John, did you know that more than 180,000 undocumented people live in Chicago communities? 180,000 people spread across its neighborhoods, living in approximately 50,000 households, working and commuting. Five years ago, the City of Chicago created a Legal Protection Fund to help its immigrant residents secure legal status and defend themselves and their families against deportation and separation. Thanks to this investment, in partnership with the city and The Resurrection Project, since 2017 the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) has provided legal representation in over 3,364 immigration cases, allowing thousands of Chicago families to stay together. Carmen’s was one of these families. She and her husband came to the U.S. on tourist visas and stayed for more than 20 years. Her husband started a small business, and together they raised three children in Chicago, including a son with autism. Carmen traveled to Mexico once to visit family, and returned to the U.S. on a tourist visa. Later, when their older son, a U.S. citizen, applied for her to obtain Lawful Permanent Residence status, Carmen learned she needed to apply for a waiver because of the timing of her trip abroad. | |
Currently, Chicago is one of only about 40 cities and jurisdictions across the U.S. that fund legal representation for immigrants facing deportation. Representation is important in immigration cases for several reasons. First, the stakes are incredibly high—a loss could mean anything from long-term incarceration, deportation, and separation from family to the loss of a work permit. In addition, unlike in criminal court, there is no guarantee of representation. Finally, we know that representation works: immigrants with legal representation are five times more likely to get positive results in their cases than those without. Without legal representation, a complication in a case like Carmen’s might have been impossible to overcome—leaving Carmen separated from her close-knit family, and her husband and children without the support she provides them every day. However, NIJC, with funding from the Legal Protection Fund, was able to successfully prove that it would cause undue harm to her family if she was deported. Carmen and her husband both have their green cards now, and recently were able to safely travel to see family again in Mexico. Carmen’s case is just one of the over 3,364 cases that attorneys and accredited representatives with NIJC and the Legal Protection Fund were able to take on. Each one of these cases represents life-changing representation, allowing people to build their lives in Chicago on solid ground, free of the fear of deportation. During the lifetime of the Fund, we’ve also provided legal consultations to over 7,100 individuals, and The Resurrection Project and community navigators have provided Know Your Rights presentations all over the city to tens of thousands of individuals. | |
The City of Chicago has shown a commitment to continuing to support the Fund, and as Chicago continues to welcome immigrants and refugees from all over the world, NIJC and the Legal Protection Fund will be able to continue supporting them and their immigration needs. You can read much more about the Chicagoans who have had their lives changed by the Legal Protection Fund, and about the fund itself, in our annual report. Whether or not you’re a Chicago resident, the Legal Protection Fund and programs like it make a huge difference in communities across the country. Contact your city and county representatives and ask them to ensure that your community has funding for legal representation for immigrants like Carmen. Thank you for being a partner in helping our neighbors access important legal services and making our communities more welcoming for all! Alejandra Oliva
Communications Coordinator, National Immigrant Justice Center | |
