The Need for Universal Representation

Rally to Defend DACA - Friday, November 12

DREAMers Support Rally this Friday in Denver

University of Denver Law Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández to Speak at TEDxMileHigh

80+ Attorneys Attend RMIAN's Annual CLE Training

Full Day Immigration Law Training in October

Upcoming Human Trafficking Events

Pro Bono Spotlight

Amanda Milgrom (pictured above left) and Alex Kimata (right) both came to care about immigration issues for different reasons. Alex went to law school to study international law and human rights law and remained invested in social justice issues after his studies. Amanda was a special education teacher before becoming a lawyer and continued to care deeply about working with disadvantaged children and using her degree to help those who face challenges in accessing the justice system.

Amanda and Alex took the case of a 17-year old teenager from East Africa. When the two lawyers got the opportunity to meet with their new client and learn details of her case, they were both in awe of their client's resilience and courage to escape the extreme violence at home and make the journey alone from East Africa through Central America to the southern U.S. border. "She had done so much already," says Alex. "Our work is really just about getting the system to do what it is supposed to do and we're here to make sure people know what their rights are and help them navigate the system."

When their client finally got the notification that her asylum petition had been granted, she reached out to Amanda and let her know the good news. Amanda couldn't contain herself. “This was by far the most rewarding moment of my legal career thus far,” she said.

Amanda encourages other lawyers to take a pro bono case with RMIAN: "It may seem like a lot of time, but in the grand scheme of things, it is such a small thing to do for someone. And by doing this work, you have the opportunity to impact someone's life. The course of our client's life is altered for the best forever."

"This is why you go to law school!" exclaims Alex. Once the paperwork for their current client is wrapped up, Amanda and Alex plan on taking on another asylum case with RMIAN.

RMIAN Response to Recent ICE Raids

The Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network admonishes the recent raids that took place in Colorado and Wyoming and will steadfastly work to provide support to those who are directly impacted. While this administration works to separate families and lock-up treasured members of our communities in the darkness of immigration detention, RMIAN is dedicated to shedding light on their due process rights and walking alongside our clients and their loved ones before the immigration court.

More information on the raids can be found at The Denver Post, The Colorado Independent, Colorado Public Radio, and other local media outlets.

Training Opportunity for Medical Forensic Evaluators

Denver Post's 'On Philanthropy' Column Features RMIAN as Nonprofit of the Month

AILA Colorado's 9th Annual Fall Conference: Immigration Narratives, Civil Rights & Advocacy

Pro Bono Spotlight - Jeff Pearson

Jeff Pearson came out of retirement to take a pro bono asylum case after a close friend told him about RMIAN’s work, and what a critical difference legal representation could make to an asylum seeker’s chances of success.

Jeff’s client is originally from an East African nation, where he’d been imprisoned, beaten and tortured by government security forces because he belonged to a tribe that was identified with the leadership of the armed opposition movement. The client had nothing to do with the armed opposition. In his country of origin, however, tribe is often destiny, and nothing the client said could convince his persecutors that he wasn’t a threat. 

RMIAN got Jeff started on the case with a roadmap of the facts and legal issues, and an overview of local immigration court procedure. Jeff quickly realized that he needed specialists in order to effectively represent his client’s case. He assembled a team including an interpreter to communicate with his client, a country expert to substantiate his client’s fear of persecution, a forensic medical expert, and a witness in Australia whose testimony was key to a legal issue in the case. While those specialized services were either pro bono or subsidized by various sources of funding, the coordination logistics were complex.

The case consumed Jeff for three and a half months. Nothing seemed easy. For five weeks Jeff and his interpreter were barred from seeing the client because of a mumps/chickenpox quarantine at the ICE immigration detention facility in Aurora. Even without quarantine-related restrictions, wait times at the facility were unpredictable and frustratingly long. Asylum law, which was new to Jeff, struck him as a minefield of technicalities that could defeat even meritorious claims.

While Jeff’s own days were something of a mental roller coaster, he says that his client, for all he had suffered, and despite a longer detention in America than any of his detentions in his country of origin, remained a steadfast model of grace, courage, and composure. The client never failed to greet Jeff with a disarming smile and a warm handshake. The client never complained as he repeated the details of his painful story with Jeff and the experts.

At trial, the judge granted asylum. Two days later, Jeff saw the client for the first time outside of detention—in the sunlight and open air. The client’s smile was more radiant than ever. Jeff says he himself had never been happier about the outcome of a case, or, despite the anxiety along the way, more fulfilled by having done one. 

Jeff wants to encourage other retired attorneys to volunteer, and notes that Colorado Supreme Court Rule 204.6 allows them, even if their status is inactive, to take pro bono cases for RMIAN. Furthermore, if they do so, they can be covered under RMIAN’s professional liability insurance. “It’s important work,” Jeff says, “and there are many deserving clients who need your representation now.”

Asylum Law Conference - August 15 & 16

RMIAN, the International Rescue Committee, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association of Colorado Asylum Committee are hosting a two-day training on asylum law at the University of Colorado Law School on August 15 and 16, 2019.

The conference is free for pro bono attorneys who agree to take a case within the next year. CLE credit, including ethics, will be offered and all proceeds of the conference will go to RMIAN and IRC. Register and get additional information here. 

We hope to see you there!

