Our allies at the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) have put together this great FAQ on Lundy Khoy’s case.Q: How can I take action to keep Lundy in the United States? A: Call (202-456-1111) or email (https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact) the White House and ask that the President use his power of Presidential pardon before he leaves office to keep Lundy Khoy in the … Read more »
Updated New York Quick Reference Chart Now Available
We’re happy to announce that our New York Quick Reference Chart has been fully revised and is now available with updates, current as of July 2016. Read more »
IDP Newsletter: September 2016: Burden of Proof Victories, Mandatory Detention & More
SEPTEMBER 2016 In this month’s IDP newsletter: Litigation News: Burden of Proof; Mandatory Detention Advocacy: #FIX96 Trainings: NY State Regional Assistance Center; 2016 NYC Crimes & Immigration Seminar Event: A Window into SCOTUS and Crimmigration Media Coverage LITIGATION NEWS Litigation Successes: Burden of Proof IDP’s “Burden of Proof” litigation campaign — aimed at ensuring that where the “record of conviction” is ambiguous … Read more »
IDP in the News: Why Immigration Reform Includes Drug Reform (El Diario)
The war on drugs is a war on immigrants. According to the Immigrant Defense Project, one in four deportations is caused by a crime…involving people whose most serious offense was a conviction for drug-related offenses. Read more »
IDP in the News: Trump’s ‘Despicable Deportation Games’ (Daily Kos)
“All the presidential candidates should recommit the US government to the core values of justice, dignity, and “second chances” by ending the mass criminalization and deportation policies that fall most heavily on populations of color, tearing families and communities apart,” [said] Alisa Wellek, Executive Director of the Immigrant Defense Project. Read more »
IDP in the News: Marijuana Is Legal in Colorado — If You’re a U.S. Citizen (Westword)
“In New York, when you plead guilty to a marijuana offense in summons court, it is kind of like a factory line, where you are told it’s a non-criminal violation and you pay a fine and that’s it,” says Alisa Wellek, executive director of the New York-based Immigrant Defense Project. “But a lot of people are not being given the … Read more »
New York Quick Reference Chart Resources
Below is a compilation of Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) resources that provide information that may be useful for criminal defense lawyers representing immigrant (noncitizen) defendants in criminal proceedings in New York State: June 27 Practice Note Updates updates to the Aggravated Felony and CSO determinations for: 220.03 (Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree); 220.06(1) (Criminal possession of … Read more »
Updated New York Quick Reference Chart
The Immigrant Defense Project’s New York Quick Reference Chart has been revised and is now available with updates current as of July 2016. This digital, subscription-based chart provides access to newly updated information about the possible immigration consequences of specific, commonly charged New York offenses. By subscribing today, your entire firm or organization will have access to the most recent … Read more »
Get Legal Advice as Private Counsel
Due to the high demand for our services from indigent immigrants and appointed counsel, we ask private counsel to make a contribution before seeking advice. Your contribution will help sustain our consult work for all by offsetting the cost of providing you with guidance. Note that IDP recommends you consult with a tax expert about this contribution. Contributions to nonprofit … Read more »
Resources for Criminal Defenders
Representing Immigrant Defendants in New York, 5th Edition Detailed, practical, straightforward, and up-to-date information to help defense attorneys Understanding and Fulfilling Your Duty to Immigrant Clients Defending Immigrants Partnership An unprecedented collaboration the country’s foremost immigration advocacy and defense organizations Criminal-Immigration Helpline Expert advice and support for immigrants and their loved ones Criminal-Immigration Roundtable IDP’s monthly meeting brings together advocates … Read more »
Protected: Background and Resources: August 2, 2016 CLE for Regional Immigration Assistance Center Staff
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
IDP Newsletter: July 2016: Supreme Court Rulings, #Fix96 Campaign, and More
IDP reaction to U.S. Supreme Court decisions in U.S. v. Texas and Mathis v. U.S; the latest on the “Fix 96” campaign, and much more. Read more »
Fix 96: How Mass Deportation Impacts Families
This year marks the 20th anniversary of harsh immigration laws that ushered in a devastating era of mass deportation. These laws – the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) of 1996 – vastly expanded the pool of non-citizens marked out for “removal,” led to the creation of a massive, … Read more »
Media Roundup: ICE Raids & Blowback
News dropped last week that the Obama administration was planning a month-long “surge” of immigration raids targeting Central American mothers and children. The blowback was swift. Immigrant advocates and Democrats – including the presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders – came out against the raids, with Clinton saying she is “against large scale raids that tear families apart and sow fear … Read more »
Mizue Aizeki: No Matter the Target, Immigration Raids Are Inhumane (Huffington Post)
No Matter the Target, Immigration Raids Are Inhumane By Mizue Aizeki Deputy Director, Immigrant Defense Project Critics of the federal government’s latest wave of deportations—which started with predawn raids in early January and saw 121 Central American asylum seekers, many of them children and parents, grabbed from their homes by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents—correctly argue that such tactics are … Read more »
Jamaica Observer: Buju and the deportee
In this January 10, 2016 column, college professor Kirk Anthony James describes his experience fighting deportation, with IDP’s assistance, for an old drug offense. My waiver hearing would occur in January of 2002. The New York State Immigrant Defense Project handled my case pro bono. They would conduct numerous interviews with family and friends in an effort to show the … Read more »
Task & Purpose: Desperate To Return Home, Deported Veterans Face Exile
IDP executive director Alisa Wellek is quoted in this December 17, 2015 article on the website Task & Purpose about an upcoming documentary film, “Exiled: America’s Deported Veterans.” Alisa Wellek is the executive director for the Immigrant Defense Project where she has worked for eight years helping those facing deportation by ensuring they have access to proper legal representation. Wellek has … Read more »
VICE: How the System Is Failing Central American Families Facing Deportation
IDP staff attorney Genia Blaser is quoted in this January 15, 2016 article about immigration raids targeting Central American asylum seekers for deportation. “Since the beginning of this year, what we’ve seen is that ICE is conducting enforcement in the same manner that they’ve been doing it since November 2014, targeting communities that fall under their new priority enforcement program,” … Read more »
DNAinfo: Deportations Prompt Rally Outside Varick Street Immigration Center
IDP is cited in this January 11, 2016 article on demonstrations in New York City protesting ICE raids on the homes of Central American asylum seekers. One day prior, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito spoke against the deportations at a press event in Corona accusing the federal government of “ripping families apart, separating families, and putting them back in very … Read more »