Catholic Migration Services, Inc.

Transcription

1 Catholic Migration Services, Inc. Overview of Achievements, Catholic Migration Services provides services to the diverse low-income immigrant population of Brooklyn and Queens. Our legal services focus on areas of particular interest for immigrants: immigration law, housing law, and workers rights. Our attorneys and counselors are cross-trained and able to assist or refer clients in all three areas. From April I, 2012 to March 31, 2013, Catholic Migration Services achieved the following results: 153 immigrants became U.S. Citizens; Successfully defended 12 immigrants against removal and deportation proceedings; Obtained legal permanent resident status and/or work authorizations for 458 immigrants; Obtained a T visa for an immigrant subjected to trafficking; Prevented the eviction of 11 families through housing court litigation and improved the housing conditions for 63 households; Helped 31 households avoid overcharges by their landlord; Recovered unpaid wages for 31 immigrant workers; and Responded to over 800 callers to our labor hotline, Linea Laboral. Catholic Migration Services has also made contributions that are not so easily measured. We provide community education not only in English but also Spanish and Creole. This makes our community education much more accessible to our target population and makes us more approachable. Our community education is also truly community based. We regularly conduct events and presentations throughout neighborhoods and parishes in Queens and Brooklyn. In addition, Catholic Migration Services provides know-your-rights education through easily accessible print publications. The Roman Catholic Diocese, with which we are affiliated, has two major publications, The Tablet, an English language weekly paper with a circulation of74,000 to 75,000; and Nuestra Voz, a Spanish language monthly publication with a circulation of 15,000. Both publications regularly print articles about Continued on last page King s Que ens This Provider At a Glance Population Served: Low Income Immigrant Population Area Served: Kings and Queens Counties Total Funding: $1,328,580 Total IOLA Grant: $35,000 Staffing - Full Time Equivalents Total Staff: Lawyers: 7.00 Paralegals: Other Staff: 8.00 Types of Services Provided Direct Civil Legal Representation Brief Services Extended Services Hotlines and Other Phone-Based Services Technology and Other Innovations Community Legal Education Pro Se Assistance Collaborations With Other Service Providers Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects Catholic Migration Services, Inc. - 1

2 Outcomes 4,554 Individuals Benefited from 1,987 Closed Direct Civil Legal Cases Extended Representation Outcomes 550 Individuals obtained adjustment of legal status 500 Immigrants obtained employment authorization or obtained or replaced Green Card 350 Immigrants obtained citizenship 115 People obtained repairs, improved housing conditions, or otherwise enforced rights to decent, habitable housing 864 People obtained benefits from other "extended representation" Brief Representation Benefits 2,050 People benefited from legal advice and counsel 125 People benefited from non-litigation advocacy services Dollar Benefits Achieved for Clients - Total $31,202 Unemployment Compensation: $9,082 Affirmative Judgments: $22,120 Total includes back awards and total monthly benefits, estimated over 6 months for unemployment compensation and 12 months for affirmative judgments. Examples... Outcomes for Clients 20-year old woman from Jamaica came to Catholic Migration Services for a consultation A regarding her immigration problems. She described a childhood of family neglect and then abandonment by her parents when she was 16. Recognizing that she was eligible for relief as a Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ), CMS attorneys worked together to obtain an Order of Guardianship and a Special Findings Order from the Family Court in just a matter of weeks. CMS quick response enabled this young woman to file the necessary immigration forms for approval of her SIJ and Adjustment of Status Application before her 21st birthday, the deadline for SIJ relief. CMS is expecting this young woman s SIJ and Adjustment of Status Application to be approved shortly. uan, an immigrant from Mexico with limited ability to communicate in English, came to Catholic J Migration Services regarding a 5-day rent demand. The demand claimed that Juan owed rent from October 2012 through February 2013 even though Juan was current with rent. CMS had previously helped Juan to obtain a DHCR rent reduction order for a decrease in services and saw that the monthly rent allegedly owed was more than what the landlord was allowed to charge under the DHCR rent reduction order. CMS housing attorney Kenny Minaya contacted the apartment s management company to inform them of the mistake but they failed to correct the problem. Accordingly, CMS appeared in court, showed the relevant documents to the landlord s attorney, who then agreed to discontinue the case. They also entered into a stipulated order to make the repairs that were the subject of the rent reduction order. Breakdown of Cases by Legal Problem Area People Cases Total 4,554 1,987 Individual Rights 3,352 1,539 Housing 1, Employment Income Maintenance 3 1 Individual Rights 77.5% Housing 20.9% Employment 1.6% Income Maintenance 0.1% Catholic Migration Services, Inc. - 2

