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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 12/14/2021 - Memorandum From Jc Ward And Leo Escalante Re: Immigration Legal Fund Pilot Quarterly Report - Q3 2021281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.221.6376 970.224.6134 - fax Planning, Development & Transportation MEMORANDUM DATE: December 6, 2021 TO: Mayor Arndt and City Councilmembers THRU: Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager Caryn Champine, Director, Planning, Development & Transportation Paul Sizemore, Director, Community Development & Neighborhood Services FROM: JC Ward, Sr. City Planner, Neighborhood Services Leo Escalante, Program Coordinator, Neighborhood Services RE: Immigration Legal Fund Pilot Quarterly Report - Q3 2021 The purpose of this memo is to provide City Councilmembers with an update on activities conducted and opportunities identified for the implementation of the City of Fort Collins Immigration Legal Fund. Additional memos will be submitted to City Councilmembers on a quarterly basis to report on the progress made. Immigration Legal Fund Quarterly Report Overview The City of Fort Collins Immigration Legal Fund appropriation was approved by City Council on July 6, 2021. After the Second Reading of Appropriation Ordinance was passed, City staff worked on developing the pilot and the competitive grant application process to contract with qualifying immigration legal service providers who could meet the most urgent need and reach the greatest number of impacted immigrant community members. A more detailed description of activities is provided below. Grant Recipients The Grant Review Team, made up of community members, experts in immigration law, partners from Larimer County, Colorado State University, and City staff selected three Grant Recipients for the Immigration Legal Fund pilot. Applications from the organizations are attached and are available to the public at https://www.fcgov.com/neighborhoodservices/immigration-legal-fund . Grant Recipient Grant Award Service Delivery Model Case Types Served Alianza NORCO $50,000 Recruiting for their first immigration attorney position based in Fort Collins dedicated to this pilot - Family reunification - Refugee petitions - Travel documents - Adjustment of status - Work authorizations - Citizenship applications - DACA renewals and DACA initials - Applications for certificate of citizenship - Fee Waivers - Applications to renew and replace permanent resident card Status of Components Completed Development of Information and Communications Materials City staff created the Request for Proposals, tools, and resources to give general information about the grant, promote the grant application, and gather community members’ feedback on priorities; Staff also published a webpage for comprehensive information on the pilot and process Completed Grant Review Team Recruitment Promotion and recruitment for Grant Review Team among community members and community partners Completed Immigration Legal Fund Competitive Grant Application Open Aug. 20-Oct. 1, 2021 Completed Grant Applicants’ Workshop - Sept. 24, 2021 Workshop organized with Grant Applicants to share information on the application’s next steps and answer questions Completed Closing Date of Immigration Legal Fund Competitive Grant Application City staff received applications from three organizations: Alianza NORCO, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (“RMIAN”), and the Interfaith Solidarity and Accompaniment Coalition (“ISAAC”) requesting $50,000 each for a wide range of services Completed Community Outreach for Grant Application Review Priorities City staff conducted outreach activities at different community events to promote the fund and gather community members’ feedback on priorities - Temporary Protected Status applications - Self-Advocacy Resources, Outreach, & Education Interfaith Solidarity and Accompaniment Coalition $50,000 Connecting participants with attorneys and paying a negotiated fee for legal representation without the organization employing an attorney - Detention/Deportation - DACA - Special Immigrant Juvenile Status - Crime Victim & Human Trafficking Victim (U & T Visas) - Work Visas - Lawful Permanent Resident - Naturalization/Citizenship - Forensic Mental Health Evidentiary Exams - Self-Advocacy Resources, Outreach, & Education Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network $50,000 Legal representation through their staff attorneys based in Denver and Aurora - Detention/Deportation - Family Reunification - DACA - Special Immigrant Juvenile Status - Crime Victim & Human Trafficking Victim (U & T Visas) - Work Visas - Lawful Permanent Resident - Self-Advocacy Resources, Outreach, & Education Completed Grant Review Core Team Deliberation Meeting - Oct. 22, 2021 Meeting with Grant Review Team to deliberate on the applications received Completed Grant Recipients’ Collaboration Workshop – Nov. 2, 2021 Workshop with Grant Recipients to discuss expectations, methods of communication, coordination of services, invoicing, and reporting guidelines In Progress Contracting Activities City staff from the City Attorney’s Office are meeting with Grant Recipients to review and make any necessary amendments to contracts with the City In Progress Preparation for Start Date of Services Grant Recipients that have completed contracting are beginning attorney recruitment in early November, developing outreach materials, and collaborating on intake and referral processes Next Step –Dec. 2021 Promotion of Services City staff will work with Grant Recipients to develop and disseminate information materials to advertise the fund and services offered with primary marketing conducted by Grant Recipients Next Step –Dec. 2021 Begin Service Delivery Next Step – Jan. 20, 2022 First Quarterly Meeting with Grant Recipients Meeting with Grant Recipients to discuss progress and challenges. Next Step – Jan. 21, 2022 Next Quarterly Report for City Councilmembers Evaluation Criteria The evaluation criteria below were outlined in materials provided to City Council in support of agenda items for the Immigration Legal Fund related to pilot design and metrics and communicated to grant applicants and recipients. Future quarterly reports will include tracking of these metrics from all grant recipients and service providers. Metrics for the Immigration Legal Fund pilot: Output - indicators of the amount of service provided - Number of people receiving direct representation (including age of the client and the case type*) - Number of Fort Collins residents released on bond from an immigration detention facility during the program - Status or outcomes of the cases or hearings - Number of referrals to the program by other participants - Number of people receiving free legal advice, training, or other self-advocacy resources Outcomes - measures of the quality and effectiveness of the service in achieving pilot goals - Percent of participants who are more knowledgeable about their pathways to citizenship or lawful presence after the program - Percent of participants reporting greater likelihood of accessing City or community resources due to the program - Percent of participants who feel they are safer due to the legal services and resources provided by grant recipients - Individual or organizational stories of impact - Number of applicants ineligible for participation and reason for ineligibility* Efficiency – resources required to achieve certain outcomes - Number of hours spent or average hours per case - Cost per case - Cost per hour of case work *As discussed during the appropriation process, a 12-month residency requirement for adults makes asylum seekers ineligible to receive these services, as they must file for asylum within the first 12 months of arriving in the U.S. Through this request for proposals and application process, immigration attorneys made Staff aware that the residency requirement also excludes children who are accompanied into the U.S. whose asylum cases are tied to a caregiver’s primary asylum application. Staff will coordinate with Grant Recipients to collect and report data on the number of impacted adults and children seeking asylum who apply for participation in the program or attend information sessions on services offered through the pilot but are ineligible. Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 1 Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 2021 City of Fort Collins Immigration Legal Fund Pilot Request for Proposals Application Title/Project Name: Alianza NORCO Immigrant Legal Services Program Amount Requested: $50,000 Website: http://alianzanorco.org 1. Type of Organization Nonprofit Group with (501c3) Community and/or Advocacy Group College, University, and/or Other Institution of Higher Learning Attorney, Law Firm, Bar Association, or Other Legal Professional Organization and/or Practitioner Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 2 2. Select which of the following apply to your program and/or proposal. Please select all that apply Direct legal representation of clients and support services in all types of immigration cases Direct legal representation of clients and support services in specific types of immigration cases (if this option is selected, please choose the specific case types below) Detention, deportation, and clients released on bond facing deportation Family reunification efforts to address the impacts of federal “family separation” policies Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”) U and/or T Visa applications (victims of certain violent crime and trafficking) and renewals Student Visa applications and/or renewals Work Visa applications and/or renewals Other Visa applications and/or renewals Lawful Permanent Resident cases and/or processes Naturalization cases and/or processes Other: travel docs Support services without direct legal representation (like self-advocacy training or immigration information hotline) Other program or service None of the above 3. Name of project or program for which you are seeking funding Alianza NORCO Immigrant Legal Services Program 4. What amount of grant funding are you applying for? (maximum award of $150,000 is currently available to be used during the pilot period through January 2023) $50,000 5. Will this project or program be offered in person within the city limits of Fort Collins? Yes No Some activities will be offered in person within the city limits of Fort Collins 6. Is this the continuation of an existing project or program or an expansion into a new area for you/your organization? Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 3 Part of an existing project or program New area or services 7. Would your organization like to be considered for additional grant funding for immigration legal services if additional funding becomes available during the pilot (from October 2021-January 2023)? Yes, please contact me to discuss if additional funding becomes available No Maybe, please contact me to discuss if additional funding becomes available Grant Application Part 1 - Organizational/ Applicant Alignment 8. Describe how assisting community members with immigration legal issues aligns with your organization’s current work, mission, vision, or values. Established by Mexican and Salvadoran immigrant women and their allies in the spring of 2017, Alianza NORCO’s mission is to strengthen and empower our immigrant community and their families through key services, civic education, leadership development and community organization. Our goal is to be responsive to meet our community’s pressing needs while also addressing root cause and systemic inequities that prohibit immigrant residents from obtaining security, dignity and prosperity. Lack of immigration legal resources is one of the root causes of inequity in the immigrant community that can be remedied through creative funding models like what the FC LDF offers. Providing immigrant community members with legal assistance aligns with our approach of centering the voices of our undocumented immigrant community in our work and has been a long-term aspiration for Alianza NORCO since its founding 4 years ago. We developed a legal resources and referral program as a direct response to community input. In addition to providing legal referrals, Alianza NORCO has partnered with legal service providers to bring Know Your Rights training, Legal Info nights, citizenship workshops, and DACA application services to our immigrant community - you can read more about this in question 10. We have also provided (1) community organization in a wide range of areas, including legal defense and data privacy; (2) civic education to raise participation in elections and efforts such as the 2020 census; (3) navigation services for obtaining SB13- 251 driver’s licenses for those without permanent legal status and resources in case a family member is detained; and (4) COVID19-related economic aid, culturally-appropriate information, and recovery through P-EBT and Child Tax Credit navigation and info nights. Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 4 During the height of the COVID pandemic, we adapted to provide virtual navigation to increase our undocumented community’s access to COVID relief. We have provided direct grants and application assistance to over 400 immigrants, totaling over $700,000. This pandemic has exacerbated the already-fragile economy of many in our immigrant community, (see attached “COVID-19 and Immigrants in Larimer County”). We saw many families who lost work and had to make the difficult choice of stopping their legal representation as a result of COVID-19 due to the high cost of services. It has been challenging to address the immediate needs of our community while continuing our main focus, which has been to provide access to licenses and legal assistance. We see the latter efforts as root-cause, foundational aspects of building a more resilient, safe and supported immigrant community that can withstand the next pandemic. 9. If you are applying to work on specific case types, please explain your organization’s interest in those specific case types. (If you are applying to work on all immigration case types, please enter “N/A” for this question. Immigration law is complex. As we build our Immigrant Legal Services Program (ILSP), we want to address the majority of the affirmative cases we currently refer to law offices, but which are seldom pursued due to their high cost. Sixty six percent of our immigrant survey respondents reported high cost was the determining factor that prevented them or family members from accessing legal services, (see attached “Legal Service Needs in Larimer County”). We work in close collaboration with RMIAN and ISAAC, who are already experts in deportation relief and asylum cases. We plan to address what is missing - these are affirmative cases that non-detained families who are seeking immigration relief may qualify for, but which are cost-prohibitive. We plan to work on these case types: Family reunification, Refugee asylee relative petitions (I-730), Travel documents, Adjustment of status (I-485), Work authorizations (I-765), Citizenship applications (N-400), DACA renewals and DACA initials (I-821D), when possible, Applications for certificate of citizenship (N-600), Fee Waivers (I-912) and Reduced Fee Waivers (I-942), Applications to renew and replace permanent resident card (I-90), and Temporary Protected Status applications (I-821). 10. Briefly explain which parts of your proposal would be part of an existing project or program and which parts of your proposal would be a new area or service for your organization. Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 5 Existing Program Work Since our inception, one of Alianza NORCO's primary goals has been to expand access to low-cost/pro-bono immigration legal services in Northern Colorado. To achieve this goal: Since 2017, we have delivered Family Preparedness Workshops in conjunction with family lawyers to help immigrant families designate guardians for their children and their assets in case of detention and/or deportation. We have provided Know Your Rights Trainings alongside immigration lawyers to help immigrants understand their legal options and how local, state and federal law enforcement operates. We gained experience on using the workshop model to provide legal services efficiently by working with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountain (LFSRM) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Denver to assist with and provide naturalization and DACA renewal workshops in Denver, Greeley and virtually. We partnered with Denver-based organizations to bring naturalization workshops to Fort Collins, providing our first virtual workshop Dec 8, 2020. In 2021, we worked with Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center (KIAC) in Bremerton, WA to offer DACA and asylum services to our underserved Northern Colorado community. In November of 2021, we are hosting a virtual Citizenship Info Night and a virtual and in-person Citizenship Workshop at the Poudre River Library - Old Town (PRLD) with attorneys from LFSRM. We are partnering with the PRLD to deliver a workshop on health care directives in November. This will be the first part of a program we want to develop that will cover wills, trusts, power of attorney, and health care power of attorney. In order to expand the number of legal service providers in our area, we have been working to obtain the education and experience to apply to the Department of Justice to become an Accredited Low-Cost/Pro-Bono Legal Service Provider and support our dedicated volunteers to become DOJ accredited representatives (The United States Department of Justice, 2021). An accredited representative is a non- attorney who has demonstrated to the Department of Justice that they have enough education and experience in immigration law to provide immigration legal services. The purpose of the program is to improve access to justice by increasing the number of representatives serving low-income immigrants. Accredited representatives must work for a non-profit organization providing immigration legal services to low-income clients (Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.,CLINIC, 2021). Six of our volunteers have taken the 40 hour training on Basic Immigration Law taught by Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) and The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and continue to take CLE’s - continuing Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 6 immigration legal education classes. Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 7 One of our dedicated volunteers has been training as a legal intern with LFSRM-Legal Services Program since April 2021. Alianza NORCO became a CLINIC affiliate in January, 2021 to gain access to valuable educational resources and legal expertise. Expanded/New Program Work In order to expand access to low cost and pro-bono Immigration legal services in our area and build capacity within our organization, we will be hiring an immigration attorney. Hiring an attorney will allow us to: Immediately take on more complex and more diverse affirmative cases, Offer regular legal information nights (Know Your Rights, non-detained asylum, residency and citizenship), Collaborate with our partners to offer combined legal services in the areas of housing, immigration, driver’s license matters, and other civil matters that often intersect and compound the barriers to a successful immigration case, Provide direct legal services more quickly and efficiently, Increase choice within the community, and Mentor and Supervise our aspiring DOJ accredited representatives and allow us to more easily apply to the Department of Justice to become a Recognized and Accredited Legal Services organization. Grant Application Part 2 - Program Operation Plan 11. Describe your plan for client intake or application for participation. a. Be specific as to how you will come into contact with clients for the first time (such as detention center programs, immigration information hotline, community referrals) and how cases will be selected for representation To generate interest and inform the public about our services, we plan to: (1) hold general immigration legal information nights that introduce our services to our community, (2) advertise our services through social media and text campaigns to our 800+ client list, (3) spread the word through our coalitions and other immigrant-serving organizations (CIRC, Latinx Community Network, Joe Neguse’s Immigrant Advisory Council, La Cocina, The Family Center/La Familia, Poudre River Library District Citizenship classes, CSU and FRCC ESL