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ANNUAL REPORT 2020

TENNESSEE JUSTICE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS

Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors 2195 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, TN 37211 www.tnjfon.org

Cover Photo Credit: Alexa Lurch

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

REFLECTING ON 2020 When I joined, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors in January 2020, I could not have predicted how different the operations would look when we closed the year.

Over the course of the year, our legal advocate received more than 1550 calls and e-inquiries from clients and non-clients. Of those calls and inquiries, our new clients included 111 men, 154 women and 21 children representing 18 countries including Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'lvoire, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ghana, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Mexico, South Korea, and Venezuela. In this report you will read how we shifted our legal services program from in-person to remote, launched a Spanish language educational program and podcast, redesigned the educational program to a virtual platform, re-imagined our annual fundraiser, launched a virtual legal clinic for law students, presented 23 immigration information sessions to more than 4000 individuals, and promoted our part-time Assistant Director of Education and Outreach to a full-time staff attorney position, all while continuing to provide compassionate, high-quality immigration legal services to our clients safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. None of this would have been possible without the support of our donors, board of directors, staff and volunteers or the inspiration of our clients.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT There were days in 2020 that felt like weeks, weeks that felt like months, and moments (many moments) that fundamentally changed the needs for

the neighbors we serve. As the remainder of this report demonstrates, we began 2020 in one of the most immigrant-hostile legal environments in recent memory and adapted to meet our clients’ needs for twelve overwhelming months. From the perspective of the board, 2020 proved the unparalleled excellence of our staff and the deep wells of support from you, our neighbors. We are so grateful! As we enter into 2021, we share deep (socially distanced) sighs of relief as new policies begin bending immigration law toward justice. We celebrate as our expert staff and pro bono partners prepare to help clients navigate new paths to be safer and more secure in our shared neighborhoods. And we still resolve to resist the inertia of unjust and inhumane immigration policies exemplified by the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision refusing to stay the removal of a person with severe mental illness long enough to reinstate an immigration judge’s findings that removal would subject him to cruel and dehumanizing treatment because of his mental illness. Throughout the past year and in the first weeks of this new one, TNJFON has been nimbly, professionally, and relentlessly advancing our mission and loving our neighbors. Thank you for your past and future support!

Jeffrey Sheehan 2020 Board President

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Katherine Blankenship Barbara Clinton Phil Colmenares, Treasurer Alyssa Curran, Vice President Nichole Davari William J. "Paz" Haynes, III Liz Hernandez Emily Konouchi David Martinez Clay Petrey, Secretary Magdalena Meza Karla MacIntyre Victoria Rebeck Jeff Sheehan, President Elizabeth Slagle-Todaro Merrilee Wineinger

New Board Member Orientation, January 2020

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

A YEAR OF RESILIENCE 2020 was a challenging year! In midMarch the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools, offices and businesses, changing the way we work and live. Our immigrant neighbors were particularly hard hit. Many work in front-line jobs, lack access to healthcare, and are not eligible for government relief programs.

In 2020, we saw the Trump administration fast-track its efforts to limit all forms of immigration and further escalate its anti-immigrant rhetoric. Yet, our immigrant neighbors carried on, doing what had to be done to support themselves, their families and their community. We drew inspiration from our clients as we transitioned to remote work â€“ setting up home offices; improving our Zoom skills; setting up systems to exchange documents, obtain signatures and communicate securely with clients; holding on-line trainings for attorneys and law students; and adapting our in-person legal clinics to a virtual format. 2020 brought victories for our clients, many of whom had been waiting years for a decision from USCIS. Five men came to the United States from

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

Honduras in 2015 on a promise of well-paid seasonal work. After arriving, they learned that they had been deceived and could not return to Honduras because of the money owed an unscrupulous labor contractor. In 2020, all five men received U visas, allowing them to live and work in the United States. A devoted husband and father of three received a green card based on a U visa, which was, in turn, based on a crime that occurred in 2013. Having a green card will provide the stability that he and his family need as they raise a disabled child and grow their bakery business. A young man, who had been abandoned by both parents when he was a child, received a green card based on special immigrant juvenile status and is now pursuing his dream of playing professional soccer. As of December 2020, young people who were brought to the United States as children may request protection under the DACA program once again. If resilience was the watchword of 2020, hope is our word for 2021. In its first days, the Biden administration has reversed many of the racist and xenophobic policies of the last administration and has committed to comprehensive immigration reform. We know that there is work to do, and we know that it will not happen overnight. With your help, we will be here, continuing to help our immigrant neighbors find the peace and stability that every person deserves.

LEGAL DIRECTOR

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

DACA DEVELOPMENTS

In November of 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a group of consolidated cases, challenging the Trump administrationâ€™s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Throughout the first half of 2020, DACA recipients and their allies across the country expected the Supreme Court to end the DACA program. We hoped that, even if the Supreme Court ended DACA and barred future renewals, young people who already had DACA would be able to keep their work permits until those expired. We worked to help as many young people as possible submit DACA renewal applications. To that end, in January, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors trained lawyers to work with DACA clients and, in February, those lawyers had begun to provide pro bono services. When the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person meetings impossible, this pro bono work was briefly suspended and taken on by TNJFON staff.

