Two years ago, CLINIC’s Center for Immigrant Integration highlighted Global Friends Coalition, a small nonprofit dedicated to welcoming newcomers that was born from a dedicated group of volunteers who first began their work with Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota. Over the last 14 years, Global Friends Coalition has supported and fostered refugee integration in the greater Grand Forks community.
Now ready to offer immigration legal services to the community, CLINIC welcomed Global Friends Coalition into its network earlier this year. The staff of two are currently working toward obtaining DOJ Recognition and Accreditation, a federal program that allows accredited representatives to provide immigration legal services to underserved immigrants. This comes at a time when Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota closed its doors in January 2021, leaving the community with few options to access free or reduced cost immigration legal services.
The news of Global Friends Coalition expanding their integration efforts to include immigration legal services has already circulated beyond Grand Forks, N.D., as residents of neighboring cities have also reached out to the agency with questions. Cynthia Shabb, executive director at Global Friends Coalition, said the organization anticipates receiving referrals from different entities in the community and nonprofit organizations in Minnesota. At a recent meeting with the state of North Dakota’s refugee coordinator, a referral system was discussed, so if Global Friends isn’t equipped to handle the issues, there is another legal entity to refer cases.
Global Friends Coalition has been flooded with questions from newcomers seeking additional assistance. Some community members need assistance to renew their green card or to file for naturalization. Others were separated from a spouse or child at some point in their migratory journey and are hoping to reunite with them in the United States. Up until now, Global Friends Coalition offered citizenship classes but could not assist community members with filing their applications. “We anticipate helping more people become citizens [and] will be able to see them through the whole process, from application to naturalization. Isn’t that true integration when someone can participate in the voting process and lend their voices to our government,” said Shabb.
In addition to growing its services, Global Friends Coalition is considering expanding their mission to be even more inclusive. Currently, their mission states they will “foster refugee integration through work with New Americans and the Greater Forks Community.” If expanded, their mission will broaden their integration efforts to include all immigrants, in addition to refugees and asylees. “This is not as big of a change as one might think, as we have always allowed immigrants who choose to move here to attend our English and citizenship classes,” said Shabb. Currently, Global Friends Coalition pairs volunteers and mentors with refugee families, who have previously lived in camps, to learn how to access services, such as obtaining a driver’s license or learning how to use home appliances. Shabb hopes to be able to provide mentorships to other immigrant communities as well now that the resettlement of refugees has decreased in Grand Forks.
CLINIC applauds Global Friends Coalition for their commitment and dedication to their community. Share with us your organization’s integration efforts for a chance to be featured in next month’s affiliate highlight.
Photo credit to Erin Phillips/Soulshine Photography.
When President Obama implemented Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, thousands of young undocumented immigrants became hopeful, as DACA would offer temporary relief from deportation and provide work authorization in the United States. As nonprofits across the nation geared up to help those eligible apply for relief, one community needed a little more support. During this time, immigrants in California’s San Joaquin Valley were filing significantly low numbers of DACA applications, despite having an estimated population of 900,000 immigrants. At the time, there was only 8-9 DOJ accredited representatives and one part-time attorney in the area, said Jesus Martinez, executive director of the Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative. With the limited number of local and affordable immigration legal providers, coupled with mistrust and confusion in the community on eligibility and requirements, local immigrants potentially eligible for DACA were not applying. To address this challenge, and with support from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a diverse set of organizations joined forces to promote DACA and assist potential applicants, creating the Central Valley DACA Collaborative.
The initial work on DACA established a model of regional coordination and collaboration. However, the scope of work had to be expanded in response to the possibility of Congress passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013 that could potentially benefit hundreds of thousands of Central Valley immigrants. It was clear to local organizations that, while the immediate needs for DACA recipients were being met, there were still substantial gaps in services to support the overall immigrant community. In response to broadening their efforts, steps were taken that led to the establishment of the Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative, or CVIIC.
In October 2013, community leaders and local partner organizations came together to develop a strategic plan designed to strengthen the immigration legal infrastructure in the region. The plan was developed by a team of researchers, led by noted researcher, Manuel Pastor. The plan identified four main priorities, which included strengthening regional organizational capacity, delivering services to rural and urban communities, conducting community outreach and education, and advocating at the local, state, and federal levels. The plan was presented to partner organizations on Feb. 26, 2014, and CVIIC was officially created that day.
Over the years, CVIIC has worked to establish numerous partnerships with nonprofits, pro-bono legal providers, community-based organizations, health clinics and adult education programs to serve and empower the immigrant community. Through this model of regional coordination and collaboration, partner organizations and CVIIC were scheduling over 100 free legal workshops per year in rural and urban communities. The CLINIC affiliate, who joined the network earlier this year, is working towards applying for DOJ Recognition and Accreditation, increasing the number of qualified providers available to support and provide affordable and quality immigration legal services to the community.
