Program areas at Americans for Immigrant Justice
Advocacy this year Americans for Immigrant Justice advocated for fair and humane immigration policies through targeted public education, administrative Advocacy, and litigation. Ai Justice hosted numerous national webinars for legal practitioners and the public-at-large, including webinars on daca and asylum procedures at the border and for families. Ai Justice attorneys filed complaints with the dhs office of civil rights and civil liberties challenging conditions of confinement, language access, and failures to provide accommodations to individuals with disabilities, among others. Ai Justice engaged in media work, highlighting the harms of Florida state legislation targeting immigrants, decrying ongoing removal flights to haiti, and uplifting the voices of individuals who have experienced the harms of immigration detention. Lastly, ai Justice litigated challenges to anti-immigrant legislation, access to counsel violations, family separation, treatment experienced by immigrants subjected to prolonged detention in cbp custody, and the use of Florida tax dollars to transport immigrants to "sanctuary" cities.
Direct services in 2022, Americans for Immigrant Justice (ai Justice) continued to serve the community's most vulnerable immigrants. The children's legal program served 5,499 minors, the pro bono asylum projected assisted more 1000 families, the family defense program served 732 individuals in the community, the detention program served 253 detained individuals, the lucha program served 765 survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking and/or sexual assault. In addition, ai Justice represented immigrants in litigation challenging conditions of detention, family separation, and state-based anti-immigrant legislation.