Stop Work Order Ends Access to Critical Legal Access Programs
For Immediate Release
MEDIA INQUIRIES
Contacts:
Mekela Goehring, mgoehring@rmian.org, RMIAN Executive Director
Laura Lunn, llunn@rmian.org, RMIAN Director of Advocacy & Litigation
Westminster, Colorado, January 27, 2025--On Wednesday, January 22, 2025, RMIAN received a stop work order for its work under the Legal Orientation Program, Family Group Legal Orientation Program, and Immigration Court Help Desk Program. Collectively, these programs provide critical legal services to thousands of immigrants in Colorado (and throughout the US) every year. This stop work order stems from the harmful “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” Executive Order.
“Taking away access to these essential and life-saving immigration legal service programs while simultaneously ordering increases in immigration enforcement and detention that will trample community members’ rights is a shocking and gross violation of the fundamental principles of due process, equal access to justice, and to our values for caring for our community members and loved ones,” says Mekela Goehring, Executive Director, RMIAN.
RMIAN was one of the very first nonprofit providers in the country providing services under the Legal Orientation Program, beginning in 2003. Throughout the program’s history, it has received bipartisan support for its work in both increasing access to justice and for helping with immigration courts’ efficiency. Similarly, RMIAN’s work under the FGLOP and ICH programs has provided critical support to individuals before the Denver Immigration Court.
We share the following stories of community members who have been helped through these programs over the years:
After attending a RMIAN information session at the Denver Immigration Court, a participant disclosed that she was in an active human trafficking situation and that her trafficker was in the court waiting for her hearing to be over. RMIAN staff acted quickly to secure a safe place for her to stay overnight, and worked with her to ensure that she understood her options. RMIAN then assisted her in requesting voluntary departure through friend of the court services so that she could be reunited with her husband and children in her home country.
Jose (not his real name) has lived in the US with his family since he was 10 years old. His parents, wife and two children are all US citizens. After being arrested by immigration authorities and taken into detention, he attended RMIAN’s legal orientation presentation at the Aurora immigration detention facility. After hearing the attorney describe the ways to become a US citizen, José opted to complete an individual intake with a RMIAN attorney. Through the general LOP and the individual intake, José learned he already was a US citizen because he automatically derived citizenship when his mother naturalized. The next day, José attended his first immigration hearing and told the immigration judge that he believed he was a citizen. He and his mother presented proof of his claim and the immigration judge terminated the removal proceedings. José was released from detention and reunited with his family. Without the LOP and RMIAN’s legal assistance, José would not have known his legal options and may have accepted deportation from the United States and been separated from his entire family forever.
During an individual information session at the Denver Immigration Court provided by RMIAN, a mother requested assistance in understanding the status of her case because English was not her best language. In reviewing her documents with her, RMIAN was able to explain to her that her Temporary Protected Status (TPS) application, as well as those of her children, was approved. RMIAN then helped the participant show the approval notices to the immigration judge and request dismissal of their removal proceedings.
Eva (not her real name) was not born in the United States and married a very abusive man who was a US citizen. When she threatened to divorce him, he called the police and reported that she was trespassing on his property. Eva was arrested and brought to the Aurora immigration detention center. After hearing RMIAN’s presentation, Eva stayed to talk with a RMIAN attorney. Upon hearing of the marriage and abuse, RMIAN referred Eva’s case to a pro bono attorney. The attorney represented Eva at a bond hearing and she was released, allowing her to seek protection under the Violence Against Women Act.
By ordering an immediate pause of these critical legal services, the administration is effectively silencing immigrants’ ability to defend their rights while subjecting them to intensified enforcement and detention measures. This executive action, paired with the stop-work orders, not only undermines the cornerstone of our democracy, the principle of equal justice for all, but also sets a dangerous precedent that threatens constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law.
Without access to legal representation, countless people are left to navigate life-altering immigration proceedings alone, facing immense challenges without guidance or defense. This is a serious threat to our communities, as it fosters fear, destabilizes families, and strips individuals of the ability to advocate for themselves within the legal system.
Dr. Janet Lopez, RMIAN Board Member and Senior Director of Policy, Partnerships & Learning at The Denver Foundation says “Providing representation to immigrants in removal proceedings is about bringing fairness to complex proceedings and upholding our Constitution. At The Denver Foundation, we support organizations like RMIAN because we believe in their work to protect the rights and dignity of immigrants who are integral to our communities.”
"It's important to see this threat to due process and equal justice for what it is, not just a threat to bedrock constitutional values, but also part of a broad attempt by the administration to reshape and refine America by means of multiple dictates from the White House. They include attacks on birthright citizenship, mobilization of the military, mass deportations, and most fundamentally the message that many Americans don't belong here anymore." Hiroshi Motomura, RMIAN Co-Founder and Board Member, and Susan Westerberg Distinguished Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director, Center for Immigration Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law
Jorgee Lowree, RMIAN Board Member and Managing Director of Programs and Strategy, American Immigration Council says “It’s no secret that many aspects of our immigration system need to be reformed. But the Trump administration’s war on immigrants is solely focused on dismantling the system and deporting as many people as possible over the next four years, including by making it far more difficult for people to understand the process and defend themselves in court. Immigrants detained in Colorado have for many years been able to depend on the support of legal service providers and volunteer attorneys, but Trump is working to eliminate that support system to achieve his mass deportation agenda. Making it more difficult for people to have a fair day in court will do nothing to fix the current system while wreaking havoc on the lives of immigrants, their families, and our communities and economy.”
Please reach out to your elected representatives and demand the restart of these critical legal access programs that provide essential and life-changing legal support to thousands of community members every year. For more information or to support RMIAN’s work to ensure due process and equal justice, please visit www.rmian.org.
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Colorado, that works to ensure justice for adults and children in immigration proceedings. RMIAN empowers people through education of legal rights; provides zealous no-cost immigration legal representation to uphold fundamental fairness and due process; promotes the importance of universal representation where anyone in immigration proceedings has access to counsel despite financial barriers; and advocates for a more efficient, functional, and humane immigration system, including an end to immigration detention. Learn more about RMIAN’s work at rmian.org, Facebook, and Instagram at @rmian_org.