Amica Center for Immigrant Rights

The Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition is now Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (“Amica Center” for short). Learn more about our new name at www.amicacenter.org    Since our founding in 1999, we have grown significantly and added new services to support immigrants in detention. Recently, CAIR Coalition has outgrown our name, expanding beyond our initial services and geographic boundaries.    “Amica” is the Latin word for “friend,” and that echoes the way we approach what we do. Just as friends stand with one another, Amica Center stands with our clients to achieve the safety, stability, and opportunity we all deserve. 

📢 FREE CRIM-IMM IMMIGRATION LAW TRAINING! Join the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights Immigration Impact Lab's next Monthly Immigration Litigation Roundtable on "The Categorical Approach Post-Chevron: Pushing the Line on CIMTs" Crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs) are one of the most vague and wide-reaching categories of criminal offenses that can trigger deportation and other harsh immigration consequences under immigration law. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and circuit courts of appeals have found wide ranges of offenses to be considered CIMTs. Learn more about CIMTs here: https://lnkd.in/emYeJZNd Following the Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright overturning Chevron, which previously awarded more deference to administrative agencies' interpretations of legal terms, there may be more room available to challenge the BIA's interpretation of what constitutes a CIMT. This training will take place Thursday, September 5th from 3-4pm EST and led by Senior Attorney Peter Alfredson and Staff Attorney Kendra Blandon.   ✅ Register for this and future monthly trainings here https://lnkd.in/eb7Vsbq7 P.S. To join the Lab's list for training invites and reminders, message me your e-mail! #immigrationlaw #immigration #legaltraining #litigation

Edafe Okporo, author of Asylum: A Memoir and Manifesto and founder of Refuge America, will speak at our 25th Anniversary Celebration in September!    Get your tickets today at https://lnkd.in/gJ723XDP    Join us for an evening of networking, fundraising, and community and hear Edafe Okporo speak about his personal experiences as a refugee and his unwavering commitment to equality and justice. 

Amica Center is celebrating 25 years of defending one another!  Learn more and get your tickets today at https://lnkd.in/gJ723XDP     Join us on September 26th at the National Museum of Women in the Arts for a night of networking, fundraising, and community.    Over the past two decades, we have launched innovative new legal defenses, litigated thousands of cases, expanded our services beyond the Capital region, grown into a team of more than 100 people, and worked alongside thousands of immigrant adults, children, and families.

We’re looking for volunteers interested in attending visits to immigration detention facilities in Virginia. Join our Legal Orientation team on jail visits this fall.       As a jail visit volunteer, you’ll provide immigrant adults with general information about the detention process, information about their legal rights, and options for fighting deportation. Jail visits are full day commitments, and all volunteers must attend a jail visit volunteer training prior to their first visit.       To get started, sign up for Amica Center’s Jail Visit Volunteer Training: https://lnkd.in/e5A6jS2X  

Amica Center has joined legal advocates and organizations in signing a letter calling for the timely release of people from immigration custody after they win their immigration case.    There is a concerning trend of ICE continuing to detain people even after an immigration judge grants them fear-based protection from removal.     Amica Center recently settled a class action lawsuit with ICE’s Washington Field Office that resulted in the release of multiple immigrants from arbitrary ICE detention.     We will continue to challenge ICE’s arbitrary detention practices to get immigrants out of detention and back with their families and communities. 

Interested in a career fighting for immigrant rights? Join Amica Center’s team!    We’re looking for a Senior Attorney for our Detained Adult Program. Learn more and apply at https://lnkd.in/eVzWTvhA  

ICE is finally required to consider the release of people who are unlawfully detained after they win their immigration case.    Amica Center Senior Attorney Austin Rose explains why Amica Center, ACLU of Virginia, and National Immigration Project filed a class action lawsuit against ICE and why the settlement is important.    We will continue to challenge ICE’s arbitrary detention practices to get immigrants out of detention and back with their families and communities. 

Amica Center has joined organizations calling for the government to protect access to work for immigrants and people seeking asylum.     Over one million people have applied for work permits but the wait for authorization can take many months, impacting people’s ability to provide food and shelter for themselves and their families.    Eliminating the work permit backlog for initial and renewal applications should be a top priority.  

ICE is finally required to consider the release of people who are unlawfully detained after they win their immigration case.    Amica Center along with ACLU of Virginia and National Immigration Project settled a class action lawsuit against ICE resulting in the release of multiple immigrants who were detained event after winning their immigration cases.    This settlement puts ICE on notice that it is still bound by the law.     Learn more at https://lnkd.in/ejQCWHPK