Report on LEP and Immigrant Crime Victims

Link to Report

Dear All:

I wanted to share with you the results of a report on LEP and immigrant crime victims access to police assistance that we just completed today.  The National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project at American University Washington College of Law conducted a nationwide survey of immigrant victim’s advocates and attorneys to learn about the experiences immigrant and LEP victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and other crimes have in their interactions with law enforcement. The attached report presents findings from a survey conducted in March of 2013 in which 722 agencies responded from 50 jurisdictions, reporting on the experiences of over 22,000 immigrant crime victims. The survey focused on two main issues: U visa certification and access to police assistance for Limited English Proficient and immigrant clients.The first part of the report focuses on findings regarding application and implementation of the U visa. The responses highlight the need for:

·         Increasing the U visa Cap;

·         Removing the supervisor certification requirement; and

·         Making changes to DHS policies and regulations to effectively help immigrant crime victims and encourage their trust and use of the justice system protections

The second part of the report focuses on findings regarding language access for Limited English Proficient (LEP) crime victim clients. Some of the more concerning findings include:

·         Police used unqualified interpreters in 30% of reported cases;

·         The police spoke only with the perpetrator who spoke English in 8.1% of domestic violence cases and 10.7% of sexual assault cases; and

·         The police did not take reports in 9.6% of sexual assault cases; in 10.4% of domestic violence cases and 11.8% of human trafficking case involving immigrant crime victim clients.

The full report includes an in depth analysis of the survey responses and policy recommendations.

We want to thank all of you who participated in the survey and share your experiences.

Thanks for all the work you have done

Take care,

Leslye

Leslye E. Orloff

Adjunct Professor

Director, National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project, NIWAP

American University Washington College of Law

IFAP Fellowship

Considerations Before you read further…

1. The IFAP fellowship is part-time so it will fit in well with your summer internship or classes. It probably not the only thing you want to do this summer.
2. You do not need to be in Seattle to do the fellowship but you will be calling Seattle Area attorneys so being in the same timezone is helpful.
3. The fellowship is a GREAT opportunity to network with attorneys in the area.

SummerFellowshipApp2013

2013 Bruce & Aphrodite Garrison Summer/Fall Fellow

 Job Description

Student will work with the IFAP Steering Committee, the Faculty Supervisor, and staff at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) to coordinate IFAP activities and provide general administrative support to the organization.  The position will correspond to Summer and Autumn Quarters 2013.

 Duties

· Plans and facilitates the annual IFAP Fall CLE for pro bono attorneys

· Recruits pro bono attorneys

· Performs legal research and works with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project staff attorneys in order to make necessary substantive updates and recommended additions to the IFAP Training Manual

· Creates and completes independent projects in communication with the Steering Committee and the Faculty Advisor

· Works with the Database Manager to make a plan for comprehensive transfer of data to IFAP’s new database

Work Schedule

Summer:

Works part-time or full-time, to be determined based on circumstances of student awarded the position

· If enrolled as a student during summer quarter (externship credits or courses), can work no more than 19 hours per week, beginning July 1^st

(See http://www.washington.edu/students/osfa/gradaid/ws.paperwork.html

for the general work study information)

· However, if not enrolled as a student during summer, may work full-time hours beginning July 1^st, subject to the amount of work needed

(See http://www.washington.edu/students/osfa/gradaid/ws.summer.html for the full-time summer work study information)

Fall:

Works part-time, with the bulk of the work occurring during September-October for the CLE

Compensation

Must be Work Study eligible – $15/hour (Note: If you currently receive financial aid, you are likely eligible for work study)

Timeline

Deadline for application submissions: Monday, April 29, 2013 @ 7pm

A final decision will be made by May 10, 2013

 

Yes We Can! : Public Benefits for Immigrant Survivors

Yes We Can! : Public Benefits for Immigrant Survivors
PRESENTED BY LEGAL MOMENTUM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
THE NATIONAL IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S ADVOCACY PROJECT (NIWAP) AND THE CALIFORNIA COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT (CALCASA)

Date: Friday, April 19, 2013

Time: 2:00p.m.-3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Cost: The webinar is free to all participants.

Target Audience: The webinar is for grantees who receive funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and their partners who work with or advocate for immigrant survivors.

