Category Archives: Legal Issues

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National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)

En Español

The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) offers a wide range of legal services to low-income immigrants. Attorneys and trained staff provide consultations and legal representation on the following matters:

Deferred Action for Eligible Youth (DACA)
Legal assistance for eligible youth and their families seeking to apply for deferred action and employment authorization.

Family-based immigration
Legal assistance for permanent residents and U.S. citizens who want to apply to bring family members to the United States or to allow family members in the United States to adjust their status.

Applications for Lawful Permanent Residence
Assistance in completing and filing applications for lawful permanent residence (also known as a green card.

Naturalization/Citizenship
Legal assistance for permanent residents who want to apply to become U.S. citizens.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Legal assistance for immigrants who qualify for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) visas based on their country of origin and dates of immigration.

Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA)
Assistance in completing and filing applications for Nicaraguan, Cuban, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan immigrants and nationals of the former Soviet Union who entered the United States in the 1990s.

Removal/deportation defense
Legal representation for immigrants who are in deportation proceedings.

Legal protections for immigrant victims of family violence
Legal assistance for men and women who qualify for immigration benefits under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) because they have been abused by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Visas for immigrant victims of crimes
Assistance in obtaining a visa for immigrants who have been a victim of a crime and are willing to assist law enforcement in the investigation of that crime.

Visas for immigrant victims of human trafficking
Assistance in obtaining a visa for immigrants who have been trafficked into the United States.

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Immigrant Defense Project

The mission of Immigrant Defense Project is to secure fairness and justice for immigrants in the United States.

We work to transform a racially biased criminal legal system that violates basic human rights and an immigration system that tears hundreds of thousands of immigrants with convictions each year from their homes, their families, and their communities.

We fight to end the current era of unprecedented mass deportation via strategies that attack these two interconnected systems at multiple points. We use impact litigation and advocacy to challenge unfair laws and policies and media and communications to counter the pervasive demonization of immigrants. And we provide expert legal advice, training, and resources to immigrants, legal defenders, and grassroots organizations, to support those on the frontlines of the struggle for justice.

We help lay the groundwork for a day when the criminal and immigration laws of the United States respect and uphold the human rights of everyone, fulfilling the values of equality, justice, and fairness for all.

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NAACP sues over Lake County precinct consolidation law

The Gary NAACP wants a federal judge to block a new law that would consolidate Lake County’s voting precincts.

The organization claims the law, formerly known as SB 220, would discriminate against the black and Latino populations in Lake County by making voting access more inconvenient.

Defendants are Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson and individual members of the Indiana Election Division.

Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit.

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Asylee vs. Refugee: Application & Procedural Differences

The difference between asylees and refugees is largely procedural. A person who requests asylum in the United States is called an asylee. A person who requests protection while still overseas, and then is given permission to enter the U.S. as a refugee, is naturally called a refugee.

However, here is the likely source of confusion in this area. Both types of applicants must, in order to obtain their status, prove the same thing — that they qualify for protection under U.S. law, because they meet the definition of a refugee found in Section 101(a)(42)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.).

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District 10 Pro Bono Project provides free legal services

District 10 Pro Bono Project provides free legal services in Clay, Greene, Hendricks, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, and Putnam, Indiana. We do so with a number of innovative programs matching volunteer attorneys with clients who need help with shelter, income, safety, or access to justice.

The District 10 Pro Bono Project provides legal services to indigent people who otherwise would not be able to obtain justice. We do so by recruiting, training and recognizing attorneys from the private bar, and helping these attorneys fulfill their pro bono obligations. We support lawyers in their natural role as problem solvers, so that lawyers can help lower income people create permanent solutions to issues involving shelter, income, safety, civil liberties, access to justice, and other necessities of life. Our volunteers include judges, lawyers, professors, law students and other community members, all of whom work together to create better justice in our legal system and better lives for the people in our community.

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What is Sanctuary Everywhere?

“Sanctuary Everywhere” is the simple idea that everyday people can work to keep each other safe—wherever we are. Sanctuary can mean taking someone into a congregation to protect them, but even broader than that, sanctuary is about the community coming together to protect those who need it.

That means standing up to discrimination, harassment, and violence in our schools, congregations, public spaces, cities, streets, and everywhere it happens. Whether we are welcoming refugees or working to stop deportations, protecting religious groups who have been targeted and attacked, working to ensure that Black Lives Matter by interrupting anti-Black violence, or protecting the rights of LGBTQ people, we are all in this together.

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DACA @ IU

Indiana University has long recognized the absolute necessity of a diverse and inclusive community to an excellent education. All IU students, regardless of their background or country of origin, are welcome in our community. Each and every one brings perspectives and experiences that, taken together, enrich the educational experience and prepare our students to thrive in the 21st century. Our student body expresses who we are as a community and reflects our foundational commitment to inclusion and diversity.

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Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance (IUYA)

The Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance (IUYA) is a youth-led organization that seeks to empower young immigrants to achieve higher education and engage in the community to demand more just and humane policies that affect undocumented families. We believe we can build power by organizing at the local and statewide levels, all while providing resources to support undocumented students and their families, and creating meaningful alliances with other advocacy organizations. Our network is made up of undocumented and documented youth, allies, and affiliate organizations.

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UndocuHoosier

The Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance (IUYA) is a youth-led organization committed to empowering undocumented youth to achieve high levels of education, influence public policy, and overall improve the quality of life of undocumented communities in the state of Indiana. Our organization was established in 2011 after our founders held a peaceful sit-in at former Governor Mitch Daniels’ office asking to veto HEA 1402 and SEA 590

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