Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York

Transcription

1 Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York Overview of Achievements, Catholic Charities Community Services Department of Immigration Services (CCCS) provides low-cost and free immigration counseling and legal representation to documented and undocumented immigrants throughout metropolitan New York at thirteen offices in its ten-county jurisdiction (Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan and the lower Hudson). During the reporting period, CCCS: Provided 3,582 consultations, including 479 funded by IOLA. Took on 1,368 new immigration cases, including 107 through funds from IOLA. Provided 1,347 additional services to existing clients, including 354 through funds from IOLA. Obtained more than 2,250 immigration benefits for clients, including 209 funded by IOLA. Filed more than 2,890 legal submissions on behalf of clients. Obtained waivers of immigration filing fees, saving more than $283,000 for indigent clients. Conducted 51 outreach presentations on immigration issues, educating communities and social service agencies about current immigration law, including the new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and warning immigrants about the risk of becoming victims of notario fraud. Service Area: Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and the Lower Hudson Valley This Provider At a Glance Population Served: Low Income Immigrants and Refugees Area Served: 11-County Area of Lower New York Total Funding: $2,505,500 Total IOLA Grant: $110,000 Staffing - Full Time Equivalents Total Staff: Lawyers: 7.00 Paralegals: Other Staff: 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 Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York - 1

2 Outcomes 4,795 Individuals Directly Benefited from Closed Civil Legal Cases Extended Representation Outcomes 701 Individuals obtained employment authorization or replaced a Green Card 594 Individuals obtained adjustment of legal status 302 People obtained legal status 156 Families were kept intact 500 People obtained benefits from other "extended representation" (e.g. citizenship, asylum, termination of removal of proceedings, etc.) Examples... Outcomes for Clients M is a 20-year-old Uzbek who became blind in his left eye as a child when he was shot with an F arrow. Doctors in Uzbekistan were unable to help. When FM was eight years old, he was brought by his father to the US to seek medical treatment. Unfortunately, in the US, FM suffered terrible physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father, who beat him regularly for no reason at all. He would get drunk and violently lash out at FM, including hitting him with sticks and putting a knife to him. He would throw beer bottles, cups, or whatever was within his reach at FM. One day, FM s father threw a T.V. at him. FM shared this incident with a counselor at school. Enraged at his son s actions, FM s father kicked him out, forcing him into temporary homelessness. FM slept on a bench in the park. Undocumented and thus ineligible for government assistance of any kind, FM depended on the goodwill of others. Eventually, FM found a mentor, Mr. D, who took him in and provided him with guidance. Mr. D brought FM to CCCS, because CCCS had helped Mr. D become a citizen many years before. CCCS helped FM get Special Immigrant Juvenile Status ( SIJS ) as a minor who had suffered abuse, abandonment, and neglect by his parent, and is helping him apply for a green card. J is a 71-year-old man who grew up in poverty in a rural part of Guatemala that, during the E country s civil war, was used as a battle field by the military and the guerillas. He never received formal education; he does not know how to read or write. In 1988, EJ came to the US searching for safety. He has worked hard since his arrival, in housekeeping, landscaping, and as a cook. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure, which led to a significant loss of vision and caused both of his legs to be amputated. EJ is widowed and has no children. Undocumented and ineligible for public benefits, he relies on friends to get by. To make Examples continued on last page Breakdown of Cases by Legal Problem Area Cases Total 4,795 Employment Authorization/ Replaced Green Card 701 Adjustment of Legal Status 594 Legal Status Obtained 302 Brief Services Provided 2,542 Other Individual Rights Matters 656 Brief Services Provided 53% Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York - 2 Brief Representation Benefits 1,036 People benefited from legal advice and counsel 1,506 People were referred to other sources of help Other Individual Rights Matters 14% Employment Authorization/ Replaced Green Card 15% Adjustment of Legal Status 12% Legal Status Obtained 6%

