Ira C. Rothgerber Jr. Conference: Keynote by RMIAN Founder Hiroshi Motomura

The Ira C. Rothgerber Jr. Conference on Constitutional Law is an annual Byron R. White Center event that brings scholars, lawyers, and leaders from across the nation to the University of Colorado Law School to discuss current Constitutional law issue. Topics have included the future of national injunctions, listeners’ First Amendment rights and litigation strategies that promote Constitutional change.

RMIAN Founding Board Member and UCLA Law Professor, Hiroshi Motomura, will provide the keynote address at the conference.

Conference and registration information can be found here.

Nonprofits File Temporary Restraining Order to Block Trump Administration’s Termination of Critical Legal Access Programs

For Immediate Release

MEDIA INQUIRIES 

Contacts: 
Jodi Vongsakoun, RMIAN Director of Development & Communications, jvongsakoun@rmian.org
Erin Barnaby, Amica Center, media@amicacenter.org
Greer Millard, Florence Project, gmillard@firrp.org, (602) 795-7407
Tara Tidwell Cullen, National Immigrant Justice Center, ttidwellcullen@immigrantjustice.org, (312) 833-2967

Westminster, Colorado, April 15, 2025—Nine immigrants’ rights organizations filed a renewed Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to block the Trump administration’s termination of critical legal orientation programs for immigrants, including the Family Group Legal Orientation Program, Counsel for Children Initiative, Immigration Court Helpdesk, Legal Orientation Program, and Legal Orientation Program for Custodians. 

An in-person hearing for the renewed TRO will take place Tuesday, April 15th, at 2:30 PM ET at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The renewed TRO is part of the lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ), Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and other defendants filed by the same organizations in January 2025, challenging a stop work order impacting the same legal access programs. These programs are the minimum safeguard of due process for immigrants facing removal from the United States, and the stop work order and subsequent termination of these programs obliterate even the semblance of fundamental fairness in our immigration system. 

Organizational plaintiffs in the suit include American Gateways, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Estrella del Paso, Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, Immigration Services & Legal Advocacy, National Immigrant Justice Center, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center, and Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN).

The DOJ’s decision to terminate these national legal access programs poses a significant threat to the rights of immigrant children, adults, and families, especially those detained by the government. These legal orientation programs are crucial, as they provide immigrants—the vast majority of whom are unrepresented, and many of whom are confused and traumatized, do not speak English, and lack any legal education—with essential information about their rights throughout the immigration process and deportation proceedings. Such programs have bipartisan support, and the oldest has been in place for over two decades.

The TRO aims to keep these essential programs in place as the litigation challenging the legality of their termination progresses through the courts, which is the bare minimum needed to ensure that people facing immigration proceedings have the basic information necessary to understand and exercise their legal rights.

Mekela Goehring, Executive Director, RMIAN, said:

“Terminating these programs is devastating for individuals in immigration court proceedings in Colorado and beyond. For the last 22 years, RMIAN has been providing legal orientation services to individuals at the immigration detention center in Aurora, Colorado. Through this work, as well as orientation programs at the Denver Immigration court, RMIAN has helped tens of thousands of community members understand their rights under U.S. immigration law. These programs are a cornerstone in ensuring basic protection for individuals in removal proceedings, where there is no right to court-appointed counsel, even for children, or for those in civil immigration detention. Eliminating these essential and life-saving immigration legal service programs is unconscionable.”

Edna Yang, Co-Executive Director at American Gateways, said:

"American Gateways proudly stands with our partners in seeking an immediate halt to the proposed reckless cuts to the Legal Orientation Program and the Immigration Court Helpdesk. These cuts would strip thousands of vulnerable immigrants from understanding and accessing their basic rights. These programs are often the only lifeline for people navigating an incredibly complex legal process without representation. We need to protect the integrity of our courts and ensure that everyone, regardless of status, has a fair chance to be heard."

Sam Hsieh, Deputy Program Director of the Immigration Impact Lab at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, said:

"The government has yet to offer any legitimate reason for terminating these programs that safeguard the most basic due process rights for noncitizens on top of promoting efficiency. These legal orientation programs are as important as ever, given the Administration’s indiscriminate subjection of so many noncitizens to detention and removal. We look forward to the Court hearing our claims for the immediate reinstatement of the programs.”

Laura St. John, Legal Director at Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, said: 

"Without the LOP, hundreds of thousands of migrants will face the full force of the U.S. legal system without any sort of legal education or support, leading to disastrous and potentially deadly outcomes. The LOP is the bare minimum necessary to protect due process rights, and now the administration is slashing it at the same time it is massively expanding detention and deportation operations. To do both is cruel and a blatant violation of people’s due process rights, which is the bedrock of a just legal system and central to our core values. We joined our partners in filing for this Temporary Restraining Order to ensure that people in immigration detention in Arizona receive the legal education and support that is their right under the law."   