3 Other Services Hotlines and Other Telephone Based Legal Services CMS operates a bilingual (Spanish-English) hotline to assist low-income immigrant workers. Its origins date back to 2009 when the Mexican Consulate approached Catholic Migration Services about problems faced by Mexican immigrant workers, particularly widespread wage theft. CMS and the Mexican Consulate entered into a collaborative agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, which agreed to take complaints filed by CMS on behalf of these exploited workers. Linea Laboral was thus created. Linea Laboral is staffed by trained counselors who, under the supervision of a staff attorney, answer callers questions, inform them of their employment rights, screen their calls, and document complaints about wage-hour violations, wage theft, and safety conditions. The staff attorney reviews the complaints and determines whether they meet the requirements for filing. If they do, the complaints are filed with either the state or federal Department of Labor. For matters that do not fit the requirements for filing with the Department of Labor, the CMS program attorney considers other assistance, such as a demand letter to the employer or a referral to a different CMS program or a different community organization. Linea Laboral has been such a success that in 2012, the collaborative agreement was expanded beyond its original members to include the New York City Office of the Comptroller and the consulates of Guatemala, Chile, El Salvador, and Honduras. Immigrant workers learn of this service from the many consulates involved in its creation and expansion, as well as from other programs at CMS, other community-based organizations, and parishes in the Diocese of Brooklyn. Also monthly articles appear in Nuestra Voz, the Spanishlanguage publication of the Diocese of Brooklyn, informing immigrant workers of their rights and the availability of Linea Laboral to enforce these rights. The service is well-integrated with the rest of CMS legal services. CMS selects some immigrant callers for litigation services and representation at unemployment insurance hearings. The counselors and supervising attorney are cross-trained in immigration law and thus able to screen callers for other legal needs. Technology and Other Innovations CMS created a website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account in order to communicate with its target audience better. CMS also set up a Google account, thus enabling all staff to have the same ending of catholicmigration.org. Google documents have also facilitated the sharing of documents and calendars between staff and the two offices. Google documents increases program efficiency because shared documents may be instantly accessed without the author having to resend the shared document via . Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation Catholic Migration Services provides community legal education with the goal of educating low-income immigrants regarding workers rights, housing law, immigration law, and potential immigration reform. Service delivery strategies include: presentations and distribution of printed materials at regularly occurring meetings at which immigrants are in attendance; presentations at parish facilities, schools, and/ or community centers in parishes with large immigrant populations; articles in publications affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn; publishing calendars and legal information on CMS website, Facebook page and/or Twitter feed; making educational materials freely available at its offices. Number of People Benefited by Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation Total: 8,970 People Community Legal Education: 7,640 People Pro Se Assistance: 480 People Legal Hotline Services: 850 People Catholic Migration Services, Inc. - 3

