Dear AI Justice Friends and Supporters:

We have been humbled by the efforts of our colleagues in the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives working to address the diverse and often conflicting concerns, desires, and dreams of so many Americans and aspiring Americans.

We are particularly pleased that Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart have leadership roles in advancing the debate and look forward to a House bill in the near future. According to recent polls, a majority of Americans now support a legalization program for undocumented immigrants.

Today, most Americans can agree that a fundamental principle of any comprehensive immigration reform package is a path to citizenship. While there will be disagreements on many provisions, if we focus on the fundamentals that will move our country forward, we can and should dare to dream that America can achieve meaningful and lasting comprehensive immigration reform that benefits, not just immigrants, but ALL of America.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Little, Esq.

AI Justice is deeply grateful to its funders.
We are pleased to announce that we received the following grants this quarter:

• The Miami Foundation

Our Funders

Foundations:
Allegany Franciscan Ministries
The Batchelor Foundation
Catholic Charities Legal Services
The Children’s Trust
The Dunspaugh-Dalton Foundation
Equal Justice Works
The Florida Bar Foundation
Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Florida Department of Children and Families
Florida International University Foundation
Ford Foundation
Green Family Foundation
Himan Brown Charitable Trust
International Rescue Committee
Ethel  & W. George Kennedy Family Foundation
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The Bennett and Geraldine LeBow Foundation
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
The Miami Foundation
Miami Dade College Foundation
Miami-Dade County
Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe
Potter/Perryman Family Fund
Joseph H. & Florence A. Roblee Foundation
William J. & Tina Rosenberg Foundation
Shepard Broad Foundation
Sociological Initiatives Foundation
TriMix Foundation
US Dept. of Justice Office on Violence Against Women
Vera Institute of Justice
Walter Family Foundation
Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade County

Individuals: ($1,000 and greater)
Nancy Audain Allen
Maria M. Buch, M.D.
Mojdeh Khaghan Danial
Edwidge Danticat
Yioset De La Cruz
John De Leon, Esq.
Jonathan Demme
Cristina Dominguez
Anneliese Duncan
Behna & Laurence Gardner, M.D.
Faith E. Gay, Esq.
Carl E. Goldfarb, Esq.
Judy Gilbert Gould
Louis Jepeway, Esq.
Jules Kroll
David Lawrence, Jr.
Ileana Marcos
Raquel Matas
Janet R. McAliley
George & Judith McCleary
Khalid Mirza
Francisco Monaldi Mas
Robert M Perlberg
Irwin & Linda Potash
Margaret Rolando
Holly Skolnick, Esq. & Richard Strafer, Esq.
Patricia Thompson
Peter Moore Upton, Esq.
Basil & Jane Vasiliou
German & Yolanda Valencia
Reverend Priscilla Felisky Whitehead
Norma Kipnis Wilson

Organizations
Alberni, Caballero, & Company
Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod
Blue Insurance
Boies, Schiller and Flexner 
Cardenas Partners
Codina Partners
Duane Morris
Greenberg Traurig
Himan Brown Charitable Trust
Jacoby & Meyers
Koniver Stern Group
Lifespan Financial Strategies
Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra
Northern Trust
Roy Philanthropic
Sabadell United Bank
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Shook, Hardy & Bacon
St. Thomas University School of Law
TotalBank
United Way of Miami
University of Miami School of Law
White & Case

The Dare to Dream Dinner Was A Huge Success!

