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Today RMIAN, CBA-CLE, Colorado Lawyers Committee, and the Boulder County Bar Association are partnering to train volunteer attorneys to represent clients in the release from immigration detention bond and parole. We are grateful to the over 100 attorneys in Colorado who registered for this training and who are committed to protecting due process, the rule of law, and equal access to justice.
RMIAN has an immediate opening for a Staff Attorney to represent noncitizens who are detained by ICE at the Denver Contract Immigration Detention Facility in Aurora. The successful candidate is a seasoned attorney able to manage a robust caseload independently and demonstrates a keen understanding of immigration law and legal strategy. The Staff Attorney will primarily provide direct representation and supervise others providing direct representation to noncitizens detained at the Aurora facility who are selected without regard to the merits of their cases under RMIAN’s universal representation model and who are appointed counsel through the National Qualified Representative Program (NQRP).
Read the Introduction of RMIAN Founding Board Member and UCLA Law Professor Hiroshi Motomura’s new book, Borders and Belonging, here.
RMIAN Director of Advocacy & Litigation, Laura Lunn, pens an opinion piece featured in the Colorado Sun. “It is in all our interests to step up and help where we can. Deporting millions of immigrants would create devastating ripple effects that would hurt families and Colorado for generations to come. Let’s all get involved to make a meaningful impact in someone’s life and bring our communities closer. “
The Director of Development & Communications is responsible for the strategic planning, execution, management, and evaluation of fundraising efforts at RMIAN. Responsibilities include annual giving, major gifts, development and stewardship of donors, fundraising events, and external communication. Additionally, the Director of Development & Communications will oversee RMIAN’s substantial grant and contract portfolio, including proposal writing and reporting. Ultimately, this person is instrumental in shaping and executing the long-range fundraising plan for the organization. This position works closely with the Executive Director, Vice President of Finance, and the Board of Directors. The Director of Development & Communications is a member of the RMIAN leadership team. This position will supervise the Development and Communications Coordinator.
In The Denver Gazette, RMIAN’s Director of Advocacy and Litigation, Laura Lunn, speaks out about preparing for potential changes in immigration enforcement that could impact our neighbors, friends, and families. Lunn shares “More than anything, people are afraid, and (the Trump administration) has been really effective at making people fearful,” she said. “I can’t understate all of these terrible things that could happen, but the day-to-day existence of living with the type of fear people experience when they’re being threatened is really powerful.”
In a recent Colorado Sun article, RMIAN’s Children’s Program Managing Attorney, Ashley Harrington, shares, “There is so much fear. So many children are calling us to say, ‘Am I going to get deported? Are my parents going to get deported? Can you please help us?’ There’s such widespread fear already even from the rhetoric, even though nothing has happened yet. It’s been really overwhelming to hear how terrified children are.”
In response to revelations about "Operation Aurora," a plan under the Trump administration to deport thousands of immigrants from the Denver area, RMIAN joins other advocates in condemning this extreme, anti-immigrant tactic. The strategy, which sought to coordinate large-scale raids to apprehend and deport immigrants, has sparked widespread concern within Colorado’s immigrant advocacy community.
In a recent Denver Post article, RMIAN’s Executive Director, Mekela Goehring, shares, “Now, the most critical component is ensuring there are lawyers in the system so there is some accountability and a check of due process,” Goehring said. “Separating children from their parents (or) forcing people to be in a prison-like setting while navigating immigration proceedings is incredibly harmful to community members.”
Join RMIAN's partner, Colorado Immigrants Rights Coalition, for a free webinar on December 17, 2024 from 6pm - 7:30pm. Get information on how to protect yourself and your community from immigration enforcement.
RMIAN has an immediate opening for a Temporary Staff Attorney to represent noncitizens who are detained by ICE at the Denver Contract Immigration Detention Facility in Aurora, through the end of June 2025. The successful candidate is a seasoned attorney able to manage a robust caseload independently and demonstrates a keen understanding of immigration law and legal strategy. The Temporary Staff Attorney will primarily provide direct representation and supervise others providing direct representation to noncitizens detained at the Aurora facility who are selected without regard to the merits of their cases under RMIAN’s universal representation model.