Lisa Koop, National Director of Legal Services at the National Immigrant Justice Center, said:

“This administration's renewed efforts to shut down the Immigration Court Helpdesk — after the previous attempt was stopped by a federal court just months ago — is one of the many ways this increasingly authoritarian administration is ignoring the courts and flouting the rule of law. It is no coincidence that this second attempt to shut down access to basic legal services for unrepresented individuals inside immigration courts happened just as local immigration courts have posted signs in their waiting rooms pressuring people to ‘self-deport.’ We will not stand by as this administration eviscerates due process and tramples on people's access to their fair day in court.”

To donate to RMIAN’s work to ensure legal representation for individuals in immigration proceedings in Colorado, please visit www.rmian.org/donate.

Venezuelan man from Colorado sent to Salvadoran prison without removal order or apparent criminal history

Full story here.

“They Don’t Care About Civil Rights”: Trump’s Shuttering of DHS Oversight Arm Freezes 600 Cases, Imperils Human Rights

Full story here.

Denver7: Trump administration cuts legal funding for unaccompanied immigrant children

Full Video Here

New York Times: Trump Administration Halts Funding for Legal Representation of Migrant Children

Full Article Here

USA Today: Migrant kids may have to face court alone, as Trump admin cancels legal contract

Full Article Here

RMIAN Decries Termination of Funding for Legal Representation for Unaccompanied Children

MEDIA INQUIRIES 

Contact: Ashley Harrington, aharrington@rmian.org, RMIAN Children’s Program Managing Attorney 

Westminster, Colorado, March 21, 2025—Today the federal government suddenly and without notice cancelled its contract to provide funding for legal representation to unaccompanied children. This order immediately stops all funding for legal representation of over 26,000 unaccompanied children across the country, including close to 200 children represented by RMIAN in Colorado.

“This brazen, heartless act endangers children’s lives,” says Ashley Harrington, RMIAN Children’s Program Managing Attorney. “RMIAN represents child survivors of trafficking, abuse and trauma, including children as young as two years old. Children cannot be expected to navigate the harsh and complicated immigration legal system without an attorney. This administration wants to force us to abandon them to face ICE and the immigration courts alone. But we will continue to stand in solidarity with these children and fight to protect their rights to legal representation.” 

These are stories of children RMIAN has recently helped through the Unaccompanied Children's Program:

• Growing up, Lydia* was beaten by her father almost daily. As a young teenager, she fled her home and came to the United States as an unaccompanied child. RMIAN will no longer receive funding from ORR to continue Lydia's legal representation, even though she is eligible to receive a green card and eventually become a U.S. citizen. 

• RMIAN represents three siblings ages 7-13 who came to the United States on their own last year after their parents were killed by gang members in their home country and they were left with an abusive uncle. RMIAN will no longer receive funding to continue the fight to prevent these siblings’ deportation.  

* Indicates use of a pseudonym. 

“The termination of this essential and life-saving legal work is a direct attack not only on the children and families who RMIAN represents, but also on the rule of law and fundamental fairness in the U.S. legal system. The cruelty of this decision could not be more stark: forcing vulnerable children and youth to represent themselves in adversarial court proceedings where their lives may be on the line. RMIAN rejects this cruelty. We will fight with and for our child clients, and for due process and fairness in our country,” says Mekela Goehring, Executive Director, RMIAN.  

Please follow this link to send a letter to your elected representatives and demand the administration resume this funding that provides life-saving legal support to thousands of children every year. 

To learn more about the unaccompanied children’s program and its critical legal services please register for a public webinar on Monday March 24, 2025 at noon MST.  

To donate to RMIAN’s work to ensure legal representation for individuals in immigration proceedings in Colorado, please visit www.rmian.org/donate. 

April 9th Hybrid Half Day CLE: Family Preparedness for Immigrant Families

AILA-Colorado, Colorado Bar Association CLE (CBA-CLE), Colorado Lawyers Committee (CLC), and Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) invite you to a half day CLE on April 9th, 2025, from 12:45 to 4:00PM (approved for 3 general credits). The CLE will be in person (bring your own lunch) at CBA-CLE with a virtual option.

Family Preparedness for Immigrant Families will cover the legal and practical aspects of preparing our clients for possible detention and/or deportation under the new administration. Our leading Colorado experts will present on the nuts and bolts of “family protection plans,” medical powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, delegations of parental authority, testamentary appointment of guardian forms, the tools available within the Colorado courts to safeguard children, and how to navigate the current climate of fear and uncertainty with our clients. 

Panelists: Sulma Mendoza, JAMLAC; Christine Stroup, Brown Law Firm; Honorable Sara S. Price, Magistrate Judge for CO 17th Judicial District; Lisa Kunkel, LCSW, RMIAN

Register at: https://forms.gle/oxAdw41Ahjbqwhaw6  by April 4, 2025.

