America is a country that takes great pride in the promise of freedom and opportunity for all. But recently, many Americans have realized that we’ve taken this promise for granted. It is crucial that those of us who are able volunteer to support our fellow human beings on the path towards social justice. Volunteering with the CAIR Coalition detention hotline is a great chance to do that.
Check out CAIR Coalition's 2016 Year in Review to see the work we did to stand up for, and with, immigrants in the Washington, DC area.
All of this would not have been possible without our supporters. Please consider making a donation so that CAIR Coalition can continue to fight for equal justice for all immigrants at risk of detention and deportation.
On January 25 and 27, 2017, the President issued three executive orders focusing on immigration: the “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the U.S.;" the “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements;" and, the “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorists Entry into the United States.” Read about the impacts of these Executive Orders.
In order to help your pro bono efforts we have identified preventative steps to help avoid or reduce the effects of heightened enforcement and detention by these agencies. Read more in our Pro Bono Practice Alert.
In a February 3, 2017 article in The Intercept, Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition's Senior Program Director Claudia Cubas was quoted in response to the president's recent executive orders on immigration.
Throughout this past week, President Trump's January 27th Executive Order barring entry to non-citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations has been making headlines.
A February 3, 2017 Washington Post article covers the work CAIR Coalition has been doing on the ground at Dulles International Airport in the wake of the president's recent executive orders.
The Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, which has its own immigration lawyers staffing another table at the airport about 12 hours a day, estimates that more than 100 lawyers and interpreters have volunteered there since Saturday.
As has been reported widely in recent months, the U.S.’s immigration courts are overloaded with cases, with roughly half a million cases of removal (a.k.a. deportation) proceedings pending nationwide.
In an interview published on February 2, 2017 with Deadspin, CAIR Coalition's Nithya Nathan-Pineau explains what indivivduals can do to help those who have been affected by the president's recent executive orders on immigration. Click here to read the interview.
A February 2, 2017 article in Vox profiles the work CAIR Coalition has been doing on the ground at Dulles International Airport in the wake of the president's recent executive orders.
January 31, 2017 CAIR Coalition staff attorney Azadeh Erfani was interviewed by teleSUR TV regarding the president's recent executive orders. Click here to watch the interview.
In an article posted on January 29, 2017, Claudia Cubas, Senior Program Director of CAIR Coalition's Detained Adult Program, is quoted by the Huffington Post:
This week, our country took the unprecedented step to begin banning refugees and visa holders from entering the country from seven Muslim nations. This break from the long tradition of freedom and safe haven in the United States is now playing out at airports around the country.
This past week has brought many unhappy moments in how the American government plans to treat immigrants, including refugees from war-torn corners of the world. One of the unhappier moments was the debate about the efficacy and morality of American-sponsored torture.
While there are many politicians and government officials who reacted with vocal disgust at the thought of torture as an accepted practice, that the debate even still exists is both frightening and inapposite to all that CAIR Coalition works towards.
Today a frightening new draft Executive Order from the Trump administration was leaked to the public. The proposed order is an assault on immigrants and refugees worldwide, but particularly targets people of the Muslim faith. CAIR Coalition is alarmed by this proposed assault on immigrant and human rights.Today a frightening new draft Executive Order from the Trump administration was leaked to the public. The proposed order is an assault on immigrants and refugees worldwide, but particularly targets people of the Muslim faith. CAIR Coalition is alarmed by this proposed assault on immigrant and human rights.
Immigrants residing in Virginia received a big win today from the Fourth Circuit in the case of Sotnikau v. Lynch. Argued and won by pro bono attorneys from O'Melveny & Myers, the impact of this case will be felt far and wide. The case started with a CAIR Coalition client placed with a pro bono team at O'Melveny & Myers, who argued that a conviction under Virginia law for involuntary manslaughter can not lead to deportation because the state law is overbroad and divisible.
Thanks to the excellent arguments put forward by Jason Zarrow, the lead O'Melveny attorney, the Fourth Circuit agreed and issued a precedential opion that will have a huge impact on immigrants facing removal from criminal convictions.
CAIR Coalition recognizes the concerns many schools, such as Prince George’s County Public Schools, face in regards to the rising fear of immigrants due to the incoming administration's immigration policies. News reports have stated that the attendance rates of Latino students is dropping and could further drop because of the concern over the possibility of student deportations.
Today is Inauguration day in the United States and the country is preparing for the start of a new administration. President Trump, in seeking the country’s highest office, has often spoken of massive shifts in immigration law and how immigrants are treated in the United States. His rhetoric has filled hearts with fear – fear of families torn apart by deportation; fear of deportation forces hunting immigrants in all corners of our country; fear of the young recipients that trusted in the government and applied for DACA being targeted.
CAIR Coalition joins nearly 900 religious, civil rights, ethnic and immigrant rights organizations who work on behalf of immigrants and their families in urging President-elect Trump to protect the more than 740,000 individuals who currently hold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA.