RMIAN has an immediate opening for a full-time Supervising Attorney in the Detention Program. The Supervising Attorney will manage a team of attorneys providing direct representation to individuals detained at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado, and will provide direct representation to noncitizens at the facility who are selected without regard to the merits of their cases under RMIAN’s universal representation model.
This position is meant for a seasoned immigration attorney with experience managing others. The Supervising Attorney’s time will be split between a robust caseload and supervision of other attorneys, so experience practicing removal defense immigration law, preferably in a detained setting, along with a strong desire and commitment to managing others, is vital.
What Trump’s second term means for Colorado immigrants, public lands, abortion access and Space Command
President-elect, who has pledged to start mass deportations in Aurora, also plans changes on energy policy
RMIAN has an opening for a Children’s Program Staff Attorney to provide direct legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children and families before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Denver Immigration Court.
Family of immigrant who died at Aurora Contract Detention files wrongful death suit against GEO Group
Melvin Mendoza from Nicaragua died in 2022 from an untreated blood clot in his leg, the lawsuit allege
Westminster, Colorado, October 10, 2024—Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) strongly condemns the hateful and dishonest political rhetoric calling for mass deportations in our community. For the last twenty-five years, RMIAN has been a stalwart and trusted provider of legal services at the immigration detention center in Aurora, while simultaneously representing children and families in immigration proceedings in Colorado.
“Immigration detention and deportation operate in a hidden world. Every day, RMIAN’s attorneys, social workers, and advocates work alongside our clients, and see the deep pain of family separation, the dire and sometimes deadly consequences of medical neglect for people in immigration detention, and the egregious lack of due process for everyone in deportation proceedings. Expanding these harmful systems would devastate our community and our country,” says Mekela Goehring, Executive Director at RMIAN.
In celebration of National Pro Bono Week (October 20-26), we are thrilled to announce a series of daily Lunch & Learn sessions from 12-1 p.m. These live CLE accredited sessions will be held in-person at various locations and offer virtual participation options for all members of the legal community.
The Vice President of Programs is a new position at RMIAN, an exciting opportunity to shape the vision, strategy, and management of successful immigrant advocacy programming that has experienced significant growth in scale and scope. The Vice President of Programs will guide and coordinate the functional experts directing the Detention, Children’s, Social Work, and Advocacy & Litigation programs. As a member of the executive leadership team, the Vice President of Programs works to ensure the organization’s day-to-day services, mission, and vision are reflected in the critical client-centered legal and social services RMIAN offers to detained immigrant adults and immigrant youth.
RMIAN Board Member and Managing Director of Programs and Strategy at the American Immigration Council Jorge Loweree Publishes Powerful Opinion Piece in New York Times About Injustices of Current Immigration System and How We Can Do Better
RMIAN Attorney Shira Hereld and other advocates are leading a training on Friday, September 6th at 12:30 MT to transform the immigration court system and build a more gender-affirming and inclusive system.
Shira co-authored Gender Affirming Language in Immigration Court - a practice advisory that outlines how gender-expansive identities can be affirmed in court, an essential resource for advocates committed to ensuring that people of different gender identities are respected in court.
RMIAN’s Director of Advocacy & Litigation, Laura Lunn, will participate on a panel of advocates from across the country discussing the state of universal representation campaigns at the state and local level. Tuesday, 5/7, @ 1pm MT. Register here.
RMIAN, the National Immigration Project, and American Immigration Council filed a civil rights complaint on behalf of a group of transgender and nonbinary individuals who are currently detained at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility and have experienced discrimination, harassment, and mistreatment while under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The complaint details experiences of medical neglect and inadequate access to necessary medical and mental healthcare, dehumanizing treatment, and much more.
RMIAN is part of a coalition with Colorado Legal Services, Colorado Center on Law and Policy, the Community Economic Defense Project, and others to support legislation to provide greater access to justice through more funding for legal service organizations in Colorado. Please see this article in Law Week Colorado for more.
Huge thanks to RMIAN funder and community partner, Caring for Denver Foundation, for putting together this powerful video that discusses the important work of RMIAN’s Social Service Project (SSP) and the powerful collaboration of legal and social services at RMIAN.
RMIAN Pro Bono Attorney, Nat Robinson, writes about his experience providing volunteer legal services to his client, Abraham, in Newsweek.