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MIGRANT CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Providing Free and Low-Cost Legal Services to
Detained Asylum Seekers in Texas
 
Learn About Our Work

Watch Our ED on the Evening News
 
Last night KENS 5 spoke with Migrant Center Executive Director Sara Ramey about the current challenges of processing the cases of unaccompanied minors. Watch the Video.

Join Us in Calling on Congress to Fix Our Asylum System's Protection Gaps
 
Send a letter to your elected representatives in Congress asking them to Bring our Asylum Law into the 21st Century by Updating the Grounds of Protection.
 

As your constituent, I am calling on you to revisit and revise the grounds of protection in the 1980 Refugee Act, which are based on the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and which reflect the most common forms of Nazi persecution during World War II. Over 70 years have passed and the conflicts around the world that people are fleeing from today are often very different in nature. Relying on outdated legislation results in the daily deportation of individuals facing extreme harm and death in their countries of origin. It is urgent for you to immediately review and revise the ways in which our laws should protect those in need. It is only by doing so that we can avoid complicity in human rights violations conducted against deported individuals. Thank you for your time in considering this important request.


Sign the letter here: Bring our Asylum Law into the 21st Century by Updating the Grounds of Protection

 
I Want to Give Part of My Stimulus Check to Detained Immigrants
 

Send a letter to your elected representatives in Congress to Establish Complementary Protection for Individuals in Grave Danger.

As your constituent, I am calling on you to protect individuals in grave danger of refoulement to countries where their lives and well-being are at serious risk. Due to the limitations of the United Nations’ Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Convention against Torture many countries have established complementary protection systems (also know as subsidiary protection). These systems allow for individual case review for temporary residency, often five years, thus fulfilling a protection gap and avoiding the forced return to situations of danger.

Currently, if individuals do not face harm due to race, nationality, religion, political opinion, or particular social group, they must prove that the government will be responsible for torture that is more likely than not to occur upon return. Complementary protection would allow Immigration Judges to grant five-year residency permits without needing to fit the person’s case into one of these narrow definitions, using the asylum standard of government inability or unwillingness to protect, persecution instead of torture, and Matter of Acosta’s about 10% possibility standard.

Congress previously redacted legislation to provide temporary protection in the form of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) but limited it to when a country is experiencing a civil war or natural disaster so severe that the country cannot receive and process deportees. TPS also has a maximum of 18 months (although renewable), which is often not enough time for problems to resolve themselves, and is only available to people who arrive before a certain date. In these limited circumstances, TPS is granted to all residents of a country.

What we need is a mechanism by which an Immigration Judge can grant protection to individuals facing serious danger who fall outside of the narrow framework currently used. I am asking you to take immediate steps to study and resolve these current protection gaps.

Thank you for your consideration of this important issue.
 

Sign the letter here: Establish Complementary Protection for Individuals in Grave Danger
 

Speak Out on Other Important Issues:

The Migrant Center has identified a number of important issues based on our on-the-ground work with immigrants in detention that we believe are crucial for Congress to take action on. We invite you to join us in advocating for positive change on one or all of these issues. Simply click on the issue to access our sign-on letter:

1. Explicitly Affirm Gender-Motivated Harm as a Ground for Protection

2. Create an Attorney Visitation Room Quota and Access to Televideo Calls

3. End Private, For-Profit Detention
 
4. Scrape the One-Year Asylum Bar

 
5. Make Immigration Courts Independent under Article I 

 
6. Allow Bond Hearings for All Asylum Seekers
 
7. Disallow Federal Prosecutions for Asylum Seekers Entering without Inspection

 

INCREASE YOUR IMPACT

Want to do more? Share these sign-on opportunities with others in your community. Thank you for inviting them to add their voices to the call for justice!
 
Donate

Send a Message to President Biden:

EXECUTIVE ACTIONS THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The following proposed changes in policy will make a profound difference in the lives of immigrants. Please join us in advocating for positive change! Simply click on the issue that interests you below:

1. End Private, For-Profit Detention
 
2. Establish an Attorney Visitation Room Quota and Access to Televideo Calls
 
3. Eliminate Blocks to the Ability to Gather Evidence
 
4. Require ICE to Give a Written Explanation for Denying Release Requests
 
5. Process All Cases at the Border with Testing and Quarantine
 
6. Restore Judges’ Ability to Manage their Dockets
 
7. Improve Language Access by Translating Immigration Forms



We invite you to share these advocacy opportunities with others. Thank you for spreading the word!
 