classes), (4) work alongside our partners at Interfaith Sanctuary and Accompaniment Coalition (ISAAC), Rocky Mountain Immigrant Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 8 Advocacy Network (RMIAN), LFSRM and IRC to ensure that every client that comes into our organizations can be served with education or legal representation for their immigration issues. We will select cases based on our availability for new clients and the clients’ ability to meet (1) the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) relief program’s requirements and (2) the city of Fort Collins geographic and 1-year residency requirements. We foresee that not every client will qualify for relief, and we plan to use those gaps for advocacy efforts in the future. For each prospective client, we will go through the USCIS program’s requirements and questionnaire, as well as a detailed immigration history that will help us assess the client’s eligibility for USCIS applications. b. Describe what, if any, prior relationships you have with the Fort Collins immigrant community, partner organizations, other legal service providers, or detention centers that will help facilitate your program Our relationship with our community has deepened over time. We established Alianza NORCO in response to urgent needs in the immigrant community. We have helped over 700 immigrant community members understand the requirements to obtain their SB-251 driver’s license, and have helped obtain almost as many DMV appointments for them - this is an obstacle filled process. We continue to advocate for change at the state level to ensure that the SB-251 program serves the community members that fund it. We don’t take pride in the fact that we are having to do the DMV’s job for them, but we do take pride in every license we’ve been able to help our clients obtain. For many, that is the first piece of US documentation that they’ve ever had, and it provides them with the ability to drive with increased peace of mind and security. We have also helped more than 400 community members with rental and cash assistance to help them survive COVID-19’s impact. Both of these programs, as well as our longevity and true concern for changing policy, have helped build trust between us and our clients. In addition, all of our staff members and half of our Board of Directors are immigrants ourselves. This shared culture and experience helps us connect authentically to the community we serve. As stated above, we have excellent working relationships with legal service providers including LFSRM, IRC of Denver, RMIAN, and KIAC. We also have referral relationships with immigration lawyers who have traditional law practices and who are willing to / have participated in our workshops, including the Law Office of David Hall, Murad Immigration Law, the Law Office Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 9 of Catherine Brown, DOJ Representative Claudia Castillo, Criminal and Immigration Attorney and CU Law Professor Violeta Chapin, and Ronquillo Immigration Law. We have also partnered with Anne Haro Sipes, a family Lawyer from Colorado Legal Services who has helped us with Immigrant Family Preparedness Workshops. 12. Describe your proposed program model for representing and/or supporting community members with this grant funding. Please specify the ways your organization will: a. Serve eligible clients - b. Employ, recruit, or contract qualified immigration attorneys or staff c. Provide competent and effective representation for the entire scope of the case for clients whose cases may be pending beyond the 18-month pilot (which ends January 2023) d. Address the needs of clients that are outside the scope of legal cases, including social services, housing, education, healthcare, and other needs e. Conduct participant application processes, training sessions, and work with clients who speak a language for which you do not have in-house interpreters or translators SUMMARY OF PROGRAM a. Serve eligible clients - We plan to serve eligible clients with a model utilized by many nonprofit legal service providers: the combination of one-on-one client/attorney appointments for more complex cases and a workshop model for general information and more straightforward cases (i.e. Citizenship applications and DACA renewals). This will allow us to devote the bulk of our time to complex cases while efficiently informing clients and processing multiple applications when appropriate. We will perform an initial screening of clients to determine their specific legal needs, complexity of the case and provide either an appointment with our attorney, an appointment at a workshop or referrals to other legal providers as needed. After the initial screening, clients who do not have an obvious pathway to legal status will be given guidance on their best options for staying secure in our community, driver’s license navigation, referrals to community resources, and dates of upcoming Know Your Right workshops. b. Employ, recruit, or contract qualified immigration attorneys or staff Our current staff are well qualified to provide navigation/wrap-around service referrals because of our work with general community navigation, driver’s Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 10 license work and COVID relief. Due to our ongoing work to apply to the DOJ as accredited representatives, we have the necessary legal support staff to maximize an immigration attorney’s time. In addition to other funding we have applied for and received, funding from the City of Fort Collins will allow us to hire an immigration attorney. We plan to attract and recruit attorney applicants through our legal and nonprofit connections and through more traditional channels (i.e., web-based job advertising). If we are unable to initially hire an attorney, we plan to subcontract the work to local and northern Colorado attorneys. c. Provide competent and effective representation for the entire scope of the case for clients whose cases may be pending beyond the 18-month pilot (which ends January 2023) d. Address the needs of clients that are outside the scope of legal cases, including social services, housing, education, healthcare, and other needs e. Conduct participant application processes, training sessions, and work with clients who speak a language for which you do not have in-house interpreters or translators We plan to continue our ILSP beyond the scope of this grant and anticipate that we will serve clients whose cases will be ongoing after January of 2023. We will continue to apply for additional grants to support the continuity of this program. We would use general operating funds to continue to fund the immigration lawyer’s position, while having our Executive Director position become a volunteer role. Additionally, if we are required to phase out the legal program because of economic barriers, we will be attentive to the cases we accept to insure that we will be able to support our clients through the entirety of their cases. We believe in language justice and have included funding in our budget for interpretation for clients that speak languages other than English and Spanish. We will contract with interpreters listed by the Colorado Judicial Branch and the Office of Language Access to provide language interpretation as needed. https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Interpreters/Directories/Freelance/I C%20Roster%20All%20Languages%20(Rev%2007_30_2021).pdf 13. What is your staffing plan for the proposal? The following staff will be involved in the program: Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 11 Executive Director, will oversee the initial development of the program, and is personally and professionally connected with many immigration professionals (both private and non- profit) in Northern Colorado and Denver. She is bilingual Spanish/English and has taken the Basic Immigration Law Class through World Relief and continuing legal education through CLINIC. She will be applying to become a "Partially Accredited Representative"--a person authorized by USCIS and DOJ to represent clients before USCIS. Development Coordinator and Treasurer, will assist in the initial development of the program. She is currently a legal intern at Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountain - Immigration Legal Services providing citizenship services to LFSRM’s clients. She has taken the Basic Immigration Law Class and continuing legal education through CLINIC. She will be applying to become a "Partially Accredited Representative" and will continue her current job responsibilities. Immigration Attorney, (to be hired) will serve as Immigrant Legal Services Program Director and provide client legal services. They will be expected to have at least 2-3 years experience in immigration legal work and will supervise legal staff and volunteers at legal workshops.They must be a strong advocate for immigrants and be bilingual in English/Spanish. Navigator Program Manager, will provide client services as the program grows. She is currently involved with assisting clients with navigation services (COVID rent assistance, referrals, SB-251 Driver’s licenses). She is experienced in social work, trauma informed counseling, client management, is a culturally aware immigrant from Colombia, is bilingual in English/Spanish, and has deep ties with the local Latinx immigrant community. Next year she will be starting her training as a paralegal at FRCC. Additional volunteers and staff will be utilized to spread the word about the program. Currently, Alianza NORCO has 4 staff members and 20 long-term volunteers, with >80% of them bilingual English/Spanish. 