L4GG is proud to announce the hire of Estuardo Cifuentes as Manager of our Project Corazon initiative. Estuardo’s role includes coordinating services for our client population of asylum seekers at the Matamoros / Brownsville crossing and beyond.
L4GG - Response to Eviction Crisis
On August 30, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a call to action for the legal community, urging that we each step up to help address the looming housing and evictions crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lawyers for Good Government community of attorneys, law firms, in-house legal departments, and non-profit partners is committed to supporting this effort.
Letter from Attorney General Merrick Garland:
Over three million households are behind on rental payments and could be evicted over the next few months. Renters in the US are disproportionately people of color, and the coming eviction crisis is one that will disproportionately harm underrepresented communities. While the federal government has supplied Emergency Rental Assistance to help keep renters in their homes, only 11 percent of that rental assistance has been used.
If you are an attorney or law student who would like to learn more about opportunities to help keep families in their homes, please fill out this very brief form to sign up for SMS and email alerts from L4GG:
“The legal profession is well positioned to provide support for tenants, landlords, and courts during this crisis. Promoting access to justice to ensure that our justice system delivers outcomes that are fair and accessible to all, irrespective of wealth or status, is one of the highest ideals of the legal profession. ”
L4GG Launches Work Permit Pro Bono Program to Help Asylum-Seekers Provide for Families
L4GG’s Project Corazon has launched the Work Permit Pro Bono Project, a program to assist US-based asylum seekers in applying for Employment Authorization Document (EAD) cards, also known as work permits, helping them to support themselves and their families for the duration of their asylum proceedings.
L4GG Announces Thriving Families Campaign to Reunite Families & Provide Opportunities for Asylum Seekers
L4GG Signs On To ‘Welcome With Dignity’ Letter Condemning Biden’s Stance On Refugees
At his town hall last week, President Biden doubled down on Vice President Harris’ xenophobic statement telling asylum-seekers ‘don’t come’ to the U.S., stating it was the administration’s position that people seeking safety should not do so in the U.S.
In response, the Welcome with Dignity Campaign, of which L4GG is a member, released a statement condemning Biden’s words, and urging Biden to uphold the right to seek asylum. The Welcome with Dignity Campaign includes 80 national and regional organizations committed to transforming the way the United States receives and protects people forced to flee their homes to ensure they are treated humanely and fairly.
“People seeking safety deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and that more often than not the current realities at the border fall short of this basic measure,” said Charlene D’Cruz, Director of Lawyers for Good Government’s Project Corazon. “Telling people ‘don’t come’ is not only insensitive, but ignores the very real root causes of migration, and the U.S.’s involvement therein. People don’t leave their homes and their families behind to make the treacherous journey north because they want to, they do it because they have no choice. Seeking asylum is a human right, one that is recognized by international and domestic law, and the Biden Administration must do everything in its power to uphold that.”
Read the statement here.
L4GG Signs On to Letter Calling for Protection of Haitian Immigrants
In light of the assassination of Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse and serious injury of the first lady, Martine Moïse early this morning, Lawyers for Good Government, alongside other humanitarian and advocacy organizations, has signed on to a letter urging the Biden administration to protect Haitian immigrants.
The letter, issued by Haitian Bridge Alliance, specifically calls for the Biden administration to issue parole to all Haitians seeking protection at the U.S. Border, to publish the TPS redesignation so that eligible Haitians may apply, and reinstate the Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) Program, which allowed certain eligible U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to apply for parole for their family members in Haiti who have approved immigrant visa petitions, among other critical protections for Haitian families.
Project Corazon works with many Haitians seeking safety at the southern U.S. border, and is committed to continuing its work helping dozens of Haitians access parole daