HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 7/12/2022 - Memorandum From Jc Ward And Leo Escalante Re: Immigration Legal Fund Pilot Quarterly Report - Q1 2022281 North College Avenue
P.O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580
970.221.6376
970.224.6134 - fax
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Immigration Legal Fund Quarterly Report – Q1 2022
Planning, Development & Transportation
DATE:
TO:
THRU:
MEMORANDUM
June 29, 2022
Mayor Arndt and City Councilmembers
Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Caryn Champine, Director, Planning, Development & Transportation
FROM: JC Ward, Sr. City Planner, Neighborhood Services
Leo Escalante, Program Coordinator, Neighborhood Services
RE: Immigration Legal Fund Pilot Quarterly Report – Q1 2022
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. Information in
this quarterly report is for services and activities during January-March 2022.
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. Grant Recipients awarded $50,000 each are Alianza NORCO, Interfaith Solidarity and
Accompaniment Coalition (“ISAAC”), and Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (“RMIAN”).
Grant Recipients
Grant recipient’s progress for activities during January – March 2022 (Table 1)
Table 1 - Grant Recipient’ Progress – Q1 (January – March 2022)
Recipient Quarterly Progress (Highlights)
Alianza
NORCO Hired an immigration attorney and conducted informational workshops.
ISAAC
Continued service delivery under the Immigration Legal Fund through their scholarship
model. At less than halfway into the funding cycle, ISAAC has utilized 80% of the grant
funding awarded.
RMIAN Expanded capacity by hiring and onboarding a new immigration attorney.
Evaluation Criteria
Metrics from all grant recipients and service providers from January through March 2022 and cumulative pilot
program from October 2021 through March 2022 (Table 2)
Quarter 1 2022 Outputs (indicators of the amount of service provided)
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Immigration Legal Fund Quarterly Report – Q1 2022
o 23 people receiving direct representation
11 adults (over age 21): Most adults were seeking a U Visa or Asylum as victims of
crime, or fear of harm or death.
12 children: Most of the children were seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status due to
abuse, neglect or abandonment.
o 150 residents reached through Immigration legal clinic day
o 120 Colorado attorneys trained to build capacity for representation of asylum cases
o Approximately 100 flyers distributed at Harmony Village Mobile Home Park related to
Immigration Legal Fund services
Table 2 – Grant Recipients’ Metrics for All Cases*
Case Type
Q1 – 2022
Adults
Q1 – 2022
Children/
Youth
Total Cases
(Q3 2021 -
Q1 2022)
Adults
Total Cases
(Q3 2021 -
Q1 2022)
Children/
Youth
U Visa
victims of crime
5 0 10 0
Asylum
victims of persecution or fear of harm or death upon
return to home country
2 0 4 2
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
abused, neglected, or abandoned children
0 9 0 13
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
youth who arrived in the U.S. during a specified time
period
0 0 2 0
Violence Against Women Act Visa
victims of domestic violence or crimes outlined in the
Violence Against Women Act
1 0 3 0
T Visa/Office of Trafficking In Persons
victims of human trafficking
0 2 0 2
Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)
Permanent authorization to live in the United States
as a non-citizen (sometimes known as “green card”
residents)
1 2 2 2
Removal Cancellation
status adjustment by an immigration judge from
‘subject to deportation’ to ‘lawful admittance for
permanent residence’ under certain circumstances
0 0 1 0
I-765 Employment Authorization
Initial, replacement, or renewal work permit that gives
applicants permission to work in the U.S.
1 0 1 0
Detention/Deportation 0 0 0 0
Naturalization
Process to become U.S. citizen if born outside of the
U.S.
1 0 1 0
Column Total 11 12 24 19
Combined Adult & Youth Case Total 23 43
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Immigration Legal Fund Quarterly Report – Q1 2022
Figure 1 - Grant Recipients' Metrics for All Cases
Gaps - measures number of applicants ineligible for participation and reason for ineligibility (Table 4)
Table 3 - Program Gaps
Program Gaps No. of Cases Ineligible for
Participation in Q1 2022
No. of Cases Ineligible
for Participation Q4
2021 – Q1 2022
Cases Ineligible due to 12-Month Residency
Requirement 6 10
Efficiency – resources required to achieve certain outcomes are unknown for this quarter. Staff will
follow up with Grant Recipients to track this for future reporting.
Impacts Beyond Metrics
To support qualitative measures of success through the narratives of participants in the pilot, Grant Recipients
shared additional information about program impacts. Some highlights from this quarter are:
The pilot program is supporting women and children with 81% of adult cases in Q1 directly representing
female or female-identifying clients.
87% of all ILF cases this quarter directly represent minors or have children associated with a parent’s
case.
12 participants are orphaned and arrived in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors, several financially
supporting younger siblings.
One adult female applicant was granted asylum in 2021 and is now working with attorneys through the
Immigration Legal Fund to reunite with her daughter after three years of being apart.
The pilot program is continuing to benefit long-term residents of Fort Collins. Several of the applicants
have been in Colorado between 20 and 32 years. All adult program participants have been in Fort
Collins for more than two and a half years.
Service providers are seeing the results of building trusting relationships with community members. Not only is
participation in all workshops and training sessions growing, but also applicants are providing more detailed
information on intake forms that might make them identifiable. One of our partners, ISAAC, is seeing a number
0
2
4
6
8
10
ILF Case Types
Quarter 4 2021 - Quarter 1 2022
*No quarterly comparison available due to lack of cases in a given quarter.
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Immigration Legal Fund Quarterly Report – Q1 2022
of return applicants who received their help in the past, now applying to participate in this pilot to continue with
the next phase of their immigration process toward lawful presence and/or citizenship. The importance of
building this trust and capacity to serve the community is demonstrated by one DACA recipient who attended a
local workshop ten years ago now returning to one of our partners to participate in this program to file for
citizenship.
Information about the Immigration Legal Fund pilot is available to the public at
https://www.fcgov.com/neighborhoodservices/immigration-legal-fund.
Upcoming Activities
June 2022 – Second Quarterly Meeting with Grant Recipients
July 2022 – Next Quarterly Report for Council Members
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Immigration Legal Fund Quarterly Report – Q1 2022
Appendix
Work to Date
Status Description
Completed Development of Information and Communications Materials
Completed Grant Review Team Recruitment
Completed Immigration Legal Fund Competitive Grant Application Open Aug. 20-Oct. 1, 2021
Completed Grant Applicants’ Workshop - Sept. 24, 2021
Completed Closing Date of Immigration Legal Fund Competitive Grant Application
Completed Community Outreach for Grant Application Review Priorities
Completed Grant Review Core Team Deliberation Meeting - Oct. 22, 2021
Completed Grant Recipients’ Collaboration Workshop – Nov. 2, 2021
Completed Contracting Activities
Completed Preparation for Start Date of Services
In Progress Collaborative Promotion of Services Between City Staff and Grant Recipients
In Progress Begin Service Delivery