Hey so remember those lawyers we all saw at the airports when Trump’s travel ban first came down? The ones that were working there for free to help represent the people being detained? Well one of the first non-profit groups that came down to the airport is in trouble. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) has been issued a “cease and desist” letter by Jeff Sessions’ Department of Justice.
The DOJ is threatening disciplinary action if this non-profit continues to help immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Some background information: One has NO right to counsel in immigration proceedings. That means you can be removed from your home, jailed, deported, etc. without ever seeing a lawyer. It’s 100% legal and totally common, so these lawyers work for free to ensure millions get the representation they deserve. The NWIRP represents children and refugees in immigration and asylum proceedings for free and they are one of thousands around the country.
Here’s an explanation to why the DOJ is issuing this cease and desist:
“The accusation is that because NWIRP provides advice and assistance to people in immigration proceedings without committing to full representation, it is violating the rules.
It’s a Kafkaesque system: The government won’t provide immigrant defendants with legal representation, and they are allowed to get help for free only if they find a lawyer who will commit up-front to a case that will stretch on for years. Otherwise, they’re not allowed to have any help at all, are required to submit complex legal documents with no assistance, and lawyers who try to help them will be sanctioned.
Precisely because this would be a cruel and absurd result, NWIRP and its peers around the country have had longstanding agreements with immigration officials that permit them to run asylum-assistance programs without committing to permanent representation. Attacking them now is a shockingly cynical move, akin to sanctioning an emergency-room doctor for sewing up a bleeding patient without first promising to be their doctor for life.
NWIRP doesn’t know why it was singled out. But we do know that NWIRP has been at the forefront of resisting Trump’s travel ban. Its staff and volunteer lawyers were at SeaTac airport immediately after the White House launched the first Muslim ban, and in March it sued to block the second Muslim ban.
And NWIRP isn’t alone; its nonprofit counterparts did the same at airports around the country, leveraging law-school clinics and large-firm lawyers working pro bono. The DoJ’s suspiciously timed cease and desist letter sends a chilling message to exactly these groups, and to volunteer attorneys. This attack by the government on a legal services-provider for immigrants could dissuade law firms from letting their lawyers volunteer for these cases, scaring those firms away by convincing them that immigration-related projects are too risky pro-bono projects.”
The NWIRP has successfully been granted a restraining order, so right now they are still able to help immigrants who need legal advice but their work is at risk. They are now filing a lawsuit to defend itself from the move, the move that will set precedent to other non-profits who do similar work.
If you would like to support them you can join them as a volunteer or donate.
You can also follow regular updates on what they’re doing and the case against the DOJ on their Facebook and Twitter.
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