14. What is the implementation timeline for your proposal? Oct 2021- Post job application for Immigration Attorney Continue staff training Finalize research and pricing for Legal Immigration software to be utilized Continue grant-writing for additional funding Finalize Policies and Procedures Manual November - December 2021 Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 12 Interview and confirm licenses/credentials, Colorado Bar status and disciplinary history of attorney applicants Hire Immigration Attorney Host legal workshop with PRLD on health care directives, November 2, 2021 Host virtual Citizenship Info Night, November 8, 2021 with LFSRM Host in-person and virtual Citizenship workshop with LFSRM at Poudre River Library- Old Town (PRLD), November 20, 2021 Start using social media, texting and network connections to share information about immigration legal services to be provided Work with CSU school of social work to develop tool to assess final report questions to include: The percent of participants who feel they are safer due to the legal services and resources provided by grant recipients The percent of participants who are more knowledgeable about their pathways to citizenship or lawful presence after the program Percent of participants reporting greater likelihood of accessing city or community resources due to the program January 2022 - March 2022 Q4 2021 Report Due 1.5.22 Host virtual Legal Info Night Host in-person and virtual legal workshop in collaboration with our legal partners Screen clients to determine eligibility Provide direct legal services and process USCIS applications April 2022 - June 2022 Q1 2022 Report Due 4.5.22 Host virtual Legal Info Night Host in-person and virtual legal workshop in collaboration with our legal partner Screen clients to determine eligibility Provide direct legal services and process USCIS applications July 2022 - September 2022 Q2 2022 Report Due 7.5.22 Host virtual Legal Info Night Host in-person and virtual legal workshop in collaboration with our legal partners Screen clients to determine eligibility Provide direct legal services and process USCIS applications October 2022 - December 2022 Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 13 Q3 2022 Report Due 10.5.22 Host virtual Legal Info Night Host in-person and virtual legal workshop in collaboration with our legal partners Screen clients to determine eligibility Provide direct legal services and process USCIS applications January 2023 - March 2023 Q4 2022 Report Due 1.5.23 Final Report Due 3/17/2023 Host virtual Legal Info Night Host in-person and virtual legal workshop in collaboration with our legal partners Screen clients to determine eligibility Provide direct legal services and process USCIS applications 15. Please outline the budget for your proposal during the pilot period for this grant (from October 2021-January 2023). (The budget submitted is for application purposes only to give the grant review panel a clear picture of your proposal.) Please see attached project budget. 16. Is your budget scalable (could you provide more with additional funding or would you still be able to accomplish the project’s goals with less funding than requested)? Our project is definitely scalable, if more funds become available. As we launch our expanded legal program, we will be utilizing a lot of our resources to hire an attorney. With more funding, we will be able to increase staffing to support outreach, client communications, screening and legal office work. This will allow the attorney to increase their caseload and/or case complexity. Additional funding could also be used to directly support clients by helping to pay for USCIS filing and biometric fees (if ineligible for fee waivers), mental health resources which are often necessary in SIJS and Asylum cases, additional paralegal assistance and wrap-around assistance. Grant Application Part 3 - Outcomes 17. What are your anticipated outcomes if awarded grant funding for this proposal? (Outcomes are not required to be anticipated case numbers, but can include any potential outcomes for individuals, the community, or the City your organization aims to achieve with this funding.) Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 14 (1) Strengthening and stabilizing the family unit by keeping families together and/or reuniting families(6) (2) Integrating immigrant community members into our city through increased US cultural knowledge, legal representation, legal resources, and/or advocacy (3) Providing immigrants the opportunity to obtain increased economic stability, improved mental health, and long-term security through legal status (4) Ensuring that immigrants understand their rights and legal options (5) Protecting our immigrant community from abusive practices in housing, work and detention/deportation (see Survey Information below) (6) Helping our city define local values of racial justice, inclusion, diversity, and compassion (7) Providing a model for commonsense policy solutions that counters the injustice and disruption that federal immigration enforcement has wrought on our communities (8) Ensuring access to due process and fairness for all people Survey Information In our 2021 survey of Alianza service users, we found that 46% of undocumented immigrants experienced one or more injustices at work, while only 39% of documented immigrants we surveyed experienced one or more injustices at work. On a national scale, undocumented immigrants experience increased incidences of wage theft, sexual harrasment, and unsafe working conditions (Bernhardt et al., Of the 58 individuals we surveyed who had experienced detention by Immgiration and Customs Enforcement, only 4 people did not experience any injustices or abuses while being detained. The most common abuses experienced by survey respondents were: inability to call/see family (49%), excessive heat or cold (43%), bad/rotten food (43%), racism/prejudice (37%). Other abuses and injustices included: verbal abuse (24%), constant loud noise (24%), inability to call a lawyer (22%), solitary confinement (16%), dirty conditions (16%), inability maintain personal hygiene (16%), lack of medical care (16%), lack of access to clean water (10%), lack of precautions for COVID (2% ), physical abuse (10%), and sexual abuse (4%). Literature/Research Information The Immigrant Rights Project of the ACLU found that in 2018, 83% of people deported from the USA were not given a hearing before a judge and that the detention and deportation tactics of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement go against the civil liberties guaranteed to all residents of the United States. The ACLU states that ICE’s tactics “implicate the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, the constitutional guarantee of due process, and the constitutional guarantee of equal protection and freedom from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and national origin” (American Civil Liberties Union, 2021). In terms of employer abuses, undocumented immigrants often are paid less than minimum wage, work more than 40 hours a week, are not given meal breaks, do not Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 15 have access to workers’ compensation, and cannot advocate for improved rights. The economic demand for cheap workers and the vulnerability of migrants results in immigrants becoming “disposable workers” (Sánchez, 2011), and many undocumented immigrants face retaliation from employers (such as threatening to fire workers, threatening to dock their pay or, threatening to call ICE) when they make complaints about working conditions (Bernhardtt et al., 2009). The substandard working conditions lead immigrants to have poorer health outcomes, increased workplace injuries, and increased occupational fatalities (Moyce & Schenker, 2018). These workplace abuses are compounded by discriminatory housing practices and landlord exploitation of undocumented immigrants. New immigrants often do not have the credit history or official income source to officially rent a home, instead renting informal shared spaces and substandard units in poor condition where they have no protections against landlord abuses and injustices (Ayano, 2021). This trend is reinforced by institutional level policies which penalize landlords for renting to undocumented immigrants, causing many property owners to refuse to rent to individuals who appear to be foreign-born (Gruhn, 2008; Oliveri, 2009). Furthermore, undocumented immgirants and DACA recipients are also ineligible for federal housing assistance, such as HUD housing assistance programs (Congressional Research Service, 2020). Grant Application Part 4 - Other 18. Is there any other information you would like the grant review panel to consider? We want to thank the city and this review board for considering our proposal. Our work will not be limited to providing legal services, which in itself is a major milestone for Alianza NORCO. It will also include continuing to help set objectives in our city to ensure that we can continue to offer this valuable service to our immigrant community. We hope to establish a policy group which may consist of members of the legal community, legal service providers, directly impacted individuals, law clinics, researchers, and other community leaders who can help us recommend future growth and development for this program’s long-term success. We hope that we can be partners in this values-based work past the pilot phase and into a dedicated, intentional, well-funded and proven program. Part of this might involve working with the city to remove the 1-year residency requirement. In part due to this requirement, we have also applied and are finalists for the Women’s Foundation of Colorado WINcome grant, which aims to “advance gender, racial and economic equity through flexible and holistic resources.” If we are granted this funding, we will use the funds to expand immigration legal services to Attachment A – Alianza NORCO Application 16 women who would not qualify for funding from the city of Fort Collins fund due to the 1- year residency requirement and/or the geographic requirement. This fund would also allow us to pay for participants’ USCIS filing fees and provide funding for wrap-around services and cash assistance as needed and directed by our clients. Works Cited The United States Department of Justice, (2021). Recognition & Accreditation (R&A)Program. www.justice.gov/eoir/recognition-and-accreditation-program . DOJ Recognition and Accreditation | Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC),(2021). Resources on DOJ Recognition and Accreditation. https://cliniclegal.org/resources/doj-recognition- and-accreditation. American Civil LibertiesUnion. (2021).Immigrant Rights’. https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights. Ayano, M.F. (2020). TenantswithoutRights:Situatingthe ExperiencesofNewImmigrantsin the US Low- Income Housing Market.Geo. J. on Poverty L. & Pol'y, 28, 159. Bernhardt, A., Milkman, R., Theodore, N., Heckathorn, D. D., Auer, M., DeFilippis, J., ... &Perelshteyn, J. (2009). Broken laws, unprotected workers: Violations of employment and labor laws inAmerica's cities. CongressionalResearchService.