Happy International Migrants Day!

Today is an important day that recognizes that no matter where we are from, or why we moved, we deserve to be treated with dignity under international law.  In the words of Ban Ki-moon, "On International Migrants Day, let us commit to coherent, comprehensive and human-rights based responses guided by international law and standards and a shared resolve to leave no one behind." 

Check out the International Migrants Bill of Rights (IMBR), which provides a baseline of our rights as migrants.  Learn more here: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/centers-institutes/isim/imbr/index.cfm. 

Warmly, 

Pangea Family

Rally Today to Stand with Syrian & Iraqi Refugees

We are saddened about the House's vote to shut down the U.S. refugee resettlement program in Syria and Iraq.  Please join community members today in standing with Syrian and Iraqi refugees. 

What: Press Conference - No more war on Syria 

When: Friday, Nov. 20th @ 12-1pm

Place: Steps of San Francisco City Hall (Polk Street)

Organized by World Can't Wait, CODEPINK, and OccupySF Action Council


Read more about the refugee emergency here: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/11/obama-calls-rejection-syrian-refugees-betrayal-our-values

Photo by https://twitter.com/Raqqa_SL/status/663021952576135168

Photo by https://twitter.com/Raqqa_SL/status/663021952576135168

Join us at ICE Tomorrow (9/15) @ 12pm to Free Ernesto!

PRESS ADVISORY: For Tuesday, Sept. 15, 12:00PM

PRESS CONTACTS: Marie Vincent, Attorney at Pangea Legal Services, (415) 635-7187; Niloufar Khonsari, Attorney at Pangea Legal Services, (415) 254-0475.  (family of the detainee will be present for interviews).

What: In response to the prolonged detention of Ernesto Reynoso Cardenas (A029-637-211), we will gather and call on ICE to release Ernesto from detention and reunite him with his family! Ernesto is the sole breadwinner in his family and has been detained for over 3 months. Because Ernesto was tortured in Mexico, he is eligible to apply for withholding of removal. He should have an opportunity to pursue his immigration case outside of detention. On September 15, our community will gather around the suffering family to call for an end to the separation of families by our broken immigration system. Speakers will explain why Ernesto is a classic example of ICE’s unreasonable detention policy and enforcement priorities.

When: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 12:00PM

Where: SF ICE, 630 Sansome St, San Francisco, CA

Who: Family and friends of Ernesto, UC Berkeley colleagues and students, Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights, and Pangea Legal Services

Background: Ernesto Reynoso Cardenas is from Mexico and has resided in California ever since coming here in 2008. He and his family fled torture and politically motivated persecution in Mexico and came to the United States for safety and a better life.  Ernesto is eligible for withholding of removal. He received a positive determination after his reasonable fear interview with an asylum officer. However, ICE has refused to release him because they consider him a high priority for deportation. For further information, please visit: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/help-reunite-ernesto-with-his-family

Ernesto’s ICE Officer is Officer Degnim. He may be reached at (415) 844-5575.

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Pangea Launches New Office in South Bay

First client meeting in our new South Bay office (July 1, 2015)

600 Valley Way, 538A, Milpitas, CA 95035

On July 1, 2015, we opened our doors to clients and community members in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.  

Thanks to the support of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Sobrato Family Foundation, Pangea now has an office in the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits at 600 Valley Way, Milpitas, California.  We are excited to build and grow our work in the South Bay, and we are thrilled that Pangea attorney, Celine DinhJanelle, will be spearheading this effort as our Director of South Bay Programs.  

Stay tuned for an office warming party announcement soon! 

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"The Low Down on Low Bono" by Niloufar Khonsari

Published by PSJD-NALP on April 20, 2015.

The Low Down on Low Bono:
Identifying a Need and Starting up a Nonprofit Organization

While the government funds many important pro bono programs in the United States, low-income communities are still underserved in many legal service areas: housing, family, criminal justice, public benefits, immigration and more.  This article focuses on the gap in immigration and removal defense services in Northern California and how nonprofit organizations can sustain themselves while filling some of that gap.