In addition to enhancing immigration legal services, CVIIC is actively involved in promoting the economic wellbeing of immigrant families. This is done through the Immigrant Entrepreneurs program created in Fall 2020 in collaboration with nonprofit and public sector partner agencies. The program offers self-employment and entrepreneurship training opportunities to low-income Latino immigrants. Each year, the program recruits two cohorts of 40 participants. One cohort receives weekly trainings during the fall and winter quarters, while the second cohort has classes in the spring and summer quarters. A key feature of the program is the intensive personalized assistance provided to participants to help develop their respective entrepreneurial projects. At the end of the first year, almost 30 participants had obtained their business licenses, while others were in the process of securing needed professional licenses.
In its second year, the Immigrant Entrepreneurship program expanded, as part of a longer-term process of developing an Immigrant Entrepreneurship Hub. In addition to this project, CVIIC has also collaborated with Immigrants Rising on promoting the state of California-funded SEED program, which provides training and grants of $5,000 or $10,000 to immigrant entrepreneurs. To date, over 50 individuals assisted by CVIIC have been approved for SEED grants. CVIIC has also joined the Build Within Alliance and is collaborating with Santa Clara University and Fresno State University to increase entrepreneurial opportunities to Central Valley immigrants. Lastly, CVIIC is collaborating with Welcoming America to implement a version of the One Region Initiative piloted in the Atlanta metropolitan area in order to offer a regional approach to immigrant integration policies.
CLINIC applauds the Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative for their ongoing efforts to create a just and inclusive community.
Want to be featured in next month’s affiliate highlight? Share with us your organization’s integration initiatives.
Catholic Charities Atlanta is seeking a Legal Orientation Program Site Lead to work full time in our Immigration Legal Services program. Candidates must either be a licensed attorney or be able to obtain Department of Justice Accreditation in immigration law within one year of hire. Fluency in Spanish is required. Must have the ability to work in a fast-paced and collaborative environment.
The Legal Orientation Program travels to three detention centers in South Georgia to provide detainees with Know Your Rights presentations as well as other educational programs. The work is challenging, as is the detention environment. As Site Lead, the candidate will coordinate the program services at one of the three detention centers. The Site Lead will work closely with a paralegal to ensure all needed services are provided and recorded for grant reporting.
Multiple Locations
Atlanta, GA
United States
Catholic Charities Atlanta is seeking a Senior Director of Immigration Legal Services to lead a talented team and drive the success of our program. As part of the Senior Leadership Team you will join a professional organization dedicated to working with vulnerable individuals for over 65 years. Must be a licensed attorney and experienced manager who is passionate about helping immigrant populations succeed. Our Senior Director will oversee the financial and operational management of the Immigration Legal Services group including VAWA, LOP, LOPC, General Immigration, and Detention Orientation. Supervise all employees, interns and volunteers. Provide training as necessary, community outreach and ensure adherence to legal standards necessary to deliver services to clients. Actively participate in representing the program with local constituents within the community, local and state officials, as well as organizations that provide interns and volunteers for the program.
Law Degree specializing in immigration law and Licensed in the State of Georgia. Bilingual in English/Spanish is required. Minimum two years of supervisory/managerial experience. Preference for professionals who are experienced in working with multi-cultural populations. Experience working with immigrant populations. Experience with grant writing and reporting.
Atlanta, GA
United States
HANA Center (HANA) is a Chicago-area non-profit organization working to meet the critical needs of Korean, Asian American, and multiethnic immigrant communities and build power toward systemic change. HANA Center has offices in Chicago and Prospect Heights, Illinois.
HANA’s Immigration & Legal Services support 8,000 community members each year to access critical protections and build their legal capacity through completion of citizenship and DACA applications, participation in civic classes, pro bono legal consultation, Know Your Rights training, and legal representation for Adjustment of Status, VAWA, U-Visa, T-Visa, TPS, FOIA, consular processing, asylum, bond hearing, and removal defense cases.
The Immigration Attorney is responsible for providing high quality immigration legal services for low income, multiethnic immigrants in Chicago and the northwest suburbs. The Immigration Attorney provides direct legal services to eligible community members, supervises legal support staff, and conducts program outreach. Common cases handled by the attorney include Adjustment of Status, VAWA, U-Visa, T-Visa, TPS, FOIA, and asylum.
This is a full-time position with a salary range of $55,000-$65,000 and benefits that include paid time off, health, dental, vision, long-term disability, life, and 401K.
Applicants should submit a resume and cover letter at http://hanacenter.org/joinhana.
HANA Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Women, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals are encouraged to apply
Split between HANA’s Chicago and Northwest Centers
Chicago, IL
United States
As it has for more than 30 years, CLINIC will fight for the rights of immigrants. CLINIC trains legal representatives who provide high-quality and affordable immigration legal services. We develop and sustain a network of nonprofit programs that serve over 500,000 immigrants every year. We cultivate projects that support and defend vulnerable immigrant populations by:
History has taught us that people who step up can make a difference. We hope you will join us.
Embracing the Gospel value of welcoming the stranger, CLINIC promotes the dignity and protects the rights of immigrants in partnership with a dedicated network of Catholic and community legal immigration programs. We are based out of Silver Spring, Maryland (Washington, D.C. metropolitan area), with an office in Oakland, California, and additional staff working from locations throughout the country. Questions and inquiries can be sent to national@cliniclegal.org.
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