Supporting Immigrants
The image of America as a nation of immigrants has never been more true to life. Forty-two million foreign-born people live in the United States; a new immigrant arrives every 28 seconds. Unlike previous generations, they’re moving beyond traditional gateway cities to make homes in large and small communities throughout the country, some of which were virtually untouched by immigration until recently.
With our partners in government, we’re working to ensure that justice, in the form of fundamental legal protections and services, is available to them. That involves building trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement agencies and overcoming language barriers, so that the motto “protect and serve” genuinely applies to everyone. We’re also working to understand and meet the needs of the growing number of vulnerable children who enter the United States alone, and giving people facing deportation—many who have lived here for years—a fair shot in immigration court.
Issue
Spotlights
Featured
SAFE Initiative
Driving the Movement for Universal Representation
The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project
Universal Representation for Detained Immigrants Facing Deportation in Upstate New York
In recent years, threats of arrest and detention of immigrants have soared, families have been systematically separated, and noncitizens are more vulnerable than ever to deportation. Yet immigrants facing deportation do not have the right to a public defender if they cannot afford a lawyer. The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) is ...
Series: Covid-19
Detention May Become Death Sentence for Vulnerable Detainees
Immediate action is needed to prevent the spread of this disease among other people in detention who cannot protect themselves. Even under normal circumstances, imprisoning immigrants who are in deportation proceedings is cruel. People—including those who may have legal standing to remain in the United States—languish for weeks, months, or years. ...
Blog Post
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Erica Bryant
Related Work
It’s Time to Provide Government-Funded Lawyers to All Immigrants Facing Deportation
Blog Post
Lucila Figueroa
Nina Siulc
Building the Movement Summary
Advancing Universal Representation: A Toolkit for Advocates, Organizers, Legal Service Providers, and Policymakers
The movement for universal representation—the idea that every immigrant facing detention and deportation should have the right to a publicly funded lawyer if they cannot afford one—continues to gain significant momentum. As a result of local and state campaigns, more than 40 jurisdictions across the country now fund deportation defense programs. Wi ...
Annual Report 2020
Reckoning with Justice
Mi Abogado De Inmigración Financiado Públicamente Me Dio Esperanza Cuando Sufrí Miedo Y Desesperación
My Publicly Funded Immigration Lawyer Gave Me Hope When I Faced Fear and Despair
Rising to the Moment: Advancing the National Movement for Universal Representation
Years 1-3 of the SAFE Initiative
In 2017, the Vera Institute of Justice launched the Safety and Fairness for Everyone Network—now known as the SAFE Initiative or “SAFE”—to counter the fundamental and urgent injustices facing immigrants caught up in the nation’s immigration enforcement system. With roots in Vera's work for the past 15 years building the government-funded removal de ...
Government Leaders Must Meet Voters’ Demands for Justice with Meaningful Change
Black voters played a pivotal role in this election, which President-elect Biden acknowledged during his acceptance speech, promising to have their backs. There is no doubt that these voters see justice reform as a top priority. The Vera Institute of Justice—in partnership with Latino Decisions, the African American Research Collaborative, Asian ...
Blog Post
Nicholas Turner
Tracking COVID-19 in Immigration Detention
A Dashboard of ICE Data
Series: Target 2020
The Tipping Point for Universal Representation for Immigrants
In early October, ICE reported that, within a six-day span, it arrested 172 immigrants across six “sanctuary cities”: Baltimore, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, DC. These cities all have policies in place that are intended to foster trust between local law enforcement and immigrants in their jurisdictions, and yet parents, ...
Blog Post
Melissa Garlick
Annie Chen
Evidence Shows That Most Immigrants Appear for Immigration Court Hearings
The United States confines hundreds of thousands of immigrants in prison-like detention facilities at a cost to taxpayers of billions of dollars each year. Expanding use of civil detention is often justified by the government as being necessary to ensure that immigrants continue to attend court proceedings. This fact sheet reviews evidence from the ...
I Was Sure I Would Be Deported Until an Attorney Informed Me of My Rights
Support Universal Representation: SAFE Initiative 101
The SAFE Initiative is a unique collaboration among governments, immigration legal service providers, and advocates building a movement for universal representation for people facing detention and deportation. Universal representation advances a public defender system for people facing deportation, one in which every person facing deportation is re ...