Where: Offered online. Participants must register ahead of time at www.niwap.org/training/public-benefits-webinar.htm. Space is limited to 150 persons. Deadline to register is April 16, 2013.
Presenter: Leslye Orloff, Director, National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project, NIWAP, American University Washington College of Law

For more information download this flyer: Public Benefits Flyer

2013 IFAP Elections

Hello IFAP Volunteers,

It’s time to elect our 2013/2014 IFAP Steering Committee!

We will be electing members to serve in the following steering committee positions:

President/Co-President (at least one): recruit students and attorneys in the fall quarter; support the Steering Committee in their duties; coordinate with the IFAP faculty advisors; perform all other duties necessary to keep IFAP functioning smoothly and financially stable. Experience with IFAP Steering Committee required.

Secretary: take minutes at Steering Committee meetings and distribute by electronic mail. Manage office hour scheduling and train steering committee on office hour responsibilities.

Treasurer: prepare an annual budget; provide financial data to the Advisory Council; reimburse expenditures.

Advisory Council Liaison: organize and attend Advisory Council meetings; create an agenda for the meeting and facilitate discussion of these items; ensure follow-up on items discussed; recruit members for the Advisory Council and update members on IFAP activities.

Co-case Managers: one case manager shall be selected each year from the rising 2L class and will serve a 2-year term.  Duties of the co-case managers shall include organizing and facilitating fall training sessions; preparing and distributing training manual; working with NWIRP to match students and pro bono attorneys with clients; conducting case management.

Webmaster and Interpreter Liaison: Posts updates to the IFAP blog and website at least once each quarter, especially after Advisory Board meetings, student trainings/case assignments, and annual fundraising event.  Emails IFAP donors and listserv members with highlights and links to the full blog and website.  Assists with recruitment of interpreters and helps teams that need assistance procuring an interpreter.

Event Coordinator: organizes IFAP events (including the annual fundraiser, Social Justice Tuesday, and thank-you event for IFAP alumni), applies for funding from the various University sources to cover costs, makes all the necessary contacts and preparations for the event, including: finding speakers, scheduling venues, coordinating food/catering, etc. Delegates tasks to 1L reps and other Steering Committee members as necessary.

Database Manager: Manages all information, tracking and reporting via IFAP database.  Updates client, volunteer attorney, volunteer student, and IFAP alumni information in database.  Train other IFAP SC members on database use and coordinate/delegate database entry projects, as necessary.  Works closely with Advisory Board Liaison and Case Managers to obtain and track appropriate information.  Work with Law School tech personnel and “We Pro Bono” system support to handle any repairs or upgrades.

ALL SC members: weekly office hours, attend monthly SC meetings, help out with IFAP events as needed (SJT’s, fundraising events, etc.)

If you are interested in joining the IFAP Steering Committee for 2013-2014, please e-mail a one page application to Tony(ramseyha@uw.edu) and Maria (manzam2@uw.edu) with “IFAP Steering Committee Application” in the subject line. The application should address the six items below.

 

1.         Name, Phone number, UW E-mail address, location over summer

2.     The position to which you are applying

3.         The reasons you would like to serve in that position

4.         The other positions that you would consider

5.         The skills/experiences that will assist you in that position (please include your previous involvement with IFAP)

6.         Any other information that you would like to share

The Deadline is Wednesday, April 17 at 7pm.  Positions feel free to ask us any questions!

Warm regards,

Tony Ramsey

Co-President and 3L Case Manager
Immigrant Families Advocacy Project

IFAP  recently launched their new Facebook page. Liking the page is a great opportunity to stay up to date on IFAP and learn more about issues surrounding immigration.

US immigration chief says same-sex ties are family ties

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced recently that the phrase “family ties” used in US immigration cases shall include long-term, same-sex partners. Close family ties are one factor considered in deportation cases. U.S. Congressman Michael Honda of California, who supported the change, said:

“In the wake of this important victory, we must take a step forward and continue the fight for immigration reform. Current immigration laws are tearing families apart and separating American citizens from their loves ones,” he said in a statement. “No one should have to choose between their spouse and their country, and no family should be left out of the immigration system.”

Read the full article here

Registration live for October 19 CLE

Interested in partnering with law students during the 2012-2013 school year to provide immigration assistance to survivors of violent crime and domestic violence? Join us for a CLE on October 19, 2012. Details here.