Justice Behind Bars: Stories About Carceral and Immigrant Detention Corporations

This Saturday, June 8th Motus Theater will bring powerful monologues from JustUs monologist and criminal legal reform advocate Candice Bailey and UndocuAmerica monologist and immigrant rights advocate Victor Galvan, whose powerful monologues reveal injustices carceral and immigrant detention centers have had on them, their families and communities. Featuring music from Spirit of Grace. Donations at the event will be split between RMIAN, Second Chance Center, and Motus' JustUs project.

Webinar: A Look at Universal Representation Campaigns

RMIAN’s Director of Advocacy & Litigation, Laura Lunn, will participate on a panel of advocates from across the country discussing the state of universal representation campaigns at the state and local level.

Tuesday, May 7, at 1:00pm-2:00pm MT

Webinar registration link and information here.

RMIAN & Partners File Civil Rights Complaint on Behalf of Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals Detained in Aurora

For Immediate Release 
April 9, 2024

Contact: 
Arianna Rosales, arianna@nipnlg.org, (408) 398-5140
Laura Lunn, llunn@rmian.org, (720) 370-9100
Elyssa Pachico, epachico@immcouncil.org, (503) 850-8407

Transgender and Nonbinary People Describe Discrimination, Harassment, and Mistreatment at Aurora Detention Facility in New Civil Rights Complaint 

Washington, DC–The National Immigration Project, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, and American Immigration Council today filed a civil rights complaint on behalf of a group of transgender and nonbinary individuals who are currently detained at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility and have experienced discrimination, harassment, and mistreatment while under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. 

The complaint details experiences of medical neglect and inadequate access to necessary medical and mental healthcare, dehumanizing treatment, and much more. 

Charlotte sought transfer to the Aurora facility from an ICE detention center in Georgia and was told that she would have better access to gender affirming care at Aurora. But in Aurora, she and other transgender women she is detained with are locked in their dorm for at least 23 hours a day. “I thought they’d take care of us, give us more freedom, recognize that we have suffered the most, we are the most vulnerable. We came from our countries being horribly treated and we get here and they treat us horribly,” said Charlotte. 

Victoria, also detained at the Aurora facility added “people break. They sign their deportations after being here too long because they can’t take this treatment. They don’t want to keep fighting their cases here because the system is so bad. I think it is intentionally bad here. It is a way to get people to give up on themselves.”

“The traumatic experiences detailed in this complaint make clear that ICE is incapable of safely and humanely incarcerating transgender and nonbinary people,” said Ann Garcia, Staff Attorney at the National Immigration Project. “As a result, we urge DHS to put an immediate and permanent end to ICE’s practice of detaining transgender and nonbinary people. Until that happens, at a minimum, ICE must immediately implement new policies to provide safeguards to transgender and nonbinary people in their custody while also implementing regular oversight practices to guarantee adherence to these protective policies. Ultimately, however, we know the abuse and mistreatment documented in this complaint are emblematic of a detention system that is inherently inhumane and flawed beyond repair, and we will continue fighting to end this cruel and harmful system.”

“ICE created a ‘trans pod’ at the Aurora facility, which is promoted as the premier place to be detained in the country for people who are transgender and nonbinary. This complaint reveals the systemic flaws with this model, which inflicts further harm and cruelty on people who have already faced profound mistreatment during their lives due to their gender identities and expression of themselves,” said Laura Lunn, Director of Advocacy & Litigation at Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network. “The Department of Homeland Security must investigate these allegations, which we believe can lead to only one possible conclusion: a recommendation to end the detention of people who are trans and nonbinary because the agency cannot ensure the safety and wellbeing of people in its custody. Release should be the default, not the exception.” 

“Keeping trans people isolated in pods doesn’t make them safer in ICE detention, where they routinely face abuse by staff and denial of essential medical treatment. It is telling that this facility in Aurora was purportedly one of the few in the country that met standards for keeping trans people safe, and yet, as this complaint shows, people endured systemic harassment and neglect,”  said Rebekah Wolf, senior advocacy strategist at the American Immigration Council. “ICE needs to permanently end keeping trans and non-binary people in detention, because the agency clearly cannot guarantee basic standards of care.”  

The complaint builds upon the longstanding pattern of abuse, discrimination, and neglect that transgender and nonbinary people have reported while detained at the Aurora facility. The traumatic experiences detailed in this complaint are also set against the broader backdrop of more than a decade’s worth of detailed complaints filed by transgender and nonbinary persons with DHS oversight bodies and investigated by the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Read the complaint here. 

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The National Immigration Project (NIPNLG) is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who are driven by the belief that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow NIPNLG on Facebook, X, and Instagram at @NIPNLG.

Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Colorado, that works to ensure justice for adults and children in immigration proceedings. RMIAN empowers people through education of legal rights; provides zealous no-cost immigration legal representation to uphold fundamental fairness and due process; promotes the importance of universal representation where anyone in immigration proceedings has access to counsel despite financial barriers; and advocates for a more efficient, functional, and humane immigration system, including an end to immigration detention. Learn more about RMIAN’s work at rmian.org, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @rmian_org.

The American Immigration Council works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks about and acts towards immigrants and immigration and by working toward a more fair and just immigration system that opens its doors to those in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers and employs four coordinated approaches to advance change—litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications. In January 2022, the Council and New American Economy merged to combine a broad suite of advocacy tools to better expand and protect the rights of immigrants, more fully ensure immigrants’ ability to succeed economically, and help make the communities they settle in more welcoming. Follow the latest Council news and information on ImmigrationImpact.com and X @immcouncil.

Colorado Legislature Considers a $2 Million Annual Fund for Legal Aid Organizations

RMIAN is part of a coalition with Colorado Legal Services, Colorado Center on Law and Policy, the Community Economic Defense Project, and others to support legislation to provide greater access to justice through more funding for legal service organizations in Colorado.

Please see this article in Law Week Colorado

Mekela Goehring, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, wrote in an email to Law Week that RMIAN’s staff attorneys represented 829 individuals in Colorado in their immigration cases. The cases included children who had been abused or neglected, survivors of human trafficking, asylum seekers and more. 

“But we had to turn away the vast majority of individuals who reached out to us for help,” wrote Goehring. “With additional funding, there is so much more that we could do.” 

Learn more about RMIAN’s Social Service Project

Huge thanks to RMIAN funder and community partner, Caring for Denver Foundation, for putting together this powerful video that discusses the important work of RMIAN’s Social Service Project (SSP) and the powerful collaboration of legal and social services at RMIAN.

RMIAN Pro Bono Attorney, Nat Robinson, writes about his experience in Newsweek

Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network Opposes Senate Spending Bill That Would Decimate U.S. Asylum Law

Westminster, Colorado, February 5, 2024—Over the weekend, in response to a White House supplemental funding request, a small group of Senators finalized a proposed spending bill that would end asylum as we know it, putting countless people at risk of harm and death. The bill advances an anti-immigrant agenda and obfuscates this country’s obligations to protect refugees and people fleeing torture.

Mekela Goehring, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network:

“Lawmakers are bargaining with human lives, turning their backs on people seeking refuge on U.S. soil, applying the misguided belief that if we make it harder for people to access the United States, they will not come. Immigration enforcement through deterrence has never and will never work. Creating unlawful barriers to asylum based on xenophobic and racist motivations would cause a schism in the foundation of the U.S. immigration system and call into question fundamental principles of what it means to be American, where we pride ourselves on providing refuge to people in search of safety.”

Laura Lunn, Director of Advocacy and Litigation of Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network:

“People move to seek safety. Creating policies that ignore the underlying sources of instability causing people to flee for their lives is short-sighted and foolhardy. Rather than improve U.S. security, the proposed legislation would enrich criminal organizations that profit from kidnappings and violent crime targeting migrants. The Biden administration and members of Congress must prioritize humane policies over archaic blockades, increased detention, and heightened legal standards that will never prevent the natural phenomenon of human migration spurred by persecutory regimes.”

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Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Colorado, that works to ensure justice for adults and children in immigration proceedings. RMIAN empowers people through education of legal rights; provides zealous no-cost immigration legal representation to uphold fundamental fairness and due process; promotes the importance of universal representation where anyone in immigration proceedings has access to counsel despite financial barriers; and advocates for a more efficient, functional, and humane immigration system, including an end to immigration detention. Learn more about RMIAN’s work at rmian.org, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @rmian_org.

CLE Webinar: A Focus on RMIAN

Please join us for a live CLE webinar on an Diversity, Equity & Inclusion topic A Focus on RMIAN, presented by Mekela Goehring, RMIAN's Executive Director. Special thanks to our event sponsor, Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP.

In this CLE, RMIAN's Executive Director Mekela Goehring will discuss the impact of immigration enforcement and detention in Colorado, provide information about the importance of universal representation for everyone in immigration proceedings, and discuss opportunities for pro bono attorneys and paralegals to get involved in RMIAN's work.

Mekela Goehring has served as RMIAN’s Executive Director since 2005. She began working at RMIAN in 2003 as the organization’s first detention staff attorney, representing detained clients before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Board of Immigration Appeals. She is a frequent speaker on issues involving immigration law and policy, and works with numerous committees and groups to expand access to justice for individuals in immigration proceedings in Colorado and beyond. 