4 Other Services, continued CMS estimates that our community education methods have reached tens of thousands of lowincome immigrants residing in Brooklyn and Queens. Collaborations With Other Service Providers Queens Housing Coalition ( QHC ) CMS is one seven partner organizations in the coalition. QHC works together to preserve and promote affordable housing in Queens. The other member organizations are: Chhaya CDC; Centro Hispano Cuzcatlan; MinKwon Center for Community Action; Queens Community House; and Woodside on the Move. Achievements include: 1) doubling the attendance at monthly tenant meetings over the past year; 2) increased tenant education; 3) increased tenant organizing and leadership training; and 4) informing tenants of important local developments, such as the Willets Point Development Plan. These achievements empower tenants to take action to protect their rights. Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. ( CLINIC ) CMS has a Memorandum of Understanding with CLINIC in which they work together to increase the number of people who apply for and obtain citizenship through naturalization. Achievements: CMS processed hundreds of applications for citizenship through CLINIC. This MOU has also enabled CMS to obtain high quality directly applicable training for its staff regarding immigration law and management techniques. Queens Legal Services ( QLS ) CMS and QLS are co-counsel, together with a private law firm, in which they jointly represent 61 immigrant tenants against a landlord regarding alleged predatory practices. This lawsuit is ongoing. Latino Justice PRLDEF CMS is collaborating with Latino Justice on litigation pending in federal court to recover back pay for two immigrant workers. Queens Congregations United for Action ( QCUA ) In the past year, CMS and QCUA collaborated on a DACA presentation in a Queens immigrant neighborhood and worked together to provide relief to persons residing in Sandy-affected areas. Catholic Charities CMS and Catholic Charities collaborated on events in Sandy-affected neighborhoods in order to make legal and social services easily accessible to people in these areas. CUNY Citizenship Now! CMS has collaborated with CUNY and other organizations on events to help people apply for citizenship. In one of the events, they worked together to test out a new online application program called CitizenshipWorks. On another occasion, CMS collaborated with CUNY and the Legal Aid Society s Immigration Unit to assist hundreds of individuals to apply for citizenship. MinKwon Center for Community Action CMS and MinKwon collaborated on a DACA workshop held in Queens. New Americans Campaign ( NAC ) CMS is a local partner in this national network of more than 80 legal services providers, businesses, faith-based Sources of Funding Total $1,328,580 IOLA Grant $35,000 Church/Religious Organizations $600,000 Foundations $317,480 Attorney Fees $169,500 Other $206,600 Attorney Fees 13% Other 15% IOLA Grant 3% Church/Religious Organizations 45% Foundations 24% Catholic Migration Services, Inc. - 4

5 Other Services, continued organizations, community leaders and foundations, working to modernize the system of naturalization assistance and to help more immigrants with legal permanent resident status to become US citizens. Maura Clarke-Ita Ford Center ( MCIF ) MCIF equips immigrants with the skills they need to live and work in their new homeland. CMS has put on workshops to educate immigrants at MCIF regarding immigration, workers rights, and housing matters, as well as answer individual questions of attendees. Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects Centeno, et al. v. Zara Realty, et al., Queens County Supreme Court In Centeno, 61 plaintiffs residing in five different buildings are suing their landlord in Queens County Supreme Court for harassment, rent overcharges, and deceptive business practices under General Business Law section 349. Plaintiffs allege that the landlord s conduct towards them is part of a pattern to force tenants to move so that the landlord can raise rents, with the ultimate goal of deregulating the apartments. This is an impact case not only because of the large number of tenants and buildings in the suit, but also because the defendant is one of the largest landlords in Queens. Defendant s motion to dismiss was denied. Even though discovery is still ongoing, defendant has moved for Summary Judgment. Plaintiffs are currently preparing their opposition papers. Plaintiffs are represented by CMS, Queens Legal Services, and the private law firm of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. Pro Bono Volunteer Involvement Pro Bono attorneys assist CMS at large scale immigration events, such as DACA, TPS, and naturalization events. Pro Bono attorneys from private law firms occasionally assist with walk-in housing clinics held in CMS Queens office. CMS developed an orientation and training program specifically for pro bono attorneys to assist in the housing legal clinic. The program received CLE approval and has been used at several private law firm/in-house counsel offices. Pro Bono Statistics During , the following volunteers provided services in our program: Attorneys: 15 Volunteers 740 Hours Law Students: 40 Volunteers 3,300 Hours Other Volunteers: 1,515 Volunteers 250 Hours Total Cases Completed by Attorneys: 70 Cases Dollar Value of Attorney Services*: $0.19 million *estimated at $250 per hour CMS had four law student interns in Summer 2012 and is in the process of reviewing applications from first and second year law students for a Summer 2013 internship. CMS has had law school graduates and a volunteer paralegal provide volunteer services to our immigration law program. Private attorneys occasionally take responsibility for litigation matters referred by CMS when appropriate and manageable. Private counsel also collaborate with CMS on litigation matters, often bearing the costs of litigation. Currently CMS is collaborating with Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, LLP and Getman & Sweeney PLLC in active litigation. Snapshot of Accomplishments continued from page 1 CMS, the services we provide, our outreach events, and our contact information. In addition, the attorney for CMS' Workers Rights Program writes a regular monthly article for Nuestra Voz. The articles educate immigrant workers regarding minimum wage, overtime pay, and safe working conditions. The articles al.so inform the readers of how they can contact Linea Laboral, CMS' hotline, to report alleged labor law violations. Catholic Migration Services, Inc. - 5