit in its racist impact on our communities. ILRC staff were joined by approximately 40 impacted Texans of Operation Lone Star and several partner organizations. The ILRC was instrumental in planning the events that included a news conference and congressional visits to the offices of several Texas members of Congress and congressional allies from other states. On the same day as the Washington D.C. news conference, the Texas Senate Border Committee held a hearing in Austin on Operation Lone Star. The ILRC submitted written testimony on why Operation Lone Star must end. Texas remains a challenging environment, but the ILRC remains committed to defunding the unlawful

NEW AMERICANS CAMPAIGN UPDATE FROM THE FIELD

BY LUCIA MARTEL DOW

The New Americans Campaign (NAC) hosted its annual Naturalization Practitioners’ Conference in April 2022, the first since 2019 due to the pandemic. We were honored to partner with Jersey City’s Division of Immigrant Affairs within the Department of Health and Human Services to host the conference in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The conference took place at the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, where millions of immigrants after arriving at Ellis Island boarded trains to cities throughout the United States. Jersey City is a welcoming and vibrant place, and conference attendees were exposed to our nation’s immigrant history.

Naturalization practitioners led presentations on twenty different topics, including three legal trainings offered by ILRC naturalization experts. Attendees had the opportunity to learn from their peers about issues such as best practices for conducting hybrid naturalization workshops; reaching out to Asian Pacific Islander communities and Black Lawful Permanent Residents; developing and sustaining naturalization programs; creating and implementing innovative citizenship and naturalization projects; and promoting civic engagement of newly naturalized citizens. The Naturalization Working Group also led a conversation with representatives from

200 Partners In 21 Cities

The New Americans Campaign (NAC), was launched by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) in 2011 and is now the largest naturalization collaboration in the country. Initial funding came from Carnegie Corporation of New York, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Grove Foundation, and Open Society Foundations. The NAC would later welcome eight additional funders.*

the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to learn about the agency’s naturalization efforts.

Our local New York NAC partners including the City University of New York (CUNY) Citizenship Now! program organized a naturalization workshop where 200 people received assistance to complete their naturalization applications in person. Our conference participants had the opportunity to volunteer and learn from CUNY’s experience hosting these events.

The NAC's collective goal was to build a ground-breaking network of non-partisan legalservice providers, faith-based organizations, businesses, foundations and community leaders. Together, we would build a better road to citizenship across the country. It was a significant challenge. More than 8 million green card holders were eligible to naturalize, yet only 8% applied each year.

Numerous barriers deterred aspiring U.S. citizens, including high application fees, a complex application process, unscrupulous attorneys, and poor English language skills. The NAC went to work modernizing and streamlining access to citizenship-support services.

*JPB Foundation, Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Fund—DAF, Bernard & Ann Spitzer Charitable Trust, The California Endowment, The Beacon Fund.

Despite the many challenges faced by our immigrant communities and nonprofits, the energy we experienced coming together in person affirmed our commitment to support people through their naturalization process. Over 200 people attended the event, including one representative from each of the 20 NAC sites, as well as staff from affiliated organizations, and national partners. Our team and local partners worked tirelessly to ensure attendees’ safety during the pandemic and offer great content to our partners across the United States.

We received excellent feedback from participants and look forward to hosting our next conference in 2023 to support naturalization and immigrant communities across the country.

Celebrating Anniversary

2022 BURTON AWARDS CELEBRATION

This year, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center was delighted to return to an in-person event for our annual Phillip Burton Immigration & Civil Rights Awards celebration. The ILRC family welcomed guests to the Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco on Wednesday, September 14 to celebrate the achievements in the immigration law and immigrant rights fields and to laud the impact of our 2022 Phillip Burton Immigration & Civil Rights honorees. Special thanks to everyone who joined us at the event and to the generous sponsors of the 2022 Burton Awards, including:

