Pangea Legal Services

Direct Legal Representation: In 2023, Pangea provided legal representation to over 450 clients in complex immigration matters. Fifty-one clients were granted long-term status, including asylum, legal permanent residency, and cancellation of removal. Pangea continued growing the Asylee Legal Empowerment Project, a workshop series where attorneys and asylees introduce unrepresented asylum seekers in deportation proceedings to key tools and concepts to help them represent themselves effectively in immigration court. Twenty-six individuals, including family members and derivatives, were granted asylum status in 2023 as a result of the workshop. Pangea represented 44 clients on their appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals, USCIS, Federal District Courts, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Two clients won habeas relief, ensuring their freedom from immigration detention. Pangea represented five new clients as part of our Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants with Mental Health, Intellectual, and Development Disabilities project. Pangea was appointed to the San Mateo County Private Defender Panel to continue growing our post-conviction relief work.

Policy Advocacy: Since 2021, Pangea has participated in the Yuba Liberation Coalition, a group of legal service providers, community organizers, and advocates working to shut down Yuba County Jail. In February 2023, after years of the coalition?s advocacy, the ICE and Yuba County contract officially terminated, marking the closure of the last ICE jail in Northern California. As part of the San Mateo County Coalition for Immigrants Rights, Pangea successfully advocated for an ordinance to end San Mateo County?s cooperation with ICE. The ordinance passed by a vote of 4-1 after over 50 public comments from community members. In 2023, Pangea continued serving as fiscal lead of FREE-SF, a coalition of nonprofit organizations in San Francisco that advocates against the conflation of criminal and immigration issues.

Education and Legal Empowerment: In 2023, with the support of Pangea organizers, 82 detained immigrants went on hunger strike at the Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex detention centers to demand their freedom and better living conditions. Pangea mobilized over 100 community partners statewide to support the hunger strikers; community members sent over 800 emails to DHS, ICE, GEO, and Senator Padilla?s office demanding collective release of the hunger strikers. Pangea continued growing our client advocate base, with over 50 clients engaged in one-on-one meetings with our organizers as part of our power building strategy. Pangea continued to support the Papeles Para Todos Campaign, a cohort of immigrant rights leaders advocating for a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented people. Twenty-five community members participated in monthly Papeles Para Todos leadership meetings. Over 40 community members attended the campaign?s Clases Politicas, a series of political education courses that give participants the tools to mobilize and engage in civic action. Pangea also launched an online Democratic Resource Library as part of our mission to share information about our worker-led structure and provide guidance to other organizations interested in collective governance.