Americans for Immigrant Justice’s 17th Annual Awards Dinner – Dare to Dream – was a huge success!  Over 450 of South Florida’s leaders in the business, legal, and civic communities attended the affair, which included an inspiring Keynote Address by the Honorable Julian Castro, Mayor of San Antonio and a rising star on the national stage.
Thanks to the efforts of the Dinner Host Committee Co-Chairs, Dorothea Green and Kimberly Green, Ph.D., and the Host Committee members, and with a generous $50,000 challenge grant from the TriMix Foundation, over $170,000 was raised to support AI Justice’s programs to advocate for sane and just immigration policies and to provide critical legal services to poor and vulnerable immigrants.
The guest list included many local luminaries – the Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Member of Congress; the Honorable Joe Garcia, Member of Congress; Al Cardenas, Chair of the American Conservative Union and former Chair of the Florida Republican Party; Dr. Eduardo Padron, President of Miami Dade College; Dr. Mark Rosenberg, President of Florida International University; Frank Angones, former President of the Florida Bar; Edwidge Danticat, internationally-acclaimed writer and thinker; Ambassador and Mrs. Steven Green; Dave Lawrence Jr., retired publisher of The Miami Herald; Hon. Rosemary Barkett; Hon. James Lawrence King; Hon. Chris McAliley; Hon. Denise Slavin; Hon. Steven Lieberman; Hon. Sandy Carlin; Hon. Bertila Soto; CNN contributor Ana Navarro; Time magazine’s Michael Grunwald; Gillian Thomas, CEO of the Miami Science Museum; the Honorable Katy Sorenson, former Miami-Dade County Commissioner; and Matt Haggman of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Academy-award winning director and AI Justice Honorary Board member Jonathan Demme flew in from New York for the event, and the Honorable Joaquin Castro, Member of Congress and twin brother of the Keynote Speaker, flew in from Washington, D.C.

Kimberly Green, Hon. Julian Castro, Cheryl Little, Ambassador Steven Green, Al Cardenas

Dorothea Green, Ambassador Steven Green

Hon. Julian Castro, Mayor of San Antonio, with students

Jonathan Demme, Cheryl Little, Viviana Gentry

Hon. Julian Castro, Hon. Joaquin Castro, Hon. Joe Garcia, Hon. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Hon. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Hon. Joe Garcia with students

AI Justice Reached The Stars at NYC Dinner

The stars aligned for AI Justice at an intimate dinner in NYC hosted by Honorary Board Member and Academy-award winning director Jonathan Demme and former Board Member and attorney Faith Gay.  Two AI Justice DREAMer clients – one of whom, Juan Gomez, is featured in the new documentary DREAM:  An American Story, shared their stories that evening.
Among the guests were actresses Rosie Perez and Anne Hathaway.  Ms. Perez later spent the day with AI Justice in Miami, meeting with staff and several clients, who described their experiences fleeing violence and sometimes persecution in their countries of origin, only to end up in immigration detention in the U.S.  “Your clients’ stories [were] very moving and heartbreaking.  They will stay with me for a long time,” said Ms. Perez.

Losmin Jimenez, Lisette Losada, Michelle Abarca, Rosie Perez, Michelle Ortiz, Cheryl Little

PhilanthroFest-Miami

We found many Americans for Immigrant Justice at PhilanthroFest 2013.

Nestor Caballero

Manuel Gutierrez

Freedom Network-Washington, D.C. 

Jessica Shulruff, Christina Asencio

Our LUCHA attorneys attended the Freedom Network Conference in Washington, D.C.  AI Justice is a founding member of the Freedom Network, which is dedicated to ensuring justice for trafficking victims.

Florida Immigrant Legal Aid Alliance-Orlando

Diego Menendez, Haydee Rodriguez, Farahnaz Jamette, Brunelle Cinous, Julie Irvin, Jessica Shulruff, Lisette Losada, Sandra Maldonado, Michelle Ortiz, Christina Asencio, Monique Noceda

Managing Attorney Lisette Losada and LUCHA Supervising Attorney Michelle Ortiz were members of the Florida Immigrant Legal Aid Alliance Conference Planning Committee.  AI Justice’s legal team presented on topics ranging from detention, violence against women, and collaborations with community organizers, helping to ensure that all lawyers providing legal aid to immigrants in Florida are up-to-date on the latest in immigration issues.