Anonymous Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP W. Hardy Callcott* and Nancy Spencer Cooley LLP Duane Morris LLP Fellom & Solorio Eva Grove* Professor Bill Ong Hing* and Dr. Lenora V. Fung Immigration Institute of the Bay Area Jackson & Hertogs LLP Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC

Kazan, McClain, Satterley and Greenwood Lisa P. Lindelef Luca Mangini* and Siobhan Nolan Mangini Anita I. Martinez* Michelle Mercer* and Bruce Golden Minami Tamaki LLP The Morrison & Foerster Foundation Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Arthur and Toni Rembe* Rock Sidley Austin LLP Lisa Spiegel* and Michael Ungar Tafapolsky*& Smith LLP Donald Ungar and Susan Romer Union Bank Van Der Hout LLP Weaver Schlenger LLP Allen Weiner* and Mary J. Dent Virginia Wright and Richard Blamey Roger Wu, MD*

* ILRC Board of Directors Member

ROB BONTA

CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Attorney General Bonta is a long-time champion of immigrant rights. He is fighting to ensure that every Californian knows their rights and is treated with dignity— regardless of their immigration status. On April 23, 2021, Rob Bonta was sworn in as the 34th Attorney General of the State of California, the first person of Filipino descent and the second Asian-American to occupy the position. Attorney General Bonta’s passion for justice and fairness was instilled in him by his parents, who served on the frontlines of some of America’s most important social justice movements. He worked his way through college and graduated with honors from Yale University and attended Yale Law School. Attorney General Bonta has led statewide fights for racial, economic, and environmental justice and worked to further the rights of immigrant families, renters, and working Californians. He previously worked as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, where he represented the City and County and its employees, and fought to protect Californians from exploitation and racial profiling.

MARIA HINOJOSA

ANCHOR AND CO-HOST OF LATINO USA 2022 PHILLIP BURTON AWARD FOR ADVOCACY

We honored Maria Hinojosa to receive this prestigious award because of her commitment to championing immigrant rights and uplifting the humanity of the immigration experience through her work. Maria Hinojosa dreamt of a space where she could create independent, multimedia journalism that explores and gives a critical voice to the diverse American experience. She made that dream a reality in 2010 when she created Futuro Media, an independent, nonprofit newsroom based in Harlem, NYC with the mission to create multimedia content from a POC perspective. As Anchor and Executive Producer of the Peabody Award-winning show Latino USA, distributed by PRX, and Co-Host of Futuro Media’s award-winning political podcast In The Thick, Hinojosa has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America and abroad.

OUR EVENT HONOREES & KEYNOTE SPEAKER

CONGRESSMAN JOAQUIN CASTRO

CONGRESSMAN, D-TX 20TH DISTRICT NANCY PELOSI AWARD FOR POLICY

We honored Congressman Joaquin Castro for his commitment to immigrant communities in Texas, including his advocacy for the American Dream and Promise Act and his opposition to Operation Lone Star, a racist and anti-immigrant Texas policy designed to target and criminalize migrants.

Congressman Joaquin Castro has represented his hometown of San Antonio in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. He is proud to serve on the House Education and Labor Committee, the House Intelligence Committee, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he chairs the committee’s Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations, and Global Corporate Social Impact, and works closely with foreign and domestic leaders to strengthen democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity around the world. From 2019-2020, he served as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where he worked to expand opportunities for Latinos across all sectors of the economy and fight back against the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle our immigration system. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and three children.

Thank You!

BY CYNTHIA TIRADO HOUSEL

In this season of appreciation, I am grateful for you – the ILRC’s donors and supporters. As the Director of Leadership Giving, I get to meet with or speak to donors from all across the country and learn about what motivates you to contribute to the ILRC. I also get to share with you why, after over two decades of working as a fundraiser, this job means so much to me.