Cost is $50 for private attorneys and paralegals and $25 for non-profit staff.

Standard Fee Payment Link: https://secure.affinipay.com/pages/colorado-chapter-of-aila/half-cle-members

Non-Profit Staff Payment Link: https://secure.affinipay.com/pages/colorado-chapter-of-aila/discounted

Community Organizations and Elected Officials Demand Immediate Release of Jeanette Vizguerra Following Unjust ICE Detention

Full Press Release Here

RMIAN condemns Trump administration's executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act

MEDIA INQUIRIES 

Contacts: 
Mekela Goehring, mgoehring@rmian.org, RMIAN Executive Director
Monique Sherman, msherman@rmian.org, RMIAN Detention Program Managing Attorney 

Westminster, Colorado, March 16, 2025—Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) condemns the Trump administration’s March 15, 2025 executive order that invokes the Alien Enemies Act to trample fundamental principles of due process and rule of law in our country’s immigration legal system. RMIAN applauds a federal court’s order yesterday blocking the use of this executive order.

RMIAN’s founding board member and UCLA Professor of Law Hiroshi Motomura states, “Invoking the Alien Enemies Act is part of a larger, very disturbing pattern of painting all immigrants in the United States with a broad brush, calling them invaders or worse. The Enemies Act applies to foreign governments and their agents, not to individuals living and working in the United States. To declare "invasion" or "emergency" is a power grab that short-circuits due process, the rule of law, and any fair-minded attempt to fix an immigration system that virtually all agree is broken.”

RMIAN’s Executive Director Mekela Goehring states, “This executive order recalls some of the most shameful parts of U.S. history, and if allowed to stand will be used to absolutely trample any semblance of due process and civil rights for individuals from Venezuela in our community. We already have seen how allegations of TdA membership have been used to justify totally unrelated immigration arrests in Colorado. If allowed to stand, this EO opens the door to graver deprivations of due process, including the detention and removal of individuals (even those present in the U.S. lawfully) without any court process.”

RMIAN stands with our community and will fight against this injustice and attempts to strip away fundamental fairness and rights. We are closely watching the unfolding situation and are ready to mobilize to protect due process and ensure justice for immigrants in Colorado.

The ACLU and Democracy Forward filed litigation on March 15th:

• https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-court-temporarily-blocks-trump-from-removing-some-immigrants-in-u-s-using-alien-enemies-act

• https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-court-broadens-temporary-block-on-trump-using-alien-enemies-act-to-remove-immigrants-from-the-u-s

For additional background on this law, please see:

• https://www.axios.com/2025/03/14/trump-alien-enemies-act-deportations

• https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/alien-enemies-act-explained 

To donate to RMIAN’s work to ensure legal representation for individuals in immigration proceedings in Colorado, please visit www.rmian.org/donate. 

March Renewal Session: The Future of Loving our Immigrant Neighbors with Mekela Goehring Wed. March 19 at 12:00 pm MT via Zoom

As the world around us shifts and new policies attack the most vulnerable members of our communities, how can we love and support our immigrant and migrant neighbors? What steps can we take to protect the rights of our community while pushing for a safer future?

Join us for our March Renewal Session as Mekela Goehring, Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, shares about her work and the ways you can support immigrant populations in your community.

Register Now

About Renewal

The Renewal Conference is Iliff’s annual community gathering to share our work, hear timely messages from a variety of experts, and spend time in fellowship.

This year, our Renewal sessions focus on Looking to the Future.
We are always considering the future. As individuals, as members of groups, as citizens, we are often asking, What will tomorrow bring? How will our world, our country, our institutions look in the coming years? And how can we shape that future to make it better? 

In the midst of so many uncertainties, this Renewal season will focus on the question of what is coming next and how we can work for a better future. We will discuss topics ranging from artificial intelligence to religious institutions to politics and government. What can we expect as we watch these spaces change over the weeks, months and years, and what can we do? Join us for the 2024-2025 Renewal season as we learn about what tomorrow may hold and what we can do to enact justice today.

Call to Action for Sanctuary City Hearing Denver

In Denver, we defend our neighbors. Denver has long been a leader in standing up for ALL our families - regardless of where they were born.

Take Action Now: Sign this petition organized by the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and let Denver Mayor Mike Johnston him know you support Denver’s commitment to welcoming all people and ensuring that every person — no matter where they were born — can live with dignity and equal rights under the law.

Together, we make Denver stronger.

Denver7: RMIAN discusses impact of stop work order on legal services for unaccompanied minors

Denver7 had a conversation with Ashley Harrington, RMIAN Children’s Program Managing Attorney, highlighting the critical role of legal representation in protecting vulnerable children navigating immigration proceedings. Watch the full segment here.