(2020).Noncitizen Eligibility forFederal Housing Programs. https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46462.pdf. Gruhn, C. R. (2008). Filling Gaps Left by Congress or Violating Federal Rights:An Analysis of Local Ordinances Restricting Undocumented Immigrants' Access to Housing. The University of Miami Inter- American Law Review, 39(3), 529-557. Moyce, S.C., &Schenker, M.(2018).Migrant workersandtheiroccupational health and safety.Annual review of public health,39, 351-365. Oliveri, R. C. (2009).Between a rock and a hard place: Landlords, Latinos, anti-illegal immigrant ordinances, and housing discrimination. Vanderbilt Law Review 62, 53. Sánchez, H. E. (2011). Disposable workers: Immigration after NAFTA and the nation’s addiction to cheap labor. BORDER-LINES, 44. Attachment B – ISAAC Application 1 Attachment B – ISAAC Application 2021 City of Fort Collins Immigration Legal Fund Pilot Request for Proposals Application Title/Project Name Surviving to Thriving: Expanded Legal Support through ISAAC’s Emergency Fund Amount Requested $50,000 Organization Information ISAAC of Northern Colorado Website www.isaacnoco.org 1. Type of Organization Nonprofit Group with (501c3) Community and/or Advocacy Group College, University, and/or Other Institution of Higher Learning Attorney, Law Firm, Bar Association, or Other Legal Professional Organization and/or Practitioner 2. Select which of the following apply to your program and/or proposal. Please select all that apply Direct legal representation of clients and support services in all types of immigration cases Direct legal representation of clients and support services in specific types of immigration cases (if this option is selected, please choose the specific case types below) Detention, deportation, and clients released on bond facing deportation Family reunification efforts to address the impacts of federal “family separation” policies Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”) U and/or T Visa applications (victims of certain violent crime and trafficking) and renewals Student Visa applications and/or renewals Work Visa applications and/or renewals Other Visa applications and/or renewals Lawful Permanent Resident cases and/or processes Naturalization cases and/or processes Other:Professional support for cases: Forensic mental healt Support services without direct legal representation (like self-advocacy training or immigration information hotline) Attachment B – ISAAC Application 2 Other program or service None of the above 3. Name of project or program for which you are seeking funding Surviving to Thriving: Expanded Legal Support through ISAAC’s Emergency Fund 4. What amount of grant funding are you applying for? (maximum award of $150,000 is currently availableto be used during the pilot period through January 2023) $50,000 5. Will this project or program be offered in person within the city limits of Fort Collins? Yes No Some activities will be offered in person within the city limits of Fort Collins 6. Is this the continuation of an existing project or program or an expansion into a new area for you/your organization? Part of an existing project or program New area or services 7. Would your organization like to be considered for additional grant funding for immigration legal services if additional funding becomes available during the pilot (from October 2021-January 2023)? Yes, please contact me to discuss if additional funding becomes available No Maybe, please contact me to discuss if additional funding becomes available Grant Application Part 1 - Organizational/ Applicant Alignment 8. Describe how assisting community members with immigration legal issues alignswith your organization’s current work, mission, vision, or values. ISAAC -- the Interfaith Solidarity and Accompaniment Coalition -- is a broad coalition of faith communities that work in direct cooperation and collaboration with community-based organizations and school districts throughout Larimer County. Our mission: “As interfaith people of conscience, we draw on the teachings of our faiths to work in solidarity for human dignity and immigration justice, co-creating communities of welcome, recognition, healing and accompaniment.” Attachment B – ISAAC Application 3 10. Briefly explain which parts of your proposal would be part of an existing project or program and which parts of your proposal would be a new area or service for your organization. Over the last four and a half years, ISAAC’s Emergency Immigration Fund (EIF) has supported hundreds of families with emergency crisis funding and immigration legal support. We have a two-pronged approach: We fund directly within the gaps, assisting individuals and families who may not otherwise qualify for things like government assistance, unemployment, stimulus and loans, while simultaneously advocating and organizing for increased access, deconstruction of barriers, shifts in policy, and demystification of processes. Over the last few years, the EIF has assisted: 1200 households with multiple rounds of COVID19 relief grants, 100 newcomer migrant youth with mini grants, 21 impacted community leaders/organizers with social justice grants, and 53 undocumented immigrant households with family support grants to help them through a crisis such a workplace accident, detention or deportation of a head of household, medical crisis or family death. Over this same time period, we have also assisted with 180 immigration legal cases: 81 DACA cases, 13 emergency work authorization renewals, 31 complex or urgent legal cases pending before the Denver immigration court, 19 unaccompanied minor SIJS cases, 16 U-visa or VAWA cases for victims of crimes, and 20 cases requiring professional support such as an expedited Forensic Mental Health Assessment (FMHA) or Expert Opinion/Declaration. 9. If you are applying to work on specific case types, please explain your organization’s interest in those specific case types. While we aspire to help with all types of cases, due to limited resources, ISAAC has prioritized our direct assistance to cases involving high levels of vulnerability. Over the years, we have focused our needs-based criteria around youth (SIJS/DACA), victims of violence and crimes (whether experienced in the country of origin or the US), those with physical or mental disabilities, the elderly, and emergency cases in which an expedited action is immediately necessary to prevent a deportation or family separation. In 2019, we made a specific commitment to work with unaccompanied and asylum-seeking youth through our Chocoy Initiative, named for Colorado youth, Edgar Chocoy, who lost his asylum case, was deported to Guatemala and was murdered three weeks later. Over many years, even before ISAAC came together formally as a coalition, our Fort Collins member faith communities have complemented this direct assistance by hosting broad, community-based immigration clinics, organized with leadership from local Attorney Kim Medina, Fuerza Latina, PSD Language Culture and Equity, and Poudre River Library District. Through these clinics, hundreds of local dreamers have applied for and successfully received DACA status. We remain committed to community clinics. While they are not a substitute for direct client assistance, they have the power to reach many community members at once in a way that is time and resource-saving and also builds organizational and grassroots community solidarity. Attachment B – ISAAC Application 4 We will not be applying for funds to create a new program. All our requested funds will go to shore up and expand our existing programs -- both our direct client assistance and our community clinics. Those programs have been honed over the years, allowing us to develop a track record and best practice model with which we feel confident. With funding from the Fort Collins ILF, we can provide services to a broader population. Three of the core principles of our existing programsare: (1) Client self-determination and investment in cases: we work with applicants to meet us halfway. We provide consult fees so that applicants can explore if they indeed have a viable case and find a lawyer with whom they feel comfortable; we provide the retainer and deposit on a case for applicants to begin their process; we work with the client to see if a payment plan between themselves and their lawyer could work for them, so they can contribute to and feel invested in their own case, stretching funds further; we check progress with them to see how and when we can continue to help their case financially. (2) Client choice: choosing a lawyer is as serious and as intimate a decision as choosing an oncologist; for many people it can be a question of life or death, family unity or family separation. It is a deeply personal and lasting relationship that can endure as long as a decade or more! Because of this, we do not contract with lawyers. Rather, we allow applicants to choose their own lawyer and we provide a scholarship to the applicant, paying filing fees or legal fees on their behalf directly to their lawyer or to DHS/USCIS. (3) Grassroots, community clinics: we believe direct client assistance should exist alongside access to education materials and grassroots clinics that provide information and empowerment to allow people to navigate processes, fill out routine applications, or engage in short consults to explore whether they have a viable case or not. We don’t believe in doing these clinics alone, but instead we work in collaboration and solidarity with fellow community-based organizations, engaging in outreach through multiple channels including Poudre School District and the library. If granted funds, our local grant recipients will work together with other community-based organizations tocooperate on workshops. Grant Application Part 2 - Program Operation Plan 11. Describe your plan for client intakeor application for participation. a. Be specific as to how you will come into contact with clients for the first time (such as detention center programs, immigration information hotline, community referrals) and how cases will be selected for representation Intake process: Attachment B – ISAAC Application 5 Clients come to ISAAC by way of referral from fellow