This lunchtime program will be held from 12:00 – 1:00 pm via Zoom webinar. The Zoom link will be sent out to all registrants.

Channel 9 Coverage of RMIAN’s FOIA Litigation Work

Channel 9 coverage of RMIAN's FOIA litigation work on Melvin Calera Mendoza's death at the GEO immigration detention center. Please see this powerful interview with RMIAN's Director of Advocacy and Litigation Laura Lunn about the ways that ICE has refused to produce documents about Melvin's death and RMIAN's work in this litigation. 

Law360 Highlights Perspectives of RMIAN Attorneys Endorsing Universal Representation

“The current immigration system is categorically unfair. People must argue their cases against trained government prosecutors before politicized immigration courts.” RMIAN attorneys, Shaleen Morales and Laura Lunn, argue in a recent opinion piece featured in Law360. The piece, titled Immigration Detention Should Offer Universal Legal Counsel, sheds light on the inequity of the current U.S. immigration adjudication system. It calls for significant shifts away from immigration detention to free up funding that can be reallocated toward government-appointed counsel. “Fundamental fairness and basic due process are only possible in our immigration system if people have meaningful access to counsel. Similar to the public defender model, the government should provide attorneys when people cannot otherwise afford one.”

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/articles/1782298?copied=1

RMIAN Contributes to 17th Annual Educating Children of Color Summit

Sabrina Sameshima, RMIAN Senior Staff Attorney, is presenting at the 17th Annual Educating Children of Color Summit in Colorado Springs on January 13, 2024. Its goal it to build equitity between our education and judicial systems.

The ECOC Summit provides a unique opportunity for educators, juvenile justice, and child welfare professionals to enhance their ability to retain and inspire the students and families they serve.

Sabrina's panel, entitled Immigration Options for Undocumented Youth, will explore common mechanisms to obtain immigration status with the intention of empowering participants through education and a heightened understanding of any available pathways to seek lasting immigration benefits.

RMIAN Statement on DACA Ruling

RMIAN Stands with Immigrant Youth. A Texas Judge’s Ruling Striking Down DACA is Just the Latest Move in a Political Game That Callously Disregards the Very Real Consequences on the Lives of People Impacted.

Yesterday, a judge for the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas struck down the most recent iteration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and called to terminate the program. While the Court’s ruling will not change the current status quo – DACA recipients remain eligible to renew their status – it does not allow for any new applicants to qualify for legal protections through the program.

This isn’t the end of the road for this case. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which previously upheld Judge Hanen’s ruling about the DACA rulemaking process, will review the lower court’s decision. After that, the case would be on a pathway to the Supreme Court.

RMIAN’s Children’s Program Managing Attorney, Ashley Harrington, shared her frustration: RMIAN strongly disagrees with the Texas court decision and will continue to stand in solidarity with Dreamers. It is imperative that Congress act to provide meaningful, long-term protections for Dreamers and for immigrant youth left out of DACA so they can stop living in fear of the next political decision that could tear their families apart. 

Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund Annual Report

RMIAN Staff Members Will Share Their Expertise at American Bar Association Pro Bono Symposium on September 14 & 15, 2023

When the American Bar Association (ABA) Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA) & Commission on Immigration (COI) decided to hold its first ever Pro Bono Symposium, it asked RMIAN staff members Emily Brock and Kirsten Hoaby to share their perspectives. The Pro Bono Symposium, which will be held on September 14 & 15, 2023, will facilitate learning about pro bono program management and feature advocates from across the nation. Presenters will share their experience and expertise in pro bono programs working with volunteers and/or pro bono attorneys. This will be a virtual event, via Zoom, spread over two half days.

Kirsten Hoaby is RMIAN’s Pro Bono Volunteer Coordinator and will be featured on the panel entitled, “Utilizing Volunteer Translators and Interpreters to Support Pro Bono Cases” on Thursday, September 14, 2023 from 2:45-3:45 pm, MST. Emily Brock, RMIAN’s Children’s Program Deputy Managing Attorney will share her expertise during the panel, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me: Enhancing Pro Bono Placement Through Friend of the Court Practice,” which will take place on Friday, September 15, 2023 from 9:15-10:15 am, MST.

Interested in participating? You can register to join the Pro Bono Symposium here.

Join RMIAN and Co-Host, Colorado Bar Association, at Upcoming In-Person Immigration Law Training on September 29, 2023

Complaint Seeks Investigation of Misuse and Overuse of Solitary Confinement at the Aurora ICE Contract Detention Facility

Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN), the American Immigration Council, and the National Immigration Project (NIPNLG), filed an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility—demanding immediate investigation into the increased use and misuse of solitary confinement at the Aurora Contract Detention Center. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detains hundreds of people in a private prison owned and operated by GEO Group, Inc., located in Aurora, Colorado.

