10 Years of…Assisting Asylum seekers
We are in the middle of a 10 day series on the history of NMILC as part of our 10-year anniversary celebration. Each day we will be sharing highlights from one of our organization’s programs . Check back tomorrow for the next installment in the series!
Our Asylum Team provides free pro se assistance to individuals seeking asylum: a form of immigration relief that can lead to citizenship for people fleeing persecution. Occasionally, the team offers full representation in these cases.
So far this year, our Asylum Team made four trips down to the border city of Ciudad Juarez to provide asylum seekers stranded, under the current administration’s Migrant Protection Protocol, with Know Your Rights trainings and assistance filling out I-589 asylum applications, even taking on one direct representation case.
Prior to COVID, our Detention/Asylum team was holding in-person office hours 1-2 times per week at both detention centers. Since the onset of COVID-19, our team has adapted our programming to screen for COVID health risks and provide assistance with applications for release based on underlying medical conditions.
Despite nation-wide restrictions on visitation in ICE detention centers, which have threatened to limit our access to those inside, we have implemented flexible, remote, and creative systems for regular communication.
To read more about our asylum program, visit nmilc.org/asylum