community-based organizations, PSD family liaisons and teachers, Fuerza Latina’s immigration hotline, faith communities supporting asylum seekers, family lawyers and local immigration attorneys or probono programs. Clients who hear about our work also call our EIF/Chocoy line directly, and we explore with them whether they are a candidate for support. Whether the request is for legal fees to an attorney, or filing fees and professional support for a case, our first step is to assess whether the client has legal counsel, and, if so, if they are a reputable AILA attorney. If they are not in touch with an attorney, we refer them to a list of probono programs and lowbono attorneys, and we assist them with their consult fee, with priority given to those who meet our needs assessment described in Question 9. We also work in communication with other local programs with the goal of finding them the right fit. Our second step is to understand where the client is in their case process, which often entails signing an ROI so that we can communicate directly with their lawyer’s office. If this is a detained case, we work with Fuerza Latina’s and RMIAN’s hotlines to offer support to family members, and we use our Emergency Fund to immediately add credit to the detainees communications account in GEO. We flag the case with RMIAN’s detained program, so they can be included in detention orientations. And we work to provide up to two month’s rent from our Emergency Fund to the family, so they have breathing room to work on the case, especially if the detained individual is a key breadwinner. (Note: family support funds are given through our private donations and other grants). Our third step is to evaluate whether the case falls within our priority areas as a youth SIJS/asylum case, victim of a crime, an elderly client, a client with a mental or physical disability, or an emergency case that requires expedited action to prevent a deportation or family separation. If not within our priority areas, we will work with fellow organizations to see if we can find a match and will collectively work to create a referral methodology between the various ILF grant recipients. Ultimately, although we deeply believe in needs-based work, we will never abandon applicants with no other good options as it defies our organizational values. Please note, our one exception to this intake process is for DACA applicants. Because so many DACA applicants are renewals, and an attorney may not be needed, we provide $495 in filing fees to all applicants paid directly to DHS and mailed to the applicant with no questions asked. This is part of our longstanding commitment to support youth and young adult applicants, so they are safe from removal and are granted opportunities to work at their skill level due to work authorization. b. Describe what, if any, prior relationships you have with the Fort Collins immigrant community, partner organizations, other legal service providers, or detention centers that will help facilitate your program Legal and support network: We have established relationships with all immigrant-serving community organizations in Fort Attachment B – ISAAC Application 6 Describe your proposedprogram model for representing and/or supporting community members with this grant funding. Please specify the ways your organization will: Collins, with Fuerza Latina’s Immigration Hotline, CIRC’s Docuteam Hotline, the Colorado Freedom Fund (for bond), the Community Dreamer Fund, and with the school district. We are delighted to have worked at length with local attorneys such as Kim Medina and Bridget McCann, and we are just this week processing our first case with new Loveland-area attorney David Hall. Over the years, we have also worked with Denver-based Attorneys Beatriz Lynch and Maria Monclova. And we’ve worked directly with RMIAN on a number of cases (including a recent, successful asylum case), with CU and DU Law Clinics (including the recent successful release of a DACA recipient from Aurora Geo Detention Center), and with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. We have worked for years with La Cocina to ensure mental health services to clients, including Forensic Mental Health Assessments, with Dr. Nina Pesochinsky and Nidia Ponce (LCSW) for expedited emergency FMHAs, and with Salud Clinic and UC Health for letters of medical support for a case. We have also worked with a number of expert witnesses on declarations for asylum cases and have looked for additional support to Lutheran Family Services, the Colorado Asylum Center, and the International Rescue Committee. We routinely work with faith community leaders to provide letters of community support for cases. A. ServingClients - We will use funds to serve eligible clients through a number of support services detailed throughout this application: Community materials and clinics held in cooperation with other recipients of ILF grants and local community organizations Legal consult fees to explore case viability (from $100-$200) USCIS filing fees (from $410 to $4000, depending on the case) Professional services such as competency exams, FMHAs and expert declarations (from $500-$2500) Legal fees to reputable AILA lawyers offering lowbono representation (retainer/deposit fees from $500-$1500; ongoing legal support in increments of $1500 with ongoing tracking, check-ins and evaluation, working with clients to meet us partway and invest in their case as they can) Translation and interpretation fees necessary for case support Letters of community case support from our faith communities (no cost) Note: we will serve both clients with pending and with new cases with these funds B. Qualified Legal Support - We will continue to work with our existing network of legal providers, working to expand that network through outreach. Some specifications are important: We will not contract with lawyers, but rather we will offer scholarships directly to clients to preserve their choice and self-determination Attachment B – ISAAC Application 7 We will co-create a tailored plan with them, and then make payments to their legal team or to USCIS/DHS on their behalf We will not contract with support professionals, but rather will pay for services as requested or deemed necessary by a client’s lawyer in order to increase the chances of a successful case outcome We will prioritize collaboration with probono legal programs and with lowbono attorneys offering services at minimum 70% below market rates. We will only work with lawyers that offer fixed fees in lieu or hourly rates All lawyers must be AILA approved All lawyers and psychologists must have their own liability insurance All lawyers must be in good standing with the national bar association C. Case Lifecycle - The lifecycle of immigration cases can be a decade or more and can involve multiple adjustments and appeals. While it is not realistic to commit to fund a case throughout this life cycle, we will continue to have an ongoing relationship with clients, working with them to understand where they are in their case and assessing how we or other community resources might assist them. Since we are committed to serving clients with both pending and new cases with these funds, we do expect to close out cases over the next 18 months and will be excited to report on outcomes. D. Additional Supports - ISAAC is committed to providing support to families experiencing a crisis, and those experiencing an immigration-related crisis are no exception. Our Family Crisis Funds will be open to families we work with on legal support, and a legal support grant will not disqualify a client from emergency cash assistance. We also work in a vast network of organizations and work hard to not duplicate services but rather to connect individuals and families to existing resources and provide moral support as they create a family plan. E. Language support - We are working to expand our network of language support services beyond English and Spanish, drawing on support from the Community Language Cooperative, Colorado court interpreters, CSU faculty, and CIELO(Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo). 13. What is your staffing plan for the proposal? Because we are building on an existing program, we do not need to create a new position for this work. That said, we will need to expand the hours put into intakes, communications with applicants, partner organizations, and legal services. We will aim to expand this role by not more than 10 hours/week under our current Emergency Immigration Fund Infrastructure. If awarded, over the duration of this grant, we will evaluate the growth and viability of our programs and look to other funding sources to eventually create a three-quarters or full-time case intake and evaluation position as needed. 14. What is the implementation timeline for your proposal? If awarded funds by the Fort Collins ILF, we will move to bring support to pending cases Attachment B – ISAAC Application 8 immediately, as long as they fit the criteria put forward in this application. Some of those cases have only been supported in a barebones way given our limited budget. An award from the ILF would allow us to guarantee closure and success in a number of currently pending cases including a dozen outstanding youth cases. For new cases, over the next month, we will be revamping our application form, creating a one pager and two-minute video about our offerings, adding this information to our website, and distributing information to the network of organizations, family liaisons and legal offices that will refer cases to us. We will not be able to go “live” with this information until we know the expansion of the project is funded. We will also be working directly with other ILF applicants, such as Alianza NORCO and RMIAN, to define our roles, our collaboration and referral process, and we will be exploring where other established organizations not applying for funds -- such as La Familia, La Cocina and Fuerza Latina -- fit into this process, as we have worked with all three of them on legal cases for many years and have an excellent organic process that works well in our community, but just lacks sufficient funding support. We will all work to see how we can leverage ILF funds to apply for more collaborative funding opportunities. 