Colorado Sun: Colorado nonprofit allowed to continue helping immigrant children after Trump administration rescinds order

RMIAN celebrates the rescinding of last Tuesday's stop work order for legal services funded through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Unaccompanied Children’s Program. Full article here.

USA Today: White House broadcasts immigration raids, but are arrests really up?

Laura Lunn, the Director of Advocacy & Litigation at RMIAN, speaks with USA Today about the lack of information surrounding the recent ICE arrests. "This should be terrifying to folks in our country that people are disappearing," says Lunn. "Our federal government is rounding up people in our community and not telling anyone what happened to them." More here.

RMIAN celebrates reinstatement of legal services for immigrant children!

RMIAN celebrates the rescinding of last Tuesday's stop work order for legal services funded through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Unaccompanied Children’s Program. With this stop work order, the federal government gravely imperiled the ongoing representation of children in immigration proceedings. 

“RMIAN is thrilled to see this stop work order rescinded. RMIAN represents hundreds of unaccompanied children--some as young as two-years-old--who would otherwise be forced to navigate the complicated immigration legal system alone. RMIAN's clients include children who have been subjected to child abuse and neglect, trafficking and sexual abuse who fled to the U.S. for safety and protection. While the Trump administration attempted to halt funding for this program, we will always be committed to protecting and serving our child clients, no matter what,” says Ashley Harrington, RMIAN Children’s Program Managing Attorney. 

This order affected over 90 legal service providers across the U.S., including RMIAN, which together represent over 26,000 unaccompanied immigrant children in immigration court proceedings. About 160 children in Colorado were impacted by this order, where the federal government halted funding for their legal representation with the stroke of a pen. 

Gina Rangel, RMIAN Unaccompanied Children’s Program Coordinator and Paralegal says, “RMIAN stands in solidarity with the unaccompanied children across the country and will continue to fight for their access to free legal representation.”  

“Capriciously putting stop-work orders on life-saving immigration legal services for children is contrary to our values as a society that believes in the rule of law and equal access to justice. These actions put lives at risk, and further destabilize families and communities. We are grateful for the immense outpouring of support from individuals across Colorado and the United States who demanded that this essential legal work protecting children continue,” says Mekela Goehring, Executive Director, RMIAN.

Human rights organizations urge United Nations to denounce abuse of LGBTQ+ people in immigration detention facilities

Last week, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Black Diaspora Liberty Initiative, Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project, Immigration Equality, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, Sanctuary New Orleans Abolition Project, and the Transgender Law Center filed a joint submission urging the United Nations to denounce widespread abuse of LGBTQ+ people in for-profit immigration detention facilities across the United States. The groups drew special attention to lethal risks for detained transgender people and called on the UN to support state legislative solutions to end the abuse of for-profit immigration detention, like New York’s proposed Dignity not Detention Act. 

“Queer and trans immigrants are illegally, systematically, and doubly penalized for their identities – by their countries of origin, from which they escape, and by the U.S., the country that is supposed to protect them,” said Shira Hereld, staff attorney at Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network. “The U.S government and ICE’s treatment of trans immigrants sends a clear and noxious message: for some immigrants, there is no safe quarter anywhere.”

More here.

Colorado Public Radio: Immigration raids in Colorado, both highly visible and cloaked in secrecy, rattle advocates and local authorities

The distinction between federal law enforcement and civil immigration enforcement exists partly to bolster public safety, current and former prosecutors said. They were joined in that opinion by immigration lawyers who monitored Wednesday’s actions closely or were on the frontlines helping people as they entered detention. 

The community needs to be able to trust law enforcement officers and those officers need to be able to rely on the community — and depending on the crime, sources in the community — to tell them things. 

“If they don’t trust law enforcement, they probably won’t go to them and tell them, hey there is a dangerous thing happening in my neighborhood,” said Laura Lunn, an immigration attorney at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, who works out of the GEO detention center, which houses immigrants. “When you blur the lines between these different agencies, you are causing distrust within the community of both agencies.”

Colorado Sun: ICE hasn’t revealed how many people were detained during raids of Denver, Aurora apartment complexes

Two days after tactical SWAT vehicles traversed Denver and Aurora and dozens of armed federal agents went door to door looking for Venezuelan gang members, federal officials have not said how many people they detained or whether they were connected to crimes. 

Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network said in a news release that “while ICE is claiming these raids are targeting individuals charged with crimes, we know that they are sweeping up immigrant community members indiscriminately.” 

Shira Hereld, one of the organization’s attorneys, said they saw a young girl holding her crying baby sister after their mother, their only parent, was taken by ICE agents. Hereld also saw the neighbors band together, check in on each other and help people find housing.

“These raids simultaneously expose the worst inhumanity of ICE and the most powerful humanity of our Colorado community,” Hereld said.