Launching the 2022 Justice Roadmap

Last week, IDP joined with formerly incarcerated leaders, advocates, families and legislators in a digital launch of the 2022 Justice Roadmap. The Roadmap brings advocates together to address the deeply interconnected harms caused by the criminal legal and immigration systems with a slate of bills that aim to dismantle systems that criminalize, incarcerate and deport our communities. This year’s Roadmap includes 30 bills including the New York For All Act, which would stop state and local officers from enforcing federal immigration laws, funneling people into ICE custody, and sharing sensitive information with ICE.

Understanding the New DHS Enforcement Priorities 

IDP has released updated resources to help community members and advocates understand the new DHS enforcement priorities that went into effect on Nov. 29th. The new DHS memo grants ICE officers a dangerous amount of discretion as to who to target for arrest, detention, and deportation, but also presents opportunities for advocacy. Check out our updated resources including:

• Practice advisories for criminal defense and immigration attorneys with advice on how to advocate for clients under the new guidance. Produced with our partners NIPNLG and ILRC.
• Know Your Rights flyers for community members on who could be at risk of an ICE arrest. The updated flyers are currently available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese, with additional languages coming soon.

Fighting for Immigrants’ Rights at the Board of Immigration Appeals

In October, the Trump-packed BIA requested briefs regarding a dangerous proposed rule change. The new rule would open the door to unfair and unlawful review of a host of documents for determining whether a person's conviction actually triggers deportation, detention, or other immigration consequences. IDP and our partners at AILA, AIC, and NIPNLG, filed a brief with the BIA pointing to decades of legal decisions that prohibit this rule. A big thank you to Stanford’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic for representing IDP and our partners. Also to the clinics at NYU Law, Boston University Law, and Duke Law, for filing complementary briefs fighting back against the BIA's proposal.

New Family Court Training Series

Abuse and neglect proceedings in family courts create unique risks and complications for non-citizens. Family defense attorneys are uniquely positioned to mitigate and advise immigrants about these consequences. That’s why IDP joined the Bronx Defenders to host a training series earlier this month designed to help family defense attorneys incorporate immigration concerns into their representation. For more, please check out our Best Practices Guide to Screening for Immigration Consequences in Family Court created by Senior Staff Attorney Em Puhl.