2024 Fall In-Person CLE Seminar: Immigrant Power-Building in a Time of Rising Fascism

 2024 Fall In-Person CLE Seminar       Immigrant Power-Building in a Time of Rising Fascism

Wednesday, October 9, 2024 - 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM (CT)

Location: Tulane University Law School, Room 110, 6329 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70118

(330 Total Minutes -5.5 Total CLE Credits)

 – AGENDA –

WedneSDAY, October 9, 2024

10:00am - 10:05am CT: Welcome and Introductions (5 minutes)

10:05am - 11:05am CT: Session 1 - Power in Noncitizen Protest: Preparing for and Responding to Retaliation

(60 minutes of instruction/1.00 CLE Credits)

Although the U.S. Constitution protects free speech and assembly through the First Amendment regardless of immigration status, noncitizens face unique risks when protesting. The risks arise from states’ increased criminalization of nonviolent protest and the consequences of protest-based arrests and convictions on immigration status. Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security's increased surveillance of noncitizens has led to information-gathering and retaliation against immigrant activists who seek immigration benefits. 

Recognizing that noncitizens are vulnerable to abuse from local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, this panel will discuss how noncitizens can prepare for and respond to retaliation against noncitizen activism based on lessons learned from recent protests.

Faculty: 

• Khaled Alrabe, Senior Staff Attorney, National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)
• Naz Ahmad, Staff Attorney, Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR)
• Dahlia French, Managing Attorney, French Legal PLLC

11:05am - 11:15am CT: Break

11:15am - 12:45pm CT: Session 2 - Experts In Our Own Lives: Ceding Power to Immigrant Youth in Advocacy Spaces

(90 minutes of instruction/1.50 CLE Credit)

Youth voices are the heartbeat of all social movements and the immigrant rights movement is no exception. Yet legal representatives—conditioned by their legal education, institutions and societal representations—often see themselves as having more knowledge, experience and skills than the young people. As legal representatives for immigrant youth are increasingly called to engage in social movements alongside their clients, these common biases and assumptions may lead legal representatives to unknowingly disempower the youth they are striving to build power with.

Designed and facilitated in collaboration with youth leaders from the End SIJS Backlog Coalition, a national group of directly impacted youth and allied advocates working to end the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status backlog, this interactive workshop will explore what it means to subvert the lawyer-client power dynamic in advocacy spaces in order to cede power to impacted immigrant youth who are advocating for systemic change. The workshop will also examine how racism, adultism, classism and other forms of systemic oppression can show up in these lawyer-youth dynamics. The faculty will discuss these topics in the context of the youth organizing and advocacy of the End SIJS Backlog Coalition.

Faculty: 

• Alejandra Cruz, Youth Organizer, End SIJS Backlog Coalition/NIPNLG
• Fatima, SIJS Youth Leader
• Ray Davidson, Director, End SIJS Backlog Coalition/NIPNLG
• Katie Annand, Managing Attorney, Immigrant Legal Defense

12:45pm - 1:45pm CT: Lunch Break (Lunch Provided)

1:45pm - 2:45pm CT: Session 3 - Powerful Change Agents: Asylum Seekers Protecting Asylum Benefits

(60 minutes of instruction/1.00 CLE Credit)

Asylum arose from the ashes of fascism post World War II, yet fascism has again targeted asylum and those who seek its protection. In the 1980s, as Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans fled the danger and economic devastation of civil war, the Reagan administration characterized this exodus as a national security concern, linked Central Americans to communism as a fear tactic, and withheld asylum protections based on the “economic migrants” premise. Central Americans formed their own community assistance groups and advocacy centers eventually forcing the passage of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that benefits countries beyond Central America. Today, asylum seekers continue to organize and advocate for protection through community-led models as political discourse targets asylum seekers and policies restrict asylum. This panel will consider the important role of asylum seekers in protecting asylum and its benefits as well as potential opportunities for asylum seekers and their counsel to advocate for expanded protections.

Faculty: 

• Victoria Neilson, Supervising Attorney, National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)
• James Lopez Olvera, Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow/ Staff Attorney, Make the Road New York

2:45pm - 3:00pm CT: Break

3:00pm - 4:00pm CT: Session 4 - Power in Unity: Workers’ Rights are Immigrants’ Rights

(60 minutes of instruction/1.00 CLE Credit)

Ensuring full rights and protections for immigrant workers helps empower people in the workplace to speak up against abuses. Without a guarantee of protection, workers without permanent immigration status may be reluctant to speak up for their labor rights because they fear immigration-related retaliation. During the Biden administration, we have seen how empowering immigrant workers to report violations by helping them access Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement can assist labor agencies in keeping employers accountable. Workers may be able to combine the temporary deferred action protection and work authorization with more durable forms of immigration protection, like visas for victims of crime. But without a pathway to regularized immigration status for immigrant workers in the United States, the risk of enforcement actions against immigrant workers remains. This is especially the case during extremist right-wing administrations, which in recent years have carried out mass raids against immigrant workers who dared to file complaints against their abusive employers. This panel will focus on how we can build worker power by uniting the causes for labor and immigration justice.

Faculty: 

• Ann Garcia, Staff Attorney, National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)
• Rosa Lozano, Affiliate Member Engagement Manager, National Domestic Workers Alliance
• Mary Yanik, Clinical Associate Professor of Law and Director, Tulane Immigrant Rights Clinic

4:00pm - 4:15pm CT: Break

4:15pm - 5:15pm CT: Session 5 - Power in Numbers: Group Complaints Against Hostile Immigration Judges

(60 minutes of instruction/1.00 CLE Credit)

Noncitizens in removal proceedings, whether represented or pro se, are owed a fundamentally fair process, but, as Immigration Judges face an unprecedented backlog of cases, some IJs deprive noncitizens of fundamental fairness in the name of efficiency. Meanwhile, other IJs lack the temperament and objectivity required to treat noncitizens with dignity notwithstanding the stress of the job. Filing complaints against IJs is a crucial tool to ensure that the immigration court bench remains fair and neutral. However, legal counsel or noncitizens are reluctant to file complaints when warranted because of fear of retaliation. This panel will explain how legal counsel or noncitizens can engage with the IJ complaint process as a group to quell retaliation fears and increase the chances that the Executive Office for Immigration Review will take the complaint seriously. The faculty will discuss these topics in the context of the National Immigration Project’s leadership in this effort.

Faculty: 

• Michelle N. Méndez, Director of Legal Resources and Training, National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)
• Leila Kang, Staff Attorney, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
• Lisa Knox, Co-Executive Director, California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice

5:15pm - 5:30pm CT: Closing and Announcements

CLE sponsored by

National Immigration Project

CLE Credits

An application for 5.50 Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit hours is pending with the State Bar of California.

The State Bar of Louisiana, the Washington State Bar, and the State Bar of Texas approved this activity for 5.50 CLE credits. 

Uniform certificates of attendance will be available to those licensed in other states.

Group Registration Discounts:  We offer a 10% discount for groups of 5 to 10 and 15% discount for groups of 11 or more. To take advantage of the group registration discount organizations must:

-Submit a complete list* of registrants (Group Registration Form) to events@nipnlg.org. Link to Group Registration Form - HERE.

-Pay a singular invoice for registration fees.

Payment can be made via ACH, Credit Card, or Check. *Please note that group registration list adjustments are not possible after an invoice has been issued.

Tuition Assistance: Tuition assistance is available based on financial hardship. Attorneys should send an email to events@nipnlg.org with the reason they are requesting financial aid. This inbox is monitored daily.