15. Please outline the budget for your proposal during the pilot period for this grant (from October 2021-January 2023). Our budget is extremely straightforward. Of a $50,000 award, we will not exceed $10,000 in expanded intake and evaluation staffing and administrative costs.The remaining $40,000 will be put directly into scholarships for filing fees, legal fees, consults and professional services. $5,000 of this we will hold available for community clinics as needed, and we have committed to working in collaboration with other organizations on these efforts -- both those applying for ILF funds and those that are not. 16. Is your budget scalable (could you provide more with additional funding or would you still be able to accomplish the project’s goals with less funding than requested)? Yes. This funding will goquickly, and we will try to make it count. Our programs are absolutely scalable, and we would like nothing more than to be able to offer them to a larger number of community members. Grant Application Part 3 - Outcomes 17. What are your anticipated outcomes if awarded grant funding for this proposal? Our most immediate outcomes is that we believe ISAAC can take a number of currently pending cases to fruition and success, providing concrete safety and path to residency for a number of individuals and families, including at least a dozen youth filing for SIJS. We are currently supporting 31 Poudre School District youth with DACA applications. If DACA processing is Attachment B – ISAAC Application 9 reopened, as looks likely, we can see those cases through to completion, and continue to provide support to PSD youth who age into and can benefit from the protection of the program. Through both pending and many new cases, we will also be able to provide support to highly vulnerable individuals with complex immigration cases. Between our services and those of our partners, we hope to expand those services to a much broader client base. We hope that the ILF also serves another purpose, and that is to teach the community and our city government just how complex our immigration system is, how costly it is, that there is no “line” to get into, and that only a fraction of people has any pathway to relief. While the ILF will help community organizations to serve more clients who are eligible, we believe working with this fund will also increase knowledge in the city and the broader community to help us see how few people have a pathway to relief, highlighting a few critical takeaways: (1) We must continue to work for comprehensive immigration reform; (2) We must educate ourselves about the ways in which our nation-state perpetuates root causes of emigration and hold ourselves accountable to the ways our local agencies might be complicit in immigration injustices and the diminishing of human dignity; (3) As we use our people power to work towards those things, we must commit to eradicating barriers and practices that make residents of our city feel a lack of belonging, safety, and physical and mental wellbeing. We must commit to local practices and policies that allow all city residents to contribute and thrive to their fullest. Grant Application Part 4 - Other 18. Is there any other information you would like the grant review panel to consider? We would like the city to reconsider the residency requirement, as child and youth asylum seekers currently cannot be served by this fund. They cannot be served because their cases are attached to a parent’s case. It is important to remember that asylum seekers are in full compliance with the law, and they are also technically in removal proceedings until they win their case. That means that, through this fund, we are not able to serve some of the most vulnerable members of our community -- children fleeing violence and oppression -- who may well be returned to their countries of origin without case funding or representation on what is a very difficult expedited docket for families with children. Attachment C – RMIAN Application 1 Attachment C – RMIAN Application 2021 City of Fort Collins Immigration Legal Fund Pilot Request for Proposals Applicant Summary Please provide the following Applicant Summary information: Application Title/Project Name RM AN Immigration Legal Representation Amount Requested $50,000 Organization Information (Organization Legal Name/Entity Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Country) Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, 7301 Federal Blvd, Suite 300 Westminster, CO 80003 Website www.rmian.org Pre-Application 1.Type of Organization Nonprofit Group with 501(c)(3) Community and/or Advocacy Group College, University, and/or Other Institution of Higher Learning Attorney, Law Firm, Bar Association, or Other Legal Professional Organization and/or Practitioner 2.Select which of the following apply to your program and/or proposal. Please select all that apply Direct legal representation of clients and support services in all types of immigration cases Direct legal representation of clients and support services in specific types of immigration cases (if this option is selected, please choose the specific case types below) Detention, deportation, and clients released on bond facing deportation Family reunification efforts to address the impacts of federal “family separation” policies Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”) U and/or T Visa applications (victims of certain violent crime and trafficking) and renewals Student Visa applications and/or renewals Work Visa applications and/or renewals Other Visa applications and/or renewals Lawful Permanent Resident cases and/or processes Naturalization cases and/or processes Other: employment authorization documents Support services without direct legal representation (like self-advocacy training or immigration information hotline) Attachment C – RMIAN Application 2 Other program or service None of the above 3.Name of project or program for which you are seeking funding Immigration legal representation for individuals in civil immigration detention, as well as for children and families. 4.What amount of grant funding are you applying for? (maximum award of $150,000 is currently available to be used during the pilot period through January 2023) $50,000 5.Will this project or program be offered in person within the city limits of Fort Collins? Yes No Some activities will be offered in person within the city limits of Fort Collins 6. Is this the continuation of an existing project or program or an expansion into a new area for you/your organization? Part of an existing project or program New area or services 7.Would your organization like to be considered for additional grant funding for immigration legal services if additional funding becomes available during the pilot (from October 2021-January 2023)? Yes, please contact me to discuss if additional funding becomes available No Maybe, please contact me to discuss if additional funding becomes available Grant Application Part 1 - Organizational/ Applicant Alignment 8.Describe how assisting community members with immigration legal issues aligns with your organization’s current work, mission, vision, or values. RMIAN was founded as a nonprofit organization over twenty years ago in response to the grave injustices of individuals in civil immigration detention facing immigration proceedings without counsel. RMIAN believes that justice for immigrants means justice for all, and RMIAN is working toward the goal of 100% of individuals in immigration proceedings having an attorney by their sides. RMIAN provides free immigration legal services to individuals at the Aurora immigration detention center, as well as to children and families throughout Colorado. Sadly, the current reality means that preschool and elementary-aged children are often forced to represent themselves before the Immigration Courts. Similarly, individuals in immigration detention are separated from their families and unable to access resources to support their immigration cases and pursue security in the United States. Yet, studies show that individuals with attorneys are ten times more likely to win their immigration cases. Simply put, without RMIAN’s work, thousands of individuals in Colorado would be forced to confront a hostile and complex immigration system without having had the opportunity to talk to an attorney about their rights, and without an attorney to represent them and protect their best interests. In 2020, RMIAN provided 119 know-your-rights presentations to 1,367 individuals in civil immigration Attachment C – RMIAN Application 3 detention. In 2020, RMIAN’s staff attorneys represented 626 individuals in Colorado in their immigration cases—whether in a bond hearing at the detention center, a DACA renewal, an application for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, or a full asylum case before the immigration courts. Increasing its impact exponentially, RMIAN referred an additional 339 cases to its network of pro bono attorneys. RMIAN’s work is crucially connected and aligned with the Fort Collins Immigration Legal Fund. Furthermore, this work with allow RMIAN to continue its important collaboration with ISAAC, Alianza NORCO, and other Fort Collins partner organizations. 9.If you are applying to work on specific case types, please explain your organization’s interest in those specific case types. (If you are applying to work on all immigration case types, please enter “N/A” for this question. Through this application, RMIAN is proposing to provide direct legal representation for Fort Collins residents who are detained in the Aurora civil immigration detention center, as well as Fort Collins resident children and families in their affirmative immigration cases, or their cases before the Denver Immigration Court. RMIAN’s attorneys are nationally recognized experts in detained deportation defense and children’s immigration law, and RMIAN has decades of experience with this high-stakes legal work. In the context of RMIAN’s Detention Program, RMIAN would provide expert legal representation in bond hearings, parole requests, and merits hearings before the detained Aurora Immigration Court (including asylum, withholding of removal, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, and other forms of relief). In the context of RMIAN’s Children’s Program, RMIAN would provide expert legal representation for merits hearing for children and families before the non-detained Denver Immigration Court (including asylum, withholding of removal, adjustment of status, and other forms of relief), as well as representation for children and families affirmatively applying for relief such as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, U and T visas, and DACA renewals. 