Support Our Advocacy

Looking for an Overview of Immigration Law and Policy?

Check out our Podcasts Series:

 
Topics: DACA / DAPA / Dream Act, Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), Citizenship and the Census, 3 and 10 year Bars, Crime Victims: U-Visas, Health Care Ban, Public Charge, Case Processing, Welcoming Immigrants, Muslim Travel Bans, Work Permits
Topics: Raids and Safe Spaces: hospital and courthouse arrests, Church Sanctuary and Six-Figure Fugitive Fines, Detainers, Secure Communities and 287(g) Programs, Sanctuary Jurisdictions, Alternatives to Detention: conditional parole, De-Privatize Detention, Bed Quota
Topics: Medical Concerns, COVID-19 and Release, Arbitrary Factors that Prevent Release: language and community ties, Bond Hearing Eligibility, Mandatory Detention and Prolonged Detention, ICE Release Discretion: consistency, transparency, and accountability, Burden of Proof on Danger to Community and Flight Risk, Access to Evidence and Legal Representation, Expedited Removal, Prosecutorial Discretion
Topics: Travel Ban, Turnback Policy: Quotes and Waitlist (Metering), MPP / Remain in Mexico, Operation Capio and Title 42, PACR/HARP, CBP Accountability, Humanitarian Protection and Humane Treatment, Wall / Border Enforcement and Biometrics Data Collection, Federal Prosecutions, Family Separation
 
Topics: Refugee Admissions, Attorney General Decisions, Regulatory Changes, and Litigation Limiting Asylum and Access to Justice, Changing Asylum Definitions: gang violence, private actor persecutor, political opinion, persecution, government protection, material support duress exception, Particular Social Group: Gender (Matter of A-B-) and Families (Matter of L-E-A-), Third-Country Transit Bar, Programs Abroad and “Safe” Third Country Agreements, Effective Case Processing, Due Process in Court

Join Our Team in Making A Difference
In 2020 the Migrant Center worked with 321 immigrants from 36 different countries. Join our team in making 2021 even better. We are hiring for two positions, a college intern Community Engagement Fellow and a part-time paralegal. Please share these announcements widely to help us find the best candidate. The positions are open until filled so we encourage early applications. Other opportunities, for volunteer positions, can be found here.
 
Donate

Support the Migrant Center's Work

Become a Monthly Donor
With your sustained support, at whatever level, you give us the operational security to anticipate how many cases we will be able to take on in the coming months, allowing us to commit earlier on to helping more people on our waitlist. Join our community of monthly donors.

Host a Facebook Fundraiser
Create a message to your friends and add a donate button for the Migrant Center. See our Facebook page.

Share the Message
Sharing your reason for giving is one meaningful way to inspire others. Forward this e-mail and/or post to your social media. Thank you for sharing!

Honor a Loved One
Consider making a gift in honor of a loved one. After you make your donation, forward your receipt to us at admin@migrantcenter.org with your loved one's address and we will send them a handwritten gift card (we can also mail this to you if you prefer).


Form a Sponsorship Team
Reach out to your community of family, friends, faith colleagues, etc. to partner as legal sponsors on a case. Make a group donation or contact us at admin@migrantcenter.org for details on cases that are seeking sponsorship to cover legal fees.

Give Directly from Your IRA
If you are 60 or over you can make a gift directly from your IRA.


Donate on Amazon
Spending holiday gift cards? Amazon Smile will donate .5% of any purchase you make to the Migrant Center. View
 our Amazon purchase page.
 

Support Our Work

We work to ensure that all immigrants facing removal from the U.S. understand their rights under the law, know how to navigate the immigration process, have access to legal services, and are treated fairly and humanely.

Stay up to date on the latest news by liking our Facebook Page or visiting us at https://migrantcenter.org

https://www.facebook.com/migrantctr/
Website
P.O. BOX 90382 San Antonio, TX 78209
Phone: 210-802-6061

Copyright © 2020 Migrant Center For Human Rights. All Rights Reserved.

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