More than 29,000 immigrants currently find themselves in court proceedings at the San Francisco Immigration Court.[1]  Nationally, there are over 431,000 immigrants in court proceedings. With increased deportations nationwide, there is a clear need for court and immigration defense services. Immigrants in removal proceedings need a lawyer because of the complexity of immigration law and the negative consequences of deportation. Also, many immigrants in the court process are eligible for relief or protection under existing laws, and they may have a pathway to citizenship.

Unfortunately, only a small percentage of immigrants have immediate access to legal counsel.  Private immigration attorneys can be prohibitively expensive. And most nonprofits, even in San Francisco, do not represent clients in complex removal proceedings. The key to this gap is providing access to counsel.

Pangea Legal Services (Pangea) is one example of an organization that was created to help bridge the access gap. While it hasn’t come without its challenges, Pangea created a low-fee, sliding-scale model that grew to five full-time employees between January 2013 and December 2014.  Low bono, or affordable fee models similar to Pangea are growing around the country in various areas of law, creating a financially viable avenue to fill the justice gap.[2]

To continue reading, click here.

 

Advocates must stand up for children

On November 14, 2014, the Daily Journal published an article written by Pangea attorneys, Niloufar Khonsari and Bianca Santos, discussing gang-based asylum claims for Central American children in removal proceedings.  "[W]hile gang-based cases are challenging, they are winnable and more lawyers must stand up for these children to ensure their lives are not lost to the complexities of the law."  Read the full article here.  

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NCCIJ Collaborative and Stanford Law Release Access to Counsel Report

Stanford, Calif., November 6, 2014—The Northern California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (NCCIJ) and the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Stanford Law School released a report, analyzing the effect of attorney representation in immigration removal proceedings before the San Francisco Immigration Court. 

Pangea Legal Services is a contributor to the report and one of the members of the NCCIJ collaborative. 

 

Report Finds Immigrants Represented by Attorneys Three Times More Likely to Win Deportation Cases

 

The report focuses on immigrants whom the federal government locks up while their deportation cases are pending in San Francisco Immigration Court. These Northern California immigrants can be locked up for months or even years. The federal government generally takes the position that immigrants facing deportation—even those who are detained—are not entitled to attorneys unless they can pay for them or find someone to represent them for free. The report analyzes data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, as well as a survey conducted by the Stanford clinic of all Northern California organizations that provide low- or no-cost representation to detained immigrants. The report concludes:

  • Detained immigrants with attorneys were three times more likely to win their deportation cases in San Francisco Immigration Court than those without attorneys.
  • Despite this fact, about two-thirds of detained immigrants have no legal representation at any point in their removal proceedings.
  • Many detained immigrants have family and community in Northern California. Over 50 percent of immigrants represented by the surveyed organizations had lived in the United States for at least 10 years or more, while 77 percent of the immigrants had family members living at home in the United States.

For more information, click here. 

 

CONTACT

Jayashri Srikantiah, Director, Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, Stanford Law School

(650) 724 2442 (w) or (415) 305 0794 (c)

Terry Nagel, Associate Director of Media Relations, Stanford Law School

(650) 723-2232 or (650) 678-7082

 

The following organizations are members of NCCIJ:

Alameda County Public Defender’s Office; API Legal Outreach; Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus; The Bar Association of San Francisco, Lawyer Referral and Information Service; Bay Area Legal Aid; Berkeley Law Policy Advocacy Clinic; California Immigrant Policy Center; Canal Alliance; Catholic Charities San Francisco; Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, U.C. Hastings College of Law; Central American Resource Center; Centro Legal de la Raza; Chinese for Affirmative Action; Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto; Dolores Street Community Services; East Bay Community Law Center; East Bay Sanctuary Covenant; Immigrant Legal Resource Center; Immigration Center for Women and Children; International Institute of the Bay Area; La Raza Centro Legal; La Raza Community Resource Center; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area; Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County; Legal Services for Children; One Justice; Pangea Legal Services; San Francisco Public Defender’s Office; Social Justice Collaborative; Stanford Law School Immigrants’ Rights Clinic; Transgender Law Center; the University of California, Davis, School of Law, Immigration Clinic; and USF Immigration Clinic.

 

Pangea Launches 1st Immigration Clinic in the South Bay

Pangea is thrilled to announce its first immigration clinic in the South Bay! 

In partnership with the Sobrato Center and through the support of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Pangea attorneys will provide bi-monthly clinics in various parts of the South Bay for immigrants in removal proceedings.

