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First Death in Immigration Detention in Fiscal Year 2018 Takes Place in Aurora

"RMIAN mourns the death of Mr. Samimi, whose preliminary cause of death is cardiac arrest, while detained at the for-profit civil immigration detention center. We witness the tragedy of immigration detention on a daily basis. This death powerfully demonstrates the need for ICE to end immigration detention and pursue alternatives to detention," said RMIAN Board President, Patricia Medige.

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RMIAN Attorneys to Present on Pro Bono Opportunities at Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton, LLP

RMIAN's Jessica Burnett and Natalie Petrucci will be presenting in Denver next Monday, November 13. The course, entitled - Ensuring Immigrants' Rights in Colorado: Opportunities for Meaningful Pro Bono Work with RMIAN - is an opportunity for attorneys to learn about pro bono opportunities with RMIAN.

RMIAN attorneys Jessica Burnett and Natalie Petrucci will be presenting in Denver next Monday, November 13, at Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton, LLP. The course, entitled - Ensuring Immigrants' Rights in Colorado: Opportunities for Meaningful Pro Bono Work with RMIAN - is an opportunity for attorneys to learn about pro bono opportunities with RMIAN.

If you would like to attend the course, further information, the schedule, and instructions on to RSVP can be found below.

Ensuring Immigrants’ Rights in Colorado: Opportunities for Meaningful Pro Bono Work with the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN)

November 13, 2017
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (MST)

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
1400 Wewatta Street, Suite 600
Denver, CO. 80202

Please RSVP: To Rachael Villarreal via phone: 303.571.4000 or email: rvillarreal@kilpatricktownsend.com

Presented by:            

Jessica Burnett, Esq.
Immigration Justice Campaign Pro Bono Coordinator
RMIAN’s Detention Program

Natalie Petrucci, Esq.
University of California President’s Public Service Law Fellow
RMIAN’s Children’s Program

Course Description: Individuals in immigration proceedings, even children and those in detention, are not entitled to court appointed counsel. Working alongside Volunteer Pro Bono Attorneys, RMIAN strives to end this inequity by providing free immigration-related legal services to individuals in immigration detention and to children throughout Colorado. Come learn about our work and the meaningful pro bono opportunities available to volunteer attorneys. No previous immigration law experience necessary!

2:00 PM – 2:05 PM                 Overview of RMIAN’s Services

2:05 PM – 2:25 PM                 Common Forms of Relief for Detention Program Clients

2:25 PM – 2:45 PM                 Common Forms of Relief for Children’s Program Clients

2:45 PM – 2:50 PM                 RMIAN Pro Bono Case Referral Process

2:50 PM – 3:00 PM                 Q&A

Total Instruction Time:   1 Hour

Method/Format of Presentation: Live, classroom format, instructor live in Denver, CO

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I Accidentally Turned My Dad In to Immigration Services

Colorado woman and Yale senior, Viviana Andazola Marquez, tells the story of how her father, a long-term Colorado resident, was detained and placed in deportation proceedings.

*Photo Courtesy of Viviana Andazola Marquez and the New York Times

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RMIAN Statement on the Future of DACA

Statements from RMIAN Staff and Board members on the future of DACA

We believe that justice for immigrants means justice for all.

September 1, 2017

Since the inception of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012, RMIAN has worked tirelessly to help eligible youth in Colorado apply for this important protection and open doors of opportunity. RMIAN has witnessed the amazing courage and hard work of DREAMers, and been inspired by their journeys of higher education, employment, and family unity. RMIAN stands in solidarity with all DACA recipients and their families, and is adamantly opposed to any termination or reduction of the program.

“To end DACA would be a gross injustice and betrayal to the thousands of young immigrants who came forward, trusting in the rule of law, in order to more fully participate in the country that they call home. DACA recipients embody the very best of the United States, and to deny them the opportunity to live free from the threat of deportation and to end their continued work authorization is a tragedy, and a detriment to our country as a whole,” said RMIAN’s Executive Director Mekela Goehring.  

“For the President to end DACA in the name of the rule of law is the worst hypocrisy just days after he pardoned Joe Arpaio for a crime involving racial discrimination in law enforcement. For the President to end DACA in the name of immigration policy rejects all of the values — hard work, getting an education, and contributing to a better society for all Americans — that this country has always held dear,” said RMIAN Founding Board Member and UCLA Law Professor Hiroshi Motomura.

“We are devastated and outraged that the President plans to end DACA. By definition, people with DACA came to the United States as young children, have lived here for over ten years, have attended school here, and do not have criminal histories. They are children, students, lawyers, doctors, business owners, trusted employees, neighbors, friends, mothers and fathers. They are valued members of our community who will suddenly have their jobs and security taken away from them and who will be forced to live in fear of deportation by the government they trusted. We stand with all the DREAMers and call on Congress to provide them with meaningful protection,” said RMIAN’s Children’s Program Managing Attorney Ashley Harrington.

“Terminating DACA would have an immediate and devastating impact on the thousands of Colorado residents who have been approved for the program. Termination of the program would have wide-reaching, negative repercussions for the businesses that employ DACA recipients, the schools and universities that DACA recipients attend, and threaten the stability of the families who rely on the program. The uncertainty and anxiety plaguing my clients and young DREAMers across the country should serve as a moral imperative to our President and our legislators to take swift action to protect these young people. If they are indeed committed to the rule of law, the ball is squarely in their court to take the necessary action to protect them,” said RMIAN Equal Justice Works Emerson Fellow Attorney Elizabeth Zambrana.

RMIAN will continue to fight to advance the legal rights of our fellow Coloradans of immigrant backgrounds. We stand for inclusion, equality, and justice and will fight for due process and equal access to justice for all.  

For additional information about RMIAN and ways you can help, please visit www.rmian.org or contact Executive Director Mekela Goehring at mgoehring@rmian.org or (720) 370-9102.

*photo includes RMIAN attorney Elizabeth Zambrana (right) and a client who received DACA through RMIAN

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ACLU of Colorado to Honor RMIAN with Ralph Carr Award

The ACLU of Colorado will honor RMIAN with the Ralph Carr Award at its annual Bill of Rights Dinner on September 28, in Denver.

The ACLU of Colorado's Bill of Rights Dinner is an annual event where community members come together to celebrate victories, honor leaders, and inspire the community to continue its critical work of defending and preserving civil rights and civil liberties for all.

RMIAN is honored to be the recipient of this year's Ralph Carr Award. Other honorees include Harold Fields, who will receive the Carle Whitehead Memorial Award, and Susan Greene, who will receive the Larry Tajiri Media Award.

The dinner is scheduled to take place on Thursday, September 28, in Denver.

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