 Coming Soon!  Celebrity Golf Tournament

Coach Keith Askins

Hosted by the Miami Heat’s  Asst. Coach Keith Askins, the 1st Annual Hialeah Gardens Invitational Golf Tournament has selected AI Justice as its charity partner.  The tournament is planned for January 2014 at Shula’s Hotel and Golf Club, with a reception afterward at the Havana Group Cigar Club.  For more information, see In the Fairway & Associates.

Networking at Novecento With Young Professionals of AI Justice

In March, AI Justice filed Federal Tort Claims actions on behalf of four immigrants who were subjected to inhumane and unlawful treatment by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  AI Justice is seeking damages for cruel and inhumane treatment and is demanding that CBP immediately investigate these unlawful practices and bring a quick end to them.  AI Justice has identified several other clients who suffered the same mistreatment and is preparing to file claims on their behalf.

AI Justice’s clients were taken to what CBP officers called the “hielera” or “icebox.”  The hielera turned out to be a freezing cold cell where dozens—as many as sixty in one case— of detainees were locked up together, for as long as eleven days.  The hielera had no beds, no chairs, and a single sink and toilet sitting in plain view in the cell. The temperature in the hielera was so cold that the peoples’ lips chapped and split, and their fingertips turned blue.  The lights were kept on 24 hours a day. They were forced to sleep on the concrete floor without even a blanket. They huddled together on the floor at night for warmth, but slept very little.  They had no access to a bath or shower. They were not provided with even the most basic personal hygiene products like toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, or soap. Nor were they ever provided with a change of clothing.   CBP officers coerced them into signing documents relinquishing their rights, which they did not even understand.

Many of the women subjected to these inhumane conditions are victims of domestic and sexual violence. It is unconscionable that after escaping abuse in their home countries, they have been subjected to further abuse by the United States government.   (Lawsuits Allege Abuse By Border Patrol Agents, 
http://aijustice.org/lawsuits-allege-abuse-by-border-patrol-agents/)   In April, AI Justice’s Washington, D.C. Director, Joanne Kelsey, met with Congressional staffers; she is currently working on a bill to be introduced in the House that would address the abuses by CBP of immigrants held in the hieleras.

Broward Transitional Center, Courtesy Sun Sentinel

AI Justice released two reports exposing abuse and injustice in the detention system.  The latest report, Broward Transitional Center:  A “Model” For Civil Detention, examines systemic abuses of immigrant detainees at this detention center. Though the center has been heralded by the U.S. government as a “model,” AI Justice attorneys have documented dehumanizing treatment, substandard medical care, and sexual assault, as well as the lack of due process, legal counsel and meaningful oversight. The report tells the stories of dozens of immigrants who suffered such abuses.

In partnership with Florida International University’s Research Institute for Social and Economic Policy, AI Justice also released a report entitled False Promises:  The Failure of Secure Communities in Miami-Dade County. This data-driven analysis found that Secure Communities (S-Comm), Immigration and Customs Enforcement‘s (ICE) largest immigration enforcement program, makes us less safe. While the program claims that it prioritizes deporting people who are dangerous threats, the data in Miami-Dade County show that S-Comm overwhelmingly has detained and deported unauthorized immigrants with no criminal history or only minor traffic offenses.  At the news conference for the release of the report, Miami-Dade County Public Defender Carlos Martinez noted that victims and witnesses are unwilling to report crimes or assist in investigations for fear of deportation because Secure Communities requires local police to turn immigrants they have arrested over to ICE. The result is a lack of trust between the community and law enforcement officials.  Law enforcement officials are afraid that the program is eroding trust that they have worked hard to build with immigrant communities.

Cristina Dominguez

We welcome Cristina Dominguez back to the Board of Directors.  An ardent AI Justice supporter for over seven years, Ms. Dominguez had previously stepped down from the Board to work as an attorney in our Children’s Legal Project.  “I am honored to be invited to join the Board again.  My work for the past year and a half with the attorneys there and the vulnerable immigrant children they serve has deepened my commitment to AI Justice.” A Florida native, whose parents are immigrants, Ms. Dominguez is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law.  In addition to a career as an attorney, Ms. Dominguez also owned and operated a Marimekko store on Miami Beach.  She recently joined Urban Resource as a real estate agent.  She and her husband Mike Grunwald, a Senior National Correspondent at TIME and best-selling author, live with their two young children in Miami Beach.

