PAIFUP News from the fight for freedom, safety and dignity for all immigrants detained in Pennsylvania.

November 2020 | Issue 6 View as Webpage

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OCTOBER RECAP As we get closer to year end, our Working Group has been outlining outreach and funding priorities for 2021 to share our work with a wider audience. The PAIFUP team has also been working on various reports to highlight our work despite the significant challenges we have faced this year.  We look forward to sharing our year in review with you next month!

Client Success: Meet John

John has been a lawful permanent resident in the United States since 2010. He has four children and prior to his detention, he was the primary caretaker and a stay at home father. He was detained by ICE in May of 2018 and fought the charges against him pro se up to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Nearly two years later, John was ultimately found to not be subject to mandatory detention, and in April 2018, a PAIFUP attorney began representing him. John was anxious to get out on bond due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Pike County Prison and his underlying medical vulnerabilities. With the help of his PAIFUP attorney, John filed a motion to be released on bond. He was ordered released on bond by an Immigration Judge and posted his bond with the help of our partners at the New Sanctuary Movement. Finally, he was able to gain freedom from ICE detention after two long years of detention.    However, in October 2020, ICE then decided to re-detain John, claiming that he had violated his bond contract. His PAIFUP lawyer pushed back against this, arguing that ICE’s detention was illegal and he should be released immediately. After a month of detention, an Immigration Judge agreed and ordered him released. John now looks forward to pursuing his case in front of the non-detained court so that he can stay in the United States with his children.  *Client's name has been changed to protect anonymity.

Tania Bruguera's “Monument to New Immigrants,” 2017

Staff Highlight Ryan is the Managing Attorney for Detention Programs at the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC). He oversees PIRC’s detention work including PAIFUP representation.  Why PAIFUP? My work at PIRC has provided me with many opportunities to do deeply meaningful and vitally important work, both for individual clients and through sustaining programs that enable such representation, but the collaborative effort through PAIFUP has been particularly invigorating for me. I am excited by the opportunity to strive towards a much more audacious goal-- universal representation for everyone facing deportation. It's one way to affirm the dignity in every human being subjected to this dehumanizing process. Regardless of status, prior contact with the criminal justice system, or merits of the case-- "I see you. You matter. We're not going to despair." Everyone deserves that, and PAIFUP is a major step towards effecting it.

We Are Stronger Together: Meet Our Affiliates The Coalition of African and Caribbean Communities (AFRICOM)  mission is to advocate and organize to promote immigrant and refugee empowerment, a sense of belonging, and self-sufficiency. AFRICOM hosts a variety of programs that center on leadership, culture, education, and civic engagement. Learn about their services here.

In Other News

Philly-area immigrants views on a Biden presidency This week, immigrants, allies, and advocates in the Philadelphia region shared real, if measured, optimism for the future, pointing out that there’s a lot Biden can do quickly. Read more www.inquirer.com

U.S. Citizenship Test Adds More Questions, Draws Criticism An updated U.S. citizenship test will require applicants to answer more questions than before and could slow down the number of tests held each day, experts said. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency on Friday announced the... Read more www.nbcphiladelphia.com

Latino immigrants in PA react to a Biden victory (Harrisburg) - Leading up to the election, Ana Nunez spent weekends knocking on doors, equipped with voter registration data and a lot of uncertainty. She did not know if anyone would answer, if their dogs would be friendly to strangers, or who... Read more www.witf.org

Catch up on the previous issue here

The Pennsylvania Family Unity Project (PAIFUP) is a collaborative of nonprofit organizations in Pennsylvania formed in order to achieve universal representation for detained immigrants in removal proceedings in PA.