ImmDef Profile picture
Non-profit, social justice law firm. **No Immigrant Stands Alone** #AsylumIsaHumanRight #DueProcess4all #WelcomeWithDignity #BringThemHome
Feb 9, 2022 14 tweets 6 min read
Last week ImmDef's Directing Attorney of our Cross-Border Initiative in San Diego, @CargioliM, was in court on the first day of resumed MPP 2.0 hearings to observe. This thread details what she witnessed. #EndMPP #RestoreAsylumNow #WelcomeWithDignity #AccessToJustice Asylum seekers in MPP only have from 10 to 12 to potentially meet w/ lawyers on their day in court. That is if they can find a lawyer willing to represent them while being forced to remain in Tijuana, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. #DueProcess #AccessToCounsel
May 26, 2021 10 tweets 5 min read
Today we’re proud to announce the official launch of the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign. We’re working with hundreds of advocates and organizations to say it loud and clear: we’re ready for a just asylum system that puts compassion and dignity first.
➡️welcomewithdignity.org What does #WelcomeWithDignity mean to you?
May 4, 2021 8 tweets 5 min read
This is Bryan. After 3 yrs of separation from his mom due to Trump’s zero tolerance policy, he will finally reunite w/her this week. Despite such a traumatic experience, Bryan is fighting back by joining #TeamImmDef to help children like him know their rights. Thank you to @jacobsoboroff for joining us in celebrating this bittersweet moment. ImmDef met Bryan while he was in an ORR shelter. Since then he was reunited with siblings. This week his family becomes whole again.
Apr 23, 2021 11 tweets 4 min read
Today is the first day ImmDef will begin providing legal services to unaccompanied children at the @LongBeachCity Long Beach Convention Center EIS. #WelcomeWithDignity 🧵1/10
Read: immdef.org/post/immdef-to… Many of the children entering these EIS were forced to flee their home countries due to severe violence, persecution, natural disaster, & some may have been separated from parents or family members due to the Biden Admin's continued implementation of the unjust Title 42 policy. 2
Apr 22, 2021 5 tweets 3 min read
"It’s never left my mind. It was a horribly traumatic because I never thought I’d see my mom like that. They tricked us.” ImmDef client Julieta was separated from her mother while in CBP custody. Three years later, they still remain separated. @nlanard 🧵
motherjones.com/politics/2021/… After one of Magdalena's daughters was sexually assaulted, she fled with her two girls to seek asylum in the U.S. But while in CBP custody, Magdalena was shackled and taken away from them, ripped apart by the Trump administration in front of her 9 yo and 16 yo daughters. 2/5
Apr 22, 2021 4 tweets 5 min read
Biden’s #ProtectionFailure is endangering the lives of refugees and causing unspeakable human suffering. It’s time for the Biden administration to #WelcomeWithDignity.

To learn more, read @HumanRights1st @HaitianBridge & @AlOtroLado_Org’s new report: bit.ly/ProtectionFail… @POTUS promised to build back our asylum system better than before. But after months in office, his admin is continuing to use a Trump-era public health order to block & expel refugees to danger.

We cannot let this #ProtectionFailure continue. It’s time to #WelcomeWithDignity
Mar 2, 2021 4 tweets 2 min read
Allowing families to reunite in the US after being torn apart by the gov't is an important first step in repairing the damage done from Trump's cruel policies. Now it's time for the Biden administration to recognize that family separation should end in ALL its forms. (THREAD) 1/4 We applaud the Biden admin's decision to allow families to reunite inside the US & explore lawful pathways for them & their siblings to remain in the U.S. But, to "act as restoratively as possible," the Biden admin must end other policies that result in family separation. 2/4
Feb 12, 2021 4 tweets 4 min read
To meaningfully address systemic racism in America - as the #Biden admin has pledged - immigration must be included. A dedicated Task Force and resources are needed. Call on @POTUS to establish a Task Force on Black immigrants now: p2a.co/K7K44Jr #Act4BlackImms On the last day of Black Immigrant Advocacy Week of Action, we call on the #Biden administration to immediately end the detention & deportation of Black immigrants! @POTUS has promised to address systemic racism in the U.S. - immigration MUST be included. #Act4BlackImms
Feb 11, 2021 4 tweets 4 min read
Seeking asylum is an internationally-recognized human right, yet far too many Black asylum seekers are denied due process, locked in detention, and eventually deported. @DHS_Secretary must address racism in the asylum system and transform it towards justice! #Act4BlackImms After years of heightened discrimination in the asylum and refugee systems, @DHS_Secretary must restore justice and root out white supremacy so that Black immigrants fleeing harm may find peace. @DHSgov #Act4BlackImms #DefendAsylum #RefugeesWelcome #ImmigrationIsABlackIssue
Feb 10, 2021 4 tweets 5 min read
Today during Black Immigrant Advocacy Week of Action, we call on @POTUS and @DHS_Secretary to use their authority to designate #TPS and #DED now to protect Black lives! #Act4BlackImms At least 3.9 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in #Cameroon and half a million are displaced by conflict. @DHS_Secretary must designate #CameroonTPS now! Learn more here: bit.ly/39BFmRV. #Act4BlackImms
Dec 12, 2020 4 tweets 2 min read
Prevailing against unrelenting attacks on immigrants, our SD Cross-Border team secured humanitarian parole for a Venezuelan family of 5 fleeing political persecution. Their 6 yo son's medical conditions incl epilepsy left him immobile @NBCUTelemundo shared their story tonight 1/4 Meanwhile our clients are presenting at POE as we speak to be paroled in where their son can receive adequate medical care. In exactly one month deserving families like these will be barred from asylum under new regulations enacted this week by the Trump Administration. 2/4
Sep 21, 2020 5 tweets 2 min read
"Whether forcibly removing women’s uteruses or refusing medical treatment to those with COVID-19, no detainee is safe in immigration custody." - Munmeeth Soni, ImmDef Director of Litigation and Advocacy. lat.ms/2HeoCEs "This outbreak is further proof that ICE and the Trump Administration have zero regard for human life. What ICE is doing to detainees is nothing short of criminal. We must put an end to ICE and end immigration detention once and for all. " - Munmeeth Soni, Director of Litigation
Sep 15, 2020 8 tweets 2 min read
As news of mass hysterectomies of women imprisoned by ICE broke yesterday, our team was saddened but not surprised. Horrific medical neglect & abuse at the hands of ICE & CBP is something we have documented among our clients for years.