AI Justice Wins Asylum in Case of First Impression
AI Justice successfully argued that asylum should be granted to the brother of a victim of a sex trafficking ring.  After the sister courageously reported the trafficking to the authorities, resulting in the  traffickers’ convictions, other members of the ring began to threaten the victim’s brother. As a result, he fled to the US.   AI Justice filed an asylum petition on his behalf arguing that he should be granted asylum due to the danger he faced based on his family membership to the trafficking victim.  The claim was granted – the first such asylum claim on behalf of a trafficking victim’s family member.

Child Survivor of Haitian Earthquake Now Has Hope for the Future
Pierre is a 12 year old Haitian child.  During his short life, Pierre has experienced years of abuse and has been repeatedly abandoned.  At the age of 4 and following the death of his abusive father, Pierre and his sisters were placed in an orphanage by his mother.  Following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Pierre was sent to the United States pursuant to a humanitarian effort for Haitian orphans awaiting the finalization of their adoption.  Though Pierre did not have a family willing to adopt him at the time, he was flown to the US along with his sisters who were traveling to be united with the families that were in the process of adopting them.

Pierre’s sisters were separated and sent to other states with adoptive families, but Pierre was sent to a shelter.  Due to the abuse and abandonment he had suffered, the court determined that Pierre was dependent, and thus AI Justice represented him, obtaining a special juvenile immigrant visa.  Although still in foster care, he is now a legal permanent resident and is on the path to citizenship with the hope for a brighter future.

In April, eight Senators introduced the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.  The 854-page bill is a comprehensive overhaul of much of our nation’s immigration system.  It includes a path to citizenship for millions of currently undocumented immigrants and many other provisions supported by AI Justice.   As the bill moves through the legislative process in the Senate, AI Justice is hopeful that negotiators can preserve many of the smaller provisions which will have a tremendously positive impact on the lives of the people that we serve.  These provisions include those addressing detention center monitoring, asylum-seekers, and legal counsel for unaccompanied immigrant children and the mentally ill.

New legislation is likely to have a heavy emphasis on enforcing immigration laws at the border and in the interior of the United States.  For example, the Senate bill calls for additional resources on the border such as an increased number of Customs and Border Protection officers, use of National Guard personnel, and increased technology.    The Senate bill also provides that enforcement officers should receive training in human and civil rights as well as how to screen for and treat vulnerable populations such as children, victims of crime and human trafficking, and individuals fleeing persecution or torture.

It is AI Justice’s position that a call for training on the border is not sufficient to protect the due process and human rights of many immigrants who are held at border patrol stations.  The lack of meaningful language on the protections for immigrants is particularly startling when compared to the tremendous amount of resources aimed at border enforcement.  In response, we are working with Members of Congress to introduce legislation that would increase protections for individuals like those who are part of our “icebox” campaign (Read AI Justice Tackles Abuse and Injustice on the Texas Border).  In order to be most effective, AI Justice is working to introduce a bi-partisan bill that will address conditions of detention, length of detention, and treatment in border patrol stations.

BTC – A ‘Model’ for Civil Detention

Congressional Immigration Reform Must Address Abuses in Immigrant Detention Facilities

Aldo Bello, as the filmmaker of DREAM: An American Story, spent the last four years filming Juan Gomez and his struggle to remain in the only country he has ever known. He has also been busy documenting marches and protests throughout the nation, recording the failure of Congress to pass any kind of immigration reform legislation (so far), and interviewing family, friends, colleagues, students, national and regional politicians, immigration reform advocates, lawyers, ordinary citizens, and youth activists advocating for passage of the DREAM Act.