On June 18, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Homeland Securityâ€™s recission of DACA violated the Administrative Procedures Act and ordered the government to fully restore the program. Within a week, more than 80 individuals contacted Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors with questions about the DACA ruling. The relief was short-lived. In July, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it planned to conduct a thorough review of the DACA program and, in the meantime, would not fully restore the program. Nearly six months later, on December 4, a federal district court rebuked the government for failing to comply with the June 2020 Supreme Court decision and ordered the full reinstatement of the original DACA program once again. In response, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors established a DACA hotline and created a toolkit to help individuals entitled to relief under the program. With assistance from a bilingual Belmont College of Law student, we responded to inquiries and sent out 42 DACA toolkits before the year drew to a close.

TNJFON has helped more than 1500 #DACAmented youth - more than any other JFON site in the network.

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

A VIRTUAL LEGAL CLINIC Vanderbilt Law Students began pro bono work at the TNJFON Woodbine Immigration Intake Clinic in the fall of 2019. Once the pandemic hit Nashville and Vanderbilt's campus closed, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors had to cancel the March and April clinic sessions in its pilot year and reschedule the clients to

Alvaro Manrique Barrenechea, Assistant Director of Outreach and Education

meet with staff remotely.

As summer continued, the future of the Woodbine Immigration Legal Clinic was uncertain. It was unclear whether Vanderbilt law students would return to campus and, if so, how the clinic would function remotely. Building on the virtual intake process created for Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors staff, we designed a virtual version of the clinic. In September, we trained 12 new law students on the intake process and screening for immigration relief. Funding from the Frist Foundation and the Vanderbilt Law School Office of Public Interest allowed us to purchase extra licenses for students to access our case management software and participate fully in the virtual clinic. Funding from the Tennessee Language Center provided additional support for interpretation and translation.

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

FAMILIES TOGETHER In January 2020, TNJFON launched the Families Together initiative. Families Together is a free, six-class educational program designed to help noncitizen parents better understand the U.S. immigration system and more fully participate in their immigration case. For the initial session, a small gathering of mothers from different countries came to Casa Azafrรกn each Tuesday and

Thursday evening to learn more about navigating the immigration system. Once students completed all six sessions, they were eligible to meet with the Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors attorney for an evaluation of their immigration legal options, a deportation risk minimization plan and a family preparation plan. When Casa Azafrรกn closed in March, we had to cancel our March Session of Families Together. With no end to the pandemic in sight, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors launched a virtual version of Families Together in July, including an updated printed curriculum, a series of video presentations on key topics, interactive exercises and a platform for student and staff discussion. As families adjusted to having students at home and balancing work and childcare, enrollment was low. We offered the class again in August, September and October.

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

OYE VECINO PODCAST In April 2020, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors launched a Spanishlanguage podcast, “Oye Vecino” to inform the immigrant population about their rights and responsibilities. Over the course of 2020, Oye Vecino aired 7 podcast episodes which were downloaded 334 times. Topics covered various immigration matters including the impact of COVID-19 on immigration, worker’s rights, DACA, COVID-19 and its impact on MNPS students, and interviews with representatives of other immigrant-focused non-profit organizations. You can download podcast episodes from our website or listen to them from your favorite podcast platform.

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISER In September 2020, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors also launched its first virtual fundraiser, a live broadcast of the Oye Vecino podcast. Oye Vecino LIVE was an event, reimagined to inform allies outside of the immigrant community about navigating and living with DACA. The fundraiser also offered an additional ticketed (virtual) patron party during which we received a live cooking lesson to prepare a meal to enjoy during the live broadcast of Oye Vecino. Thanks to our sponsors and supporters, TNJFON raised more than $21,000 to fund legal services.

Photo credit: Karla MacIntyre, Patron Party

Oye Vecino LIVE: DACA Stories was sponsored by

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

OUR TEAM

Bethany Jackson, Legal Director

Alvaro Manrique Barrenechea, Assistant Director of Outreach and Education

Tessa Lemos Del Pino, Executive Director

Aineth Murguia, Legal Advocate

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

OUR SUMMER INTERNS

Brooke Levy, Vanderbilt Law

Julie Williams, Duke University

Nicole Johnson, Vanderbilt Law

Joe Hamilton, Tufts University

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

OUR WINTER INTERNS

Justin Jordan-Lake, Samford University

Alfonso Cuen, Belmont University College of Law

"I volunteer at JFON because as an immigrant living what I believe to be the "American Dream," I resonate deeply with JFON's mission to advocate for the rights and dignity of immigrants and refugees. I have learned that while there is still a great need for advocates in our community, there are already great people hard at work every day advocating for and making an enormous impact on the lives of the immigrant community of Middle Tennessee." -Alfonso Cuen

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

TNJFON 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

OUR FINANCIAL REPORTS Income sources Individuals 13.1%

Congregations 10%

Foundations 52.2%

Fundraising Events 7.6%

Government Revenue 17.1%

Expenditures Direct services

80% of our spending goes to direct services.

Administration Fundraising 0%

20% 40% 60% 80%

Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors 2195 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, TN 37211 www.tnjfon.org