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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At Least 18 Lynchings Took Place In Indiana By 1940

A national nonprofit organization says at least 18 lynchings took place in Indiana between 1880 and 1940, as part of more than 300 lynchings in eight states outside the deep south during that time.

The Equal Justice Initiative released a new report Tuesday outlining the history of racial terror lynchings in the United States.

“Racial terror lynchings were horrific acts of targeted violence against African Americans…by white mobs who murdered black people with no risk of accountability or punishment,” the report says.

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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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Latin American Consulates

Argentina
205 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 4208/09, Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 819-2610           www.cchic.mrecic.gov.ar

Belize
2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20008-2826
(202) 332-9636           www.embassyofbelize.org

Bolivia
1825 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Suite 200C, Washington, D.C. 20009
(202) 232-4827           www.boliviawdc.org

Brazil
401 North Michigan Ave., Suite 1850, Chicago, IL 60611-4207
(312) 464-0244           http://chicago.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/

Chile
875 North Michigan Ave. Suite 3352, Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 654-8780           http://chile.gob.cl/chicago/en/

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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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Partnership Aims to Tackle Diabetes Among Latinos

INDIANAPOLIS –

Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) has announced a research collaboration with the William Sansum Diabetes Center in California. The pharmaceutical company says the partnership aims to improve the lives of Latino people affected by diabetes.

Lilly says the collaboration will provide insight into the unmet needs of Latino diabetes patients and help with the development of interventions that could improve health outcomes.

“This is a great opportunity for us to further understand the significant impact of diabetes for Latino families,” said Dara Schuster, senior director of U.S. Medical Affairs for Lilly Diabetes. “Through this collaboration, we will learn where the gaps are so we can develop meaningful solutions for the unmet needs.”

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Crowdsourcing Dataset Map of ICE Raids

Alternative journalism, and humor social commentary digital platform Latino Rebels launched a new crowdsourcing data campaign called MIGRAMAP that tracks and maps ICE raids. The new initiative allows everyone to pinpoint the location of these raids.

MIGRAMAP is a data tool, a social media platform and a global positioning system, all in one. The community reports the location immigration officers are raiding. The website will show a color-coded map with the data results. The tool is based on self-reports. It has the option for the community to post their own stories.

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Immigrant rights group has ‘know your rights’ workshops

Nettie Garza said she wants to go visit her grandmother, whom she hasn’t seen in nine years, in Mexico. She has been saving up money to make the trip, but now, Garza, a green card holder, is scared to leave the country.

Garza, 29, attended Bloomington Immigrant Rights Coalition’s “Know Your Rights” workshop Tuesday evening. She wanted to be informed on what to do if her resident status is questioned in the wake of President Trump’s executive order on immigration and 
international travel.

Tuesday’s workshop was the second in a series of five workshops at the Monroe County Public Library that will teach immigrants their rights if questioned by Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement officers.

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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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