As the child of immigrant parents, I truly believe that the work of the ILRC is helping families, like mine, navigate the immigration system to live their best lives. My parents wanted their family to have chances they didn’t have. They worked hard in the hopes that we could achieve more and do better. It wasn’t easy, but their sacrifices ultimately led me to work that find so fulfilling. I thank my parents for all they did for me, but I also know that there are so many other families that want the same. However, the current immigration system erects barriers making the process too expensive, complex, and difficult to navigate without the help of experts like those at the ILRC.

Your support of the ILRC empowers us to employ and partner with leaders in the immigration legal field and immigrant rights advocates to help families stay together in this country and thrive. Their work inspires me every day, and we couldn’t do it without our donor investors. Thank you for believing in us and our mission.

If you haven’t made a gift to the ILRC this year, I would like to invite you to do so today by visiting our website or returning the enclosed envelope. For everyone who has, we appreciate your support! I hope you take as much pride in the accomplishments of the ILRC as we do. Together, we will move the needle towards fairer and more just immigration policies and immigrant rights.e.

Housel Director of Leadership Giving

Have a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year,

Cynthia Tirado

Eric Cohen, Executive Director

Sally Kinoshita, Deputy Director

Bill Hing, General Counsel & Board Member

Donald Ungar, Of Counsel to the ILRC

Manal Ali, Senior Manager, New Americans Campaign

Christine Ambegia, Grants & Contracts Associate

Krsna Avila, Staff Attorney

Abraham Bedoy, Legal Outreach Coordinator

HuLynne Besharatpour, Director of Finance & Operations

Ann Block, Senior Special Projects Attorney

Kathy Brady, Senior Staff Attorney

Ariel Brown, Staff Attorney

Rose Cahn, Senior Staff Attorney

Jennefer Canales-Pelaez, Texas Policy Attorney & Strategist

Caro Canizales Ramirez, Senior Texas Campaigns Strategist

Steffi Colao, Publications Editing Assistant

Andrew Craycroft, Staff Attorney - Immigrant Youth

Allison Davenport, Supervising Attorney

Donna De La Cruz, Director of Communications

Veronica Garcia, Staff Attorney

Magaly Garcia-Kummert, Administrative Coordinator

Peggy Gleason, Senior Staff Attorney

Donna Golub, Training Coordinator

Carla Gomez, Senior Staff Attorney

Manuela Gonzalez, Texas Communications Coordinator

Lena Graber, Senior Staff Attorney

Manny Guisa, Media Manager

Anita Gupta, Staff Attorney

Sameera Hafiz, Policy Director

Danika Ingraham, Office Manager / Executive Assistant

Alicia Johnson, Document Formatter

Catherine Joor, Administrative Assistant

Alison Kamhi, Legal Program Director

Kat Kimmons, Senior Manager of Technology

Jehan Laner, Staff Attorney

Sarah Lee, Andy Grove Immigrants’ Rights Fellow / Senior Community Organizer

Helen Leung, Training Associate

Tenzin Lodoe, Accounting Assistant

Lucia Martel Dow, Director, New Americans Campaign

Amber McChesney-Young, Best Practices Manager, New Americans Campaign

Bridgit Meads, Publication Sales Associate

Oliver Merino, IJN Coordinator

Linda Mogannam, Senior Marketing Manager

Ana Montes, Accountant

Cameron Moss, Desktop Support Coordinator

Nithya Nathan-Pineau, Policy Attorney & Strategist

Maisha Nelson, Director of Human Resources & Administration

Priscilla Olivarez, Policy Attorney & Strategist

Deirdre O’Shea, Senior Foundation Relations Manager

Jaime Perez-Bautista, Human Resources Manager

Rachel Prandini, Staff Attorney

Juan Prieto, Digital Communications Manager

Erin Quinn, Senior Staff Attorney

Yare Recendez, Communications Manager

Grisel Ruiz, Supervising Attorney

Alexia Seay, Development Coordinator

Byron Spicer, Finance Coordinator

Elizabeth Taufa, Policy Attorney & Strategist Cynthia Tirado Housel, Director of Leadership Giving

Weiss,

Board of Directors

Advisory Board