Who: Pangea attorneys and volunteers 

What: Immigration consultations for immigrants in removal proceedings 

When: November 3, 2014 

Time: 8am-11am

Where: Sobrato Center, 330 Twin Dolphin Dr., Interior Bay C, Redwood City, CA 94065 

Stay tuned for more clinics upcoming! 

 

Pangea client, Ricardo, is released from detention after 9 months

About nine months ago, Pangea took on representation of the mother and father to an eight-year-old US citizen girl. Both parents were detained in different Texas detention centers after fleeing politically-motivated persecutions in Guatemala, including beatings, threats of death, and a targeted shooting.  Upon entry to the United States, they fell victim to trafficking, and witnessing a rape on the border. Pangea was successful in obtaining a low bond for the mother, reducing it from $7,500 to $1,500.  Pangea quickly succeeded in obtaining her release. However, the father, Ricardo, was detained by the U.S. Marshals for over three months on account of his status as a material witness to a crime. Following his transfer to ICE in May 2014, and with the representation of Pangea attorneys, Ricardo received a positive determination in his reasonable fear interview.  In addition, Pangea filed a U visa application on Ricardo's behalf.  Despite his eligibility for withholding of removal, a U visa, and the many vigils and rallies held in his support by the San Francisco community, ICE continuously refused to allow Ricardo to reunite with his wife and daughter.

Ricardo's wife and daughter pleading with the media and immigration authorities to allow Ricardo to come home. 

In September 2014, a Houston judge found that the well-documented beatings, threats, wrongful detention, and targeted shooting by the Guatemalan police was not enough for him to receive protection under U.S. law.  Exhausted and extremely depressed as a result of nine months of detention, and against the advice of his attorneys, family and advocates, Ricardo decided not to appeal his case. This was a desperate, irrational decision that was the result of nine months of psychological anguish. As his advocates, we felt powerless when witnessing the devastating effects of detention on Ricardo, let alone the barriers to his legal representation.  His mental health notably deteriorated month after month as was evident in our phone conversations. After surviving several months of wrongful detention by corrupt Guatemalan police officers, Ricardo was re-traumatized by his prolonged detention in a Texas detention center. 

Ricardo's daughter being interviewed at a rally for her dad in front of ICE in San Francisco, with sign, "No mas familias separadas.  Extrano a mi papito, Ricardo Martinez.  Liberenlo."  (English: No more families separated.  I miss my daddy, Ricardo Martinez.  Free him.)

The destructive effects of detention were also evident on his eight-year-old daughter, who suffered from separation anxiety. In early October 2014, she and her mother went to Texas to say goodbye to Ricardo. The family started planning for an even longer separation, and for Ricardo’s living in hiding in the mountains of Central America. Shortly after their visit to Texas, ICE finally responded to Pangea's many requests to file a request for a prima facie determination in Ricardo’s U visa petition with USCIS, that resulted in a positive determination, pending further adjudication.  At the last hour, a day before deportation, Pangea and the advocacy community, were able to secure Ricardo's release.  Ricardo reunited with his wife and daughter on October 17, 2014 in San Francisco, California. 

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Webinar: Advocating to Protect Unaccompanied Children in Your Community

A recording of the webinar (held on September 26, 2014) and the accompanying slides are available on CLINIC’s website here. 

The webinar addresses advocacy on behalf of unaccompanied children residing with sponsors and relatives across the United States as they await their immigration hearings. Panelists  provide updates on where the children are living, their impact on local communities, and steps you can take to welcome them. Panelists also provide specific suggestions for local advocacy on behalf of young migrants seeking safety in our country – how to educate community members and how to persuade policymakers to ensure access to much-needed legal representation, education, healthcare, and other social services.

 

Webinar: Advocating to Protect Unaccompanied Children in Your Community

Presenters:

Sarah Bronstein, Senior Attorney, Catholic Legal  Immigration Network (CLINIC)

Ashley Feasley, Migration Policy Advisor, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

Katie Kuennen, Assistant Director of Family Reunification, USCCB

Jen Riddle, Advocacy Attorney, CLINIC

Niloufar Khonsari, Immigration Attorney and Executive Director, Pangea Legal Services 

Michelle Mendez, Senior Managing Attorney, Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Washington, DC