What: Asylum Law Conference
When: Thursday, August 15, and Friday, August 16 from 8:00am-5:00pm
Where: University of Colorado Law School
Register Here

Volunteer Interpreter Orientation - Tuesday, July 30

RMIAN is actively recruiting volunteer interpreters and translators (all languages welcome - Spanish is most needed) to provide interpretation and translation support to RMIAN clients in need. RMIAN pairs hundreds of clients each year with volunteer attorneys that need language support in order to communicate with their client. Volunteer interpreters and document translators are critical to positive case outcomes.

Information for the Orientation, to be held at RMIAN’s office on Tuesday, July 30, from 6:00pm-8:00pm, can be found here. Register for the orientation here.

Upcoming CLE Opportunity: Ethics of Pro Bono Representation of Immigration

Ethics of Pro Bono Representation of Immigrants

DATE: Tuesday, June 4
12 - 1:00 PM
LOCATION: CBA Offices
1290 Broadway, Suite 1700
Denver, CO 80203

Program Description:
This program will discuss ethical issues related to representing pro bono immigration clients. Topics will include competency and diligence in working in an unfamiliar and frequently-changing field of law, communicating with your client and how to communicate with family members, and the struggles of working with detained clients. Speakers will also discuss working with minors and those with diminished capacities.

Speaker Bio:
Laura Lunn- Laura joined the Detention Program at RMIAN in August 2016. Directly before starting at RMIAN she served as the interim Managing Attorney for the CARA Pro Bono Project at the South Texas Family Residential Facility in Dilley, Texas. Previously, Laura was Associate Attorney at Lichter Immigration, PC, in Denver, Colorado, where she provided direct representation to clients obtaining immigration benefits through family-based petitions, DACA, asylum, U-Visas, VAWA, and Cancellation of Removal. Before moving to Colorado, she worked as an Associate Attorney at Immigration Law Group, PC, in Portland, Oregon. Following law school, Laura clerked as an Attorney Advisor for the El Paso Immigration Courts through the U.S. Attorney General's Honors Program, providing legal analysis to six judges on both detained and non-detained dockets. She attended the University of Iowa College of Law, where she was actively engaged in the immigration law clinic and was awarded a summer fellowship with the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights. During her time at Colgate University, Laura majored in Peace & Conflict Studies. Laura is a member of the Oregon and Iowa State Bars as well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She serves as a member of the Colorado AILA Chapter's EOIR Liaison Committee and is also a committee member for the Colorado Bar Association's Immigration Law Section. Laura's efforts as a pro bono volunteer attorney for the family detention facility in Artesia, New Mexico, were recognized when she and other attorneys involved in the project received the Oregon AILA Pro Bono Award for 2015 and the 2015 AILA Michael Maggio Pro Bono Award. She is proficient in Spanish.

James Wilder- E. James Wilder is Assistant Regulation Counsel for the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation. Mr. Wilder works in the intake division where he investigates allegations of lawyer misconduct pursuant to the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct and allegations of the unauthorized practice of law. Mr. Wilder graduated from the University of Denver College of Law in 1997. Prior to joining the OARC in 2014, Mr. Wilder clerked for the Honorable Edward A. Simons of the Denver District Court and was an associate at two medium-sized law firms before opening his own practice in 2005 focusing on real estate litigation where he worked until joining the OARC. Mr. Wilder speaks Spanish and handles the Spanish-speaking complaints in the OARC.

Applied for 1 Ethics CLE Credit

Register to Attend Here

Taco Passport to Benefit RMIAN

Happy Hour to Benefit RMIAN - May 15

Save the Date and Please Join Us on Wednesday, May 15, from 5:00-10:00pm for a Happy Hour at Hogshead Brewery in Denver. 20% of proceeds during that time period will be donated to RMIAN.

What: Happy Hour Benefitting RMIAN
When: Wednesday, May 15, 5:00-10:00pm
Where: Hogshead Brewery, 4460 W 29th Avenue in Denver

Pro Bono Spotlight - Katie Thomas

After attending a training hosted by RMIAN, Katie Thomas turned the shock and frustration she felt in the wake of the 2016 presidential election into action. RMIAN connected Katie with her pro bono client, Luis, and, despite her accomplished career in the legal field, Katie felt intimidated at practicing in an entirely new area of law and at testing her litigation skills in a case with such high stakes. She had to learn the complexity of the immigration legal system, navigate the logistics of the detention center, and manage an entirely different kind of relationship with a client with overwhelming needs that were often out of her control. 
 
RMIAN provided Katie with a memo of Luis’s case and also paired her with a mentor for technical guidance. Katie worked tirelessly with her paralegal Tamara Gaedtke to overcome the challenges of Luis's case. Tamara had felt helplessness while listening to the hostile rhetoric on immigration coming from Washington D.C. and she did not hesitate at the chance to work alongside Katie to fight for Luis' rights. When Katie heard that Luis's deportation order had been reversed, she and Tamara literally jumped and danced in her office at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. "It made me feel like I positively impacted one person's life," Katie says. 
 
In addition to the reward of changing someone's life, she also recognizes the professional development she found in being able to practice in a different area of law. "Do it!" she says to anyone considering participating in RMIAN's Pro Bono Attorney Program. "The work that RMIAN does is saving lives," Katie says, "The impact of your work is real and visible."

Pro Bono Attorneys from Kilpatrick Townsend Help to Reunite Families