Hey so remember those lawyers we all saw at the airports when Trump’s travel ban first came down? The ones that were working there for free to help represent the people being detained? Well one of the first non-profit groups that came down to the airport is in trouble. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) has been issued a “cease and desist” letter by Jeff Sessions’ Department of Justice.
The DOJ is threatening disciplinary action if this non-profit continues to help immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Some background information: One has NO right to counsel in immigration proceedings. That means you can be removed from your home, jailed, deported, etc. without ever seeing a lawyer. It’s 100% legal and totally common, so these lawyers work for free to ensure millions get the representation they deserve. The NWIRP represents children and refugees in immigration and asylum proceedings for free and they are one of thousands around the country.
Here’s an explanation to why the DOJ is issuing this cease and desist:
“The accusation is that because NWIRP provides advice and assistance to people in immigration proceedings without committing to full representation, it is violating the rules.
It’s a Kafkaesque system: The government won’t provide immigrant defendants with legal representation, and they are allowed to get help for free only if they find a lawyer who will commit up-front to a case that will stretch on for years. Otherwise, they’re not allowed to have any help at all, are required to submit complex legal documents with no assistance, and lawyers who try to help them will be sanctioned.
Precisely because this would be a cruel and absurd result, NWIRP and its peers around the country have had longstanding agreements with immigration officials that permit them to run asylum-assistance programs without committing to permanent representation. Attacking them now is a shockingly cynical move, akin to sanctioning an emergency-room doctor for sewing up a bleeding patient without first promising to be their doctor for life.
NWIRP doesn’t know why it was singled out. But we do know that NWIRP has been at the forefront of resisting Trump’s travel ban. Its staff and volunteer lawyers were at SeaTac airport immediately after the White House launched the first Muslim ban, and in March it sued to block the second Muslim ban.
And NWIRP isn’t alone; its nonprofit counterparts did the same at airports around the country, leveraging law-school clinics and large-firm lawyers working pro bono. The DoJ’s suspiciously timed cease and desist letter sends a chilling message to exactly these groups, and to volunteer attorneys. This attack by the government on a legal services-provider for immigrants could dissuade law firms from letting their lawyers volunteer for these cases, scaring those firms away by convincing them that immigration-related projects are too risky pro-bono projects.”
The NWIRP has successfully been granted a restraining order, so right now they are still able to help immigrants who need legal advice but their work is at risk. They are now filing a lawsuit to defend itself from the move, the move that will set precedent to other non-profits who do similar work.
If you would like to support them you can join them as a volunteer or donate.
You can also follow regular updates on what they’re doing and the case against the DOJ on their Facebook and Twitter.
In case the world doesn’t know, a huge bomb blast happened in Syria. A suicide bomber attacked the evacuation convoys injuring 68 and killing 128.
Where is their support? Why do people only notice situations that affect the white man? Do we not get the same amount of limelight just because we aren’t white? I ask you people, why such hypocrisy? Are we not humans?
Pray for Syria and also pray for Marawi! They need as much support as Manchester.
🏳️🌈We are witnessing history as my country becomes the first country in Asia to grant everyone the right to marry who they love, regardless of gender.
You have not suffered in vain. You have not died in vain. The battle is won. 05/24/17
please be informed and spread this. don’t give in to what they want you to feel or believe. they aren’t isis, they support them but they aren’t official.
this is serious. people, teachers are being beheaded, and their heads are being displayed on highways, and yet the president won’t cut his trip to Russia short when clearly his people need him.
this is telling of the support my people are getting. please keep us in your thoughts.
Quiapo, located in the capital of Manila, has also been bombed. this is getting out of hand.
also Bangkok.
please keep everyone in your thoughts.
update: Manila Police Department confirm that there was no bombing in Quiapo, but a controlled explosion.
As I write this post, Marawi City in the Philippines is being besieged, burned, and taken over by ISIS factions.
Colleges are being burned Firetrucks have been overtaken Hospital staff are hostages Women are being taken Soldiers are being shot at Some have already been critically injured Exits are being blocked
(ATM. WE ARE NOT OKAY HERE!! Let’s be true and not fool the media about what’s happening atm to our place. There are things burning in the town and we’re not hearing any Fire truck sirens or what. And now lights are out and were hearing gunshots again. May God be with us through this hardships.)
(updates from our friend in marawi…
the city jail was burned Dansalan College was burned The church near Barangay Paypay was burned isis is all over marawi there’s a brownout right now took over the fire station in Rizal)
i don’t know what to say except that my thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the attacks in marawi, bangkok, and manchester - the victims, their families, those who have friends and family nearby.
Bangkok Hospital Bombing Wounds 24 on Anniversary of Thai Coup. The attack struck Phramongkutklao Hospital, leaving three people with shrapnel wounds to the face and neck, with most of the others suffering minor injuries. “Most of these people are elderly and retired, and their families,”
Gen. Chalermchai Sittisart said. “The bomb was made with the intent to take lives, because it consisted of a lot of nails.”
Guys, I’m not going to ask for your prayers - I myself am not religious, but I am going to ask you to signal boost this. Marawi City in the Philippines has been invaded by ISIS, they are bombing the city and a school zone, and setting detainees free from prisons.
They say that this is a jihad, but anyone who even has a small understanding of Islam knows that Islam is not violent.
This is terrorism.
The world needs to know.
Update 1: They’re exchanging fire from both sides. Electricity is down. Friends are reporting that ISIS members are spotted in the schools and are giving them a few minutes to evacuate before they take over. Filipino media is silent.
Update 2: Christian teachers are being held hostage.
Update 3: Hospital staff being detained, ISIS flag has been raised in the city hospital. The fighting occurred not in the outskirts of Marawi, but on its streets, around the city hall and public market.
I’m sorry, I’m stringing together what information my friends are still giving me. I don’t know how long they can keep this up - a lot of them are saying that their phones are dying.
Update 4: Armed Forces of the Philippines telling people to go underground, airstrikes coming. Mortars are being prepared too.
I do not know how long until the Philippine Army will be able to drive them out, and I do not know if the people escaping from Marawi will make it out alive.
My thoughts and prayers go to the people of Marawi
I’m not sure if people know but America dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb (a MOAB) on Afghanistan, Nangrahar, thursday 13th April. It was dropped in response to the death of a US soldier fighting IS in Nangrahar (and possibly in response to N Korea’s nuclear trials). We’ve only heard that ‘many militants’ have been killed and we don’t know the exact impact yet.
Afghanistan has been at war for 38 years now and this is really saddening news, especially the scale of the weapon used. So, please keep afghanistan in your prayers because amid the power struggle of these resourceful countries, it’s afghan civilians that are caught in the crossfire.
Please keep my city, Guadalajara, Mexico, in your thoughts, right now there are shootings and narcobloqueos (burning vehicles blocking roads) happening all over the city because an important member of a drug cartel was captured by the authorities. We are being asked not to leave our homes because this people won’t go down without fighting. They shot down a military helicopter killing three people right now. Pray for the safety of my people.
Please no matter what blog type you have please spread the word on the attacks on Aleppo because people need to know and we need to stand with Aleppo just like we did with Paris. Everything matters at this point because innocent people are dying a you reblogging and Spreading the word matters as much as donating because the people of Aleppo will know that we stand with them and that we care for them
I don’t know if we’ve truly internalized the fact that Syria is gone. Thousands of years of history destroyed and it’s beautiful inhabitants and keepers devastated, murdered, and ravaged. While the so called free and liberal world watched on. It doesn’t feel real, and it’s numbing. May Allah forgive us. We’re witnesses to this tragedy.
