Immigrant Defenders Law Center

Results: Our programs are a first step towards the long-term goal of providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. Our organization was founded by a group of experienced public interest immigration lawyers and our rapid growth is a testament of the need for our services in the communities we serve. Since our humble beginnings in our founders’ living rooms, our team has grown from a handful of attorneys to 120 dedicated staff members including 52 attorneys. Our programs include: • The Children’s Representation Project for unaccompanied children, refugees, and foster youth • The Detained Youth Empowerment Project that provides classes, legal screenings, and representation to children detained by the government in youth shelters • The Family Unity Project reuniting and providing comprehensive legal services to families who were separated because of the 2018 Zero Tolerance Policy or other ICE enforcement actions • The Post-Conviction Relief Program where we challenge unlawful criminal convictions for immigrants facing deportation • Our Litigation & Advocacy Team launched in 2019 to expand our appellate advocacy and participation in strategic litigation to dismantle the system that seeks to deport our clients • Local Justice Fund Programs in the Long Beach, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, and Inland Empire areas that protect our communities and families against aggressive ICE enforcement • Our National Qualified Representatives Project that serves immigrants with mental health disabilities to ensure due process and fairness in their immigration court proceedings • Our Cross-Border Initiative where we advocate daily for the human rights of asylum-seekers who have been forced back into Mexico as part of the cruel Migrant Protection Protocols program • The Deported Veterans Project which provides full-scale deportation defense and post-conviction relief where necessary to bring all veterans home

Programs: During the year immdef's practice focused on the most marginalized groups of immigrants who are facing deportation proceedings: unaccompanied children and mentally incompetent adults. Without our services, our clients would be forced to face these complicated and high-stakes court proceedings alone since there is no public defender system for immigrants in the united states.