“The endemic dehumanizing culture within the Aurora facility is heartless, abusive, and dangerous. The people—mothers, brothers, grandchildren—featured in this complaint demonstrate immeasurable bravery by stepping forward to share their experiences and provide examples of systemic mistreatment that time and again violate ICE’s own policies as well as federal disability rights law. They deserve better,” said Laura Lunn, Director of Advocacy & Litigation at RMIAN. “It is also important to highlight that this is happening in the state of Colorado, a place that works diligently to provide a welcoming and hospitable refuge to immigrants, migrants, and refugees. This complaint underscores that our local and state governments cannot prevent this type of harmful treatment as long as ICE operates in our communities.”

Read The Denver Post’s coverage here.

Read the Complaint in PDF form here and below.

RMIAN Social Worker Featured in TALKS mini-documentary series, "Home Away from Home: Immigration Across the Border and Disability"

Katherine Valentin, RMIAN Social Worker, added her perspective regarding the intersection of disability and immigration justice in a mini-documentary series produced by THINK+change. You can watch or listen to these important conversations where you can hear from Alfredo Bonilla-Flores and Jose Torres Vega, who were both directly impacted by the immigration system as well as advocates seeking systemic reforms to better accommodate the needs of immigrants and migrants with disabilities. Keep reading for more information.

Deciding to immigrate to the United States is never an easy choice, especially for people with disabilities. In the TALKS mini-documentary series, Home Away from Home: Immigration Across the Border and Disability, we highlight the intersection of immigration and disability justice. Through the perspectives of a legal expert, a social worker, and two lived experiences, this series delves into the challenges faced by people with developmental and other disabilities, as they navigate the cultural experience and immigration system in the United States.

Why you should watch

• -Learn about the high prevalence of disability-related immigration and the various reasons people with disabilities choose to immigrate;

• -Gain insight into the major barriers people with disabilities face in navigating the immigration system;

• -Discover the ways in which the immigration process can exacerbate trauma for people with disabilities; and

• -Learn about the significant need for advocacy, accommodations, and policy reform in the immigration systems in the United States.

Who should watch

• -Advocates and activists, passionate about the intersection of disability and immigrant rights;

• -Disability professionals, interested in insights into the unique needs and challenges faced by immigrants with disabilities;

• -Legal and criminal justice professionals, working to understand disability accommodations in courts and detention centers;

• -Policy-makers, exploring the need for change in our immigration systems;

• -Community members, examining a more empathetic understanding of the experiences of immigrants with disabilities; and

• -Immigration service providers and social workers.

RMIAN Collaborates with Denver's Immigrant and Refugee Commission to Educate Our Community About Immigration Basics

Interested in learning more about immigration law? Join RMIAN Senior Staff Attorney, Conor Gleason, and Social Worker, Cindy Schlosser, who will be speaking on June 29, 2023 from 5:30-6:30 pm about what benefits are available for people both recently arriving in our community as well as those who have lengthier ties to the United States and are seeking immigration benefits. They will also discuss who qualifies for work authorization and how to apply. In addition, Conor and Cindy will provide updates on the latest changes to U.S. policy and litigation impacting noncitizens navigating the exceedingly complicated U.S. immigration system. The event is taking place at McGlone Academy, Confluence Media Center located at 4500 Crown Blvd., Denver, CO 80239.

RMIAN Educates the Community About What Constitutes Human Trafficking with a Focus on the Legal Recourses a Survivor Can Take to Pursue Justice

On June 30, 2023, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) is partnering with the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking and working in collaboration with the Larimer County Department of Human Services to provide a training on how labor trafficking presents among youth in Larimer County and impacts their families. Labor trafficking exists in both the formal and informal economy in industries that are prevalent in Colorado. Because both people directly impacted by human trafficking and their communities are often unaware of the crime, we often miss it even when it's happening right in front of us. The way in which the U.S. economy forces immigrants and refugees to work in unregulated spaces, they are disproportionately vulnerable to potential labor or sexual exploitation, which can include wage theft and human trafficking. Immigration status is often used as a form of coercion to elicit compliance and fraudulent promises of work are often used to recruit individuals into an exploitative situation. People who are targets of human trafficking may not fully understand their rights, may have their identification confiscated, and may not feel safe to report. This presentation will cover the complexities of disclosure for systems involved youth, including immigrant communities, as well as the legal recourse a survivor can take to pursue justice. RMAIN attorneys, Caleb Stewart and Christine Dutko, will be sharing their expertise from 10 am - 12 pm at the West Oak Building Hearing Room, 200 West Oak, Fort Collins, Colorado.

With no magic wand yet, next best thing supporting Denver’s immigrants receives more funding