3 Other Services Hotlines and Other Telephone Based Legal Services CCCS operates the New York New Americans Hotline, a statewide information and referral hotline that responds to immigration- and citizenship-related questions and is funded by NYS s Office for New Americans. The Hotline, which can be accessed at , operates from 9AM until 8PM on weekdays, and its target audience consists of non-citizens living in NYS and their family members. Hotline operators speak 15 different languages, but through the use of a language service line, can answer calls in up to 200 languages. Callers are provided with general information about benefits and other immigrationrelated topics and, if they seek legal assistance, up to three referrals to legal service providers located in proximity to their place of residence. The Hotline referral database contains more than 1,000 providers statewide and nationally, including programs funded by the government to provide services to refugees and asylees, non-profits providing legal and social services, hotlines operated by the federal government, consulates, passport agencies, and state and city agencies that provide services to immigrants. Since 2001, CCCS has used its expertise in immigration law to successfully operate the Hotline and to keep its operators up-to-date with recent changes in immigration laws and procedures. The Hotline creates a more informed immigrant community, combating notario fraud by consistently providing immigrants with correct and current information about immigration benefits and eligibility. Whenever there is a change in the law regarding immigrants, calls to the hotline increase. For example, since June 15, 2012, Hotline operators have been answering thousands of calls about the new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. During the current reporting period, the Hotline answered 26,688 calls and provided 45,992 referrals. Technology and Other Innovations CCCS continues to use LawLogix, a client database management system. LawLogix is a state of the art case management system that enables our staff to maintain and update client information, track case developments, generate reports based on client data, facilitate communication with clients about their cases, and anticipate critical deadlines well in advance through the use of automatic reminders, appointment, and expiration reporting features. The paralegals and attorneys use this comprehensive online immigration case management system to efficiently complete immigration forms, set reminders for important deadlines, and keep detailed notes about case developments. In turn, supervising attorneys and management staff use the system to customize and run reports in order to manage and improve accountability of staff and caseloads, track deadlines, monitor the status of cases, and produce the statistics necessary to report on grants. LawLogix thus enables CCCS to maintain accurate and complete information about all clients, and to produce reliable reports about our work. Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation CCCS legal staff actively engages in community legal education and advocacy, providing immigration presentations to immigrant communities and to agencies that serve these communities, as well as to public officials who shape policies that affect immigrants. Our goals are: To educate members of the immigrant community about their current eligibility for lawful immigration status and/or citizenship, as well as about changes in the law and about new programs, such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Decrease reliance on immigration consultants (notarios) who take advantage of vulnerable immigrants by charging exorbitant fees to apply for benefits they do not qualify for. Educate public school staff, social service caseworkers, shelter staff, and other service providers who work with immigrant populations about their legal needs. Number of People Benefited by Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation Total: 27,831 People Community Legal Education: 1,143 People Legal Hotline Services: 26,688 People Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York - 3

4 Other Services, continued Educate the custodians of unaccompanied minors about the immigration court process and their roles and responsibilities with respect to the unaccompanied minors they sponsor. Educate public officials about the needs of immigrant New Yorkers and advocate for solutions to the issues confronting this community, particularly those who are undocumented, indigent and vulnerable, such as neglected and abused immigrant children. During the reporting period, CCCS conducted 51 community outreach events on immigration issues, with an average attendance of 15 individuals, distributing materials developed by CCCS staff on naturalization and ways to prepare for legalization. Materials developed by other agencies on topics such as immigration consultant (notario) fraud, rights and responsibilities of immigrant youth, and eligibility for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program were also distributed at these outreach events. The materials distributed were in English and Spanish. CCCS also testified before the New York City Council on a number of issues concerning immigrant youth. Collaborations With Other Service Providers CCCS works closely with other immigration legal service providers and with the NY Immigration Coalition (NYIC), a leading advocate for immigrant rights and needs. The Coalition is comprised of nearly 200 groups serving the many needs of immigrants and refugees, including access to health care, education, and public benefits. CCCS maintains close relations with these groups and in particular with those organizations that also provide legal services and representation and consults with them on a regular basis to avoid gaps in service provision or duplication of efforts. New York Law Schools. CCCS collaborates with St. John s University Law School, New York Law School, the Immigration Law Clinic at Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, and other law schools in the New York area to maintain and expand the Law Student Immigration Representation Project, which allows our attorneys to serve more clients by leveraging student resources. During the current reporting period, CCCS worked with 45 clinicians and law student interns from local law schools, who contributed more than 10,000 hours to our clients cases. The Immigration Representation Project (IRP). For over 20 years, CCCS has been part of the IRP consortium with The Legal Aid Society, Human Rights First, and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. The consortium provides legal consultations and direct legal representation to unrepresented low-income non-citizen residents of NYC and surrounding counties who are in removal proceedings in the NY immigration courts. During the current reporting period, CCCS provided more than 250 legal consultations through the IRP Project and helped almost 70 immigrants avoid deportation. The NY Immigration Representation Study Group. During the current reporting period, CCCS director served on a study group composed of 15 immigration practitioners with different vantage points (private attorneys, immigration judges, nonprofit attorneys, law professors), which was convened by Judge Katzmann to create a plan to reach the goal of universal representation of Sources of Funding Total $2,505,500 IOLA Grant $110,000 Church/Religious Organizations $1,183,093 Other Federal Programs $457,844 City and County Funding $226,000 Other $528,563 City and County Funding 9% Other 21% Other Federal Programs 18% Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York - 4 IOLA Grant 5% Church/Religious Organizations 47%