10.Briefly explain which parts of your proposal would be part of an existing project or program and which parts of your proposal would be a new area or service for your organization. All parts of this proposal fit within RMIAN’s existing two programs: the Detention Program and the Children’s Program. The one new part of this proposal in regard to RMIAN’s work would be screening potential clients for Fort Collins residency. Grant Application Part 2 - Program Operation Plan 11.Describe your plan for client intake or application for participation. RMIAN has a longstanding and daily presence at the immigration detention center in Aurora, Colorado. Through its work with the Legal Orientation Program, RMIAN screens the vast majority of cases of individuals who are detained at the civil detention facility. RMIAN takes a large number of cases internally, and refers out additional meritorious cases to pro bono counsel. Similarly, RMIAN has a regular presence at the Denver Immigration Court, as well as an established process (including a hotline) for fielding inquiries and conducting intakes from community members who may be eligible for representation through RMIAN’s Children’s Program. Through this proposal, RMIAN will continue to screen all intakes it does at the Aurora Immigration Court, the Denver Immigration Court, as well as referrals from community members and others, to determine Fort Collins residency and assess Attachment C – RMIAN Application 4 participation in this Project. In addition to its daily intake channels, RMIAN’s relationships with Fort Collins community-based organizations will be critical to this Project’s success. RMIAN has been an active partner with immigrant rights’ organizations such as ISAAC, Alianza NORCO, La Cocina, Fuerza Latina and others in Fort Collins in advocating for immigrant legal defense funds. In addition to our partnership in advocacy work, RMIAN has worked with many of these partners for many years to collaborate on know-your-rights workshops, hotline assistance for impacted community members, and direct client work to ensure legal, social, and medical services for immigrant community members in Fort Collins. RMIAN plans to work extensively with all of these partners, and particularly with ISAAC and Alianza NORCO, to coordinate referrals and ensure the most streamlined intake process for Fort Collins residents so they are not forced to call multiple agencies and relay often traumatic information multiple times. 12.Describe your proposed program model for representing and/or supporting community members with this grant funding. Through this proposal, RMIAN plans to hire a new attorney at RMIAN to dedicate approximately one- third of their time to representing Fort Collins residents, as well as collaborating with Fort Collins community organizations to assist with know-your-rights presentations, legal clinics, and other community work. RMIAN anticipates that this attorney will be able to represent 16 Fort Collins residents during the grant period. RMIAN will prioritize any Fort Collins residents who are detained at the Aurora immigration detention center. RMIAN will provide full legal representation in their cases before the Aurora Immigration Court. RMIAN also intends to represent children and families from Fort Collins who are before the non-detained Denver Immigration Court in their removal cases. Finally, as capacity allows, RMIAN will represent additional Fort Collins children and families who are eligible for affirmative immigration relief. RMIAN plans to continue providing representation to clients whose cases are still pending at the end of the 18-month pilot period. RMIAN recognizes the critical importance of supporting clients with needs beyond (and connected to) their immigration legal cases. RMIAN intends to partner with community-based organizations ISAAC, Alianza NORCO, La Cocina, and Fuerza Latina to more fully support clients. In addition, RMIAN’s legal representation is further enhanced through its interdisciplinary collaboration with RMIAN’s Social Service Project (SSP), a team staffed by four MSW-level social workers. The SSP provides essential wrap-around support for clients both in RMIAN’s Detention Program and Children’s Program. While all of RMIAN’s staff members are bilingual in English and Spanish, RMIAN has an extensive volunteer interpreter and translator network to utilize in the event a client speaks a third language. 13.What is your staffing plan for the proposal? RMIAN plans to hire a new attorney at RMIAN to dedicate approximately one-third of their time to representing Fort Collins residents, as well as collaborating with Fort Collins community organizations to assist with know-your-rights presentations, legal clinics, and other community work. RMIAN will work to secure the remainder of the funding for this new position through other sources. 14.What is the implementation timeline for your proposal? If awarded funding under this proposal, RMIAN would post for this attorney position during the last Attachment C – RMIAN Application 5 quarter of 2021. RMIAN’s goal would be to have the new position filled by the first quarter of 2022. In the meantime, RMIAN’s existing staff members could provide some legal representation to Fort Collins residents as capacity allows. 15.Please outline the budget for your proposal during the pilot period for this grant (from October 2021-January 2023). The budget submitted is for application purposes only to give the grant review panel a clear picture of your proposal. The budget for this proposal includes 0.33 FTE of a staff attorney at RMIAN to provide immigration legal services to Fort Collins residents over the 18-month grant period. Personnel expenses for this FTE (including salary plus benefits) are estimated at $43,313. The remainder of the requested $50,000 grant award ($6,687) consists of overhead expenses, which includes rent, utilities, mileage, supplies, printing, postage, and IT and accounting services. 16.Is your budget scalable (could you provide more with additional funding or would you still be able to accomplish the project’s goals with less funding than requested)? RMIAN’s proposed budget is scalable in the sense that RMIAN could provide more legal representation and additional legal services with additional funding. However, RMIAN would not be able to accomplish the project’s goals with less funding than requested here, particularly since it involves hiring a new staff member at RMIAN. Grant Application Part 3 - Outcomes 17.What are your anticipated outcomes if awarded grant funding for this proposal? (Outcomes are not required to be anticipated case numbers, but can include any potential outcomes for individuals, the community, or the City your organization aims to achieve with this funding.) This funding will allow RMIAN to grow its capacity to provide critical and life-changing immigration legal representation for Fort Collins residents. Specifically, RMIAN will represent 16 Fort Collins residents in their cases before the Aurora Immigration Court, the Denver Immigration Court, or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In addition, Fort Collins residents will have access to know-your- rights presentations and group clinics. This funding will not only expand access to free immigration legal services for Fort Collins residents, but it will also pilot a critical new partnership between RMIAN, Fort Collins-based nonprofit organizations, and the City of Fort Collins. Through this pilot, the City and its partners will be able to demonstrate the power of ensuring access to justice for immigrant community members, hopefully creating a model to be replicated in the future. Grant Application Part 4 - Other 18.Is there any other information you would like the grant review panel to consider? Glossary Attachment C – RMIAN Application 6 “Affirmative Relief” and “Affirmative Case” includes: DACA Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) Asylum and Refugee Status U visas and T visas Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) protections Family Petitions including Family Reunification Matters Labor/Work Permit-Related Petitions Naturalization Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Lawful Permanent Residency (LPR) “Local access and capacity building” may include, but are not limited to: Expanding the pool of pro bono and “low bono” immigration attorneys to provide services to Fort Collins residents Training and continuing education opportunities for attorneys and legal staff on current and emerging immigration issues and processes The use of law school clinics, law school graduate fellows, and law students to provide assistance to immigrants Other innovative projects that increase legal representation for immigrants “Resident of Fort Collins” includes: Any individual age 21 or older (at the time of application for participation in the pilot) who can verify their presence in the City of Fort Collins for at least 12 months prior to June 2021 Any individual age 20 or younger (at the time of application for participation in the pilot) who is currently a Fort Collins resident “Removal Defense”includes: High-quality representation at all stages of immigration court proceedings Representation and legal support for master calendar hearings and bond hearings, detained removal, and non-detained removal after release Board and Immigrations Appeals (BIA) and remands from the BIA, State court proceedings related to immigration relief Transfer of venue proceedings, collateral proceedings incident to removal defense, and any costs associated with immigration-related defense Support services and/or engaging experts for testimony, assessment, or documentation “Self-advocacy resources and access”may include, but are not limited to: Community outreach and education materials, workshops, and presentations ‘Ask A Lawyer’ legal clinics Immigration legal services hotlines, call centers, and self-help centers Training and materials for community immigration advocates and “train the trainer” activities for community members