Immigrant Defenders Law Center

As a next-generation social justice non-profit organization, we hold space for gratitude and call for Indigenous land reclamation this Thanksgiving. We are deeply grateful to everyone who helps make our mission possible, including our staff, clients, partners, and donors. We also acknowledge the painful history of this national holiday and that we operate on land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Gabrielino Tongva, Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, San Fernando Band of Mission Indians, and the Serrano, Kizh, Chumash, Kumeyaay, Luiseño, and Cahuilla peoples. ImmDef will be closed on November 28th and 29th. #GivingThanks #WeAreOnNativeLand #Grateful #ThankYou #ImmigrantsRights #Gratitude

We are grateful for the LA County Board of Supervisors who voted YES to continue protecting immigrant community members. This vote secures ongoing funding for legal services for immigrants so that families and communities can stay together, especially in the face of Trump's mass deportation plans. Thank you for the advocates that came together for public comment! Read the article: https://lnkd.in/gWg4fvn8

Need a little help navigating difficult conversations at the dinner table this holiday season? We’ve got you. With so many misconceptions about refugees and asylum seekers circulating, it might feel like an especially difficult time to talk about these issues with people who might disagree with you. But productive conversations can still be had in good faith. Swipe to see some starting points > Share this post with anyone who might need a little help from our guide this holiday season. 💛

Deterrence does not stop migration, it only pushes people into dangerous, and often times deadly, paths. For decades, the United States has used "prevention through deterrence" to block safer routes for people seeking safety, pushing them into deadly deserts, mountains, and the 30-foot border wall. The Darién Gap, a dangerous stretch of jungle between Panama & Colombia, is one of the deadliest of these routes, where people face extreme abuse and exploitation from physical violence at the hands of criminal gangs to life-threatening conditions caused by harsh terrain. These abuses are exacerbated by the U.S.'s pressure on other countries to tighten legal pathways and ramp up enforcement, making migration even more dangerous and deadly. We continue to challenge these cruel policies that put lives at risk and call for the expansion of lawful pathways that prioritize safety over deterrence. 📰 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gts9vFuM 📑 Read our full Panama report https://lnkd.in/gBHUE3Ga #ImmigrantJustice #AsylumSeekers #HumanRights #EndDeportations #DarienGap #Deterrence #ImmigrantAdvocacy #ImmigrantRights #Immigration #Asylum #AsylumLaw #AsylumIsAHumanRight

Supervisors Hilda L. Solis (SD1) and Janice Hahn (SD4) have introduced a motion, Agenda item #8, titled “Increasing Support for Los Angeles County Immigrants” to be voted on at today's LA County Board of Supervisors Meeting at 12pm PST! Call in or submit your e-comments to protect immigrants in Los Angeles County. Sample comment and instructions: https://lnkd.in/gaRs5MVF

You don't have to wait until the inauguration to take a stand against anti-immigrant policies. Join us in reaching out to local government and the Biden administration to demand justice for deported veterans. Our client Juan is one of hundreds of veterans who missed out on years of family time after they were deported from the country they served. "I missed out on a lot. I missed on my children's birthdays, family functions, my children's birth," he said. Take action to keep veterans with their family. #StopDeportingVeterans!👇 Twenty-five veterans have pending pardons from @POTUS. It's urgent we act NOW to secure justice before it's too late. 📢 Use this template to write an email or call your representatives and POTUS to demand: ➡️ Stop deporting veterans ➡️ Grant the 25 federal pardon applications for veterans facing deportation again. ➡️ Process ImmVets Humanitarian Parole requests and grant them 5 years of protection, ensuring they can remain safely with their families. 🎥 ACLU SoCal #ImmigrationJustice #Veterans #Pardon #StopDeportations #ACLU #ImmVet #TakeActionNow #ImmigrantRights #Veteran #VA #HumanitarianParole

ImmDef has endorsed Senator Edward J. Markey's comprehensive AI civil rights legislation, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Civil Rights Act. “We commend Senator Markey for his efforts to eliminate bias within AI algorithms through the introduction of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Civil Rights Act. Without this bill, decades of progress toward social justice would be replaced by inherently biased systems. As technology advances, we must safeguard human-driven evaluation and protect due process for historically marginalized communities, including immigrants. Unregulated use of AI algorithms has life-altering consequences for Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities. It must not become the norm,” said Margaret Cargioli, Directing Attorney of Policy and Advocacy at Immigrant Defenders Law Center. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gz5tJptA

We’re ready to fight back against harmful immigration policies and empower our communities with the resources they need to face challenges ahead. Under Trump’s first term, we grew into one of the largest deportation defense nonprofit law firms in the country. Now, we’re stronger and more prepared than ever. As our President and CEO, Lindsay Toczylowski says, "What we're looking for are ways that groups of lawyers and litigators and organizers can work together to ensure that if that is to happen, we have the rapid response ready to … protect people's due process rights." We’re standing alongside a united immigrant justice movement, mobilizing rapid response networks, and sharing Know-Your-Rights information to ensure our communities can confidently face Trump’s threats. His policies are not aligned with American values and will ultimately fail, much like the zero-tolerance policy did. Together, we’ll protect families, uphold the right to asylum, and fight for humane immigration policies that guarantee due process. 🎧 Tune in to KCRW for more on how we’re tackling these challenges head-on: https://lnkd.in/gXCnYuSy... #ImmigrantJustice #DueProcess #FamiliesBelongTogether #ImmigrantsRights #AsylumIsAHumanRight #HumanRigths #Immigration #ImmigrationLaw #DueProcess #DeportationDefense

ImmDef will no longer be posting on X for the foreseeable future. X has become a toxic space riddled with misinformation and hate speech. Instead, you can find us on BlueSky, LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. To learn more about our work visit us at ImmDef.org.

Great news: yesterday Los Angeles City Council UNANIMOUSLY voted to adopt a sanctuary city ordinance!🎉🙌 The ordinance will go into effect once it has been signed by @mayorofla. The ordinance bans the use of city resources for immigration enforcement and prohibits city agencies and officials from sharing data with immigration authorities. However, it doesn't stop the fed government from carrying out mass deportations. Thank you to to Los Angeles City Councilmembers and the many immigration advocates that fought to make Los Angeles safe for all! On the same day LAUSD also reaffirmed itself as a "sanctuary" for undocumented immigrants and LGBTQ students in a series of emergency resolutions, this includes training for teachers and staff about how they should communicate with immigration authorities. These ordinances are a much-needed layer of protection for our communities because immigration policies don't just affect undocumented community members, they affect all of us. #LAisforEveryone