Lawyer Filing Papers

‘Into the shadows’: New federal rules could push asylum seekers further into poverty

By Monique O. Madan, The Miami Herald “Jennifer Anzardo Valdez, the program director for the Children’s Law Program at Americans for Immigrant Justice, a Florida non-profit immigration organization representing Miami’s most at-risk communities, is on the staff’s legal team charged with analyzing the administration’s new work-permit rules. She says the ‘rules are designed to keep asylum seekers not just from …

Elena

Elena was 15 years old when she married her husband who was physically, sexually and emotionally abusive to her. After over a year of extreme suffering, she was finally able to escape his control. Elena reported her husband to the police in Guatemala and was granted several orders of protection, however her husband violated the orders and continued to abuse …

AI Justice's Detention Program

ICE unlawfully jails unaccompanied migrant children once they turn 18, judge rules

By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post A federal judge ruled Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has unlawfully transferred thousands of unaccompanied children who turned 18 to adult detention facilities without considering alternatives, in violation of a 2013 law. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras of Washington, D.C., said he will order changes “in the near future” after a …

Tommy

“Tommy” lost his mother at a young age and Tommy’s father never provided him regular care or supervision. Tommy’s father left him after his mother passed away and the child was left in the care of his grandmother. Tommy was terrified that gangs were going to kill him as they had killed his boss for refusing to pay a “war …

Alfredo

After years of physical abuse by his father, Alfredo fled Guatemala to save his life at age 14. He was detained by Immigration agents on arrival in 2001 and diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among other special needs. He only spoke a rare Mayan dialect, limiting his ability to communicate. Alfredo was transferred among detention facilities 10 times, at …

Alfonso

Five year old Alfonso was found screaming, alone in his apartment after his mother had been deported. His father was incarcerated and with no other family that could be located, he was placed in foster care in Miami Dade County. His foster mother, Tamara, decided to legally adopt him. Because Alfonso had been found alone, and was so young, he …

Fega

Seven-year-old Fega arrived at a New York airport in May 2000. A terrible rash covered her body, along with other signs of neglect. No one came to pick her up. Her mother, undocumented and scared, sent a note to immigration officials asking them to send Fega back to Nigeria. But her father in Nigeria said he did not want her …

Javier and Dennis

Javier and Dennis, twin brothers from Honduras, made their way to the border alone. Traveling mostly on foot, the boys ran out of food and water during their journey and were forced to drink water from contaminated streams. The brothers undertook this dangerous trip because it seemed their only chance of survival. Abandoned by their parents and raised by violent …