#FreeThemAll #AbolishICE

**Thread** One client was detained in front of her 2 young daughters as she left home one morning. Once imprisoned hundreds of miles away from her family, she learned she was pregnant. Twice she was sent to off-site hospitals for complications with no notice to her family or lawyer.
Sep 2, 2020 4 tweets 2 min read
They have reason to smile: our mother & son clients are some of the lucky few to be paroled into U.S. from MX under MPP during the pandemic. After 8 torturous months, Managing Atty @CargioliM & Staff Atty Paulina Reyes made the impossible possible and welcomed them home! (THREAD) Image Thanks to our partner SD Rapid Response Network #SDRRN who helped w/transportation & shelter. This is a story of a mother's perseverance in an impossible time. After fleeing political persecution in Venezuela, mom & son landed at the U.S./MX border & were placed in MPP (2/4)
Aug 21, 2020 4 tweets 3 min read
#NowHiring: The Equal Justice Works Fellowship position is based in San Diego and will provide a unique opportunity for committed social justice warriors to immerse themselves in complex immigration law and litigation. Virtual on-boarding available!
bit.ly/3j7e9IN Image Equal Justice Works Fellowship: Call for Proposals ends 8/24/20 for the 2020-2021 Fellowship Term. Focus: cross-border issues including #MPP, detention advocacy issues, and projects related to the defense of Black migrants and families at the border. ⁠#JobSearch #SanDiego
Aug 18, 2020 6 tweets 4 min read
No Angeleno should be imprisoned in life-threatening #COVID conditions simply because of immigration status! #LAJusticeFund2020 is the best hope for immigrants, refugees & asylum seekers. @LACityCouncil must fund this legal safety net w/o restrictions on taking new cases! Image Submit a comment in favor of #LAJusticeFund2020 cityclerk.lacity.org/publiccomment/… #LAJusticeFund2020
Jul 26, 2020 5 tweets 5 min read
ImmDef Co-Founder & Exec Director @L_Toczylowski spoke w/ @AliciaMenendez @jacobsoboroff yesterday on @MSNBC about the terrifying treatment of children in the immigration system who are being held incommunicado w/govt subcontractor staff in hotels. #FreeTheFamilies (THREAD) ImmDef is grateful to our partner orgs working on the ground to protect these children as well as the many others who are helping to lift up these atrocities to the public eye such as @aldea_pjc, #ProyectoDilley, @raices, @TXCivilRights, @fams2gether @FWDus #FreeTheFamilies
Jul 10, 2020 5 tweets 2 min read
It's been 3 weeks since SCOTUS ruled in favor of DACA but USCIS is still not taking new DACA applications. There could be up to 66,000 teens that are eligible to apply...

bit.ly/38K8jZE

1/5
but they cant apply b/c the Trump admin is ignoring the ruling while it prepares another nefarious plan to end DACA and deprive Dreamers from their rights

Another attempt by the Trump Admin to end the program wouldn't just be inhumane, it would also be widely unpopular.

2/5
Jul 9, 2020 7 tweets 2 min read
Success! Thank you to all the community advocates who encouraged Santa Ana City Council members to fully fund the Deportation Defense Program! This program is saving lives of Santa Ana residents by decreasing detention time & reunifying families. 1/7 Image The success came after the community fought against the city's initial budget reading where the program was slashed from $200K to $100K while proposing a staggering increase of $9m for police. Despite public outcry council voted 6-1 to increase the police budget by $3m ⁠2/7
Jul 6, 2020 6 tweets 4 min read
Success! After a year of hard work, ImmDef's PCR Project successfully vacated our client Max's only deportable conviction. Without this conviction Max is no longer deportable and his immigration proceedings will end.

#FamiliesBelongTogether #FreeThemAll

THREAD 1/6 Image Max can now live in peace with his partner and continue watching his grandchildren grow. His deportation would have caused a lot of pain, not just for him but for all the people that love him and depend on him.

2/6
Jul 2, 2020 4 tweets 2 min read
Only 18 cities nationwide provide legal rep for residents facing deportation. Santa Ana is one of them but on 6/18 City Council slashed the budget from $200K to $100K while increasing the police budget by $9 million despite public outcry lat.ms/2Bo72vq THREAD 1/4 Our Director of Legal Services, Joyce Noche, spoke with @latimes saying, "It seems there is going to be more enforcement and less access to counsel. That’s problematic. What you see as part of police enforcement is the criminalization of immigration..." 2/4