5 Other Services, continued indigent immigrants in removal proceedings, with a program structure that is realistic, politically viable, effective, and can attract funding. At the end of November 2012, the study group published a report that provides a blueprint for creating the nation s first institutionally provided, universal representation system of counsel for immigrants in deportation proceedings. Backup or Support Services Over the years, CCCS has forged relationships with social service and treatment programs including the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, Physicians for Human Rights, and Health Right International on which it relies to provide evaluations and expert testimony in asylum and other immigration court cases, and whose volunteer physicians are trained by our senior attorneys on asylum law and procedure. Pro Bono Volunteer Involvement CCCS works with local law schools to develop and enhance the delivery of legal services to immigrants through law student interns. The law students are part of the Law Student Immigration Representation Project, which IOLA so generously supports. As part of this project, CCCS senior staff attorneys conduct two year-long, for-credit clinical programs at St. John s University Law School and New York Law School. In addition to attending immigration law classes once a week, the clinicians intern in our office for 12 to 15 hours per week. CCCS also has a long-standing relationship with Cardozo Law School, accepting between two to four law student externs each semester. Moreover, during the summer, when the two law school clinics are in recess, CCCS collaborates closely with other local and national law schools to provide internship/externship opportunities to six to eight law students. The law interns are trained and mentored in immigration law and work closely with a supervising staff attorney. They prepare complex immigration cases performing legal research, drafting affidavits and legal memos, and assembling the final submissions that are reviewed by the staff attorneys. They have the opportunity to represent clients in court or before administrative fora (USCIS) and to conduct legal presentations for and screenings of unaccompanied immigrant minors. During the reporting period, we had a total of 45 law student clinicians and interns, who provided more than 10,000 hours to our clients cases. In a notable victory before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, a clinician from St. John s Law School submitted a Petition for Review of a denied asylum claim from Guinea. She successfully proved that the applicant was persecuted because he belonged to the social group of his nuclear family his father was an influential anti-government activist and that the Guinean government had imputed a political opinion to him. Pro Bono Statistics During , the following volunteers provided services in our program: Attorneys: 9 Volunteers 3,342 Hours Law Students: 45 Volunteers 10,343 Hours Other Volunteers: 7 Volunteers 750 Hours Dollar Value of Attorney Services*: $0.84 million *estimated at $250 per hour By exposing law student interns and deferred associates to a meaningful and rewarding experience working with immigrants, CCCS is helping to develop the next generation of lawyers knowledgeable about and interested in immigration law. On April 18th, the New York City Council honored the work of immigration clinics throughout the city as part of Immigrant Heritage Week, including CCCS Refugee and Immigrant Rights Litigation Clinic with St. John s Law School, with a Proclamation. Outcomes for Clients continued from page 2 matters worse, he is in removal proceedings, facing deportation to an impoverished country where his disabilities would amount to a death sentence. A CCCS attorney has secured evidence of his eligibility for a green card under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) and will represent him before the Immigration Court. If successful, EJ will finally find security in the US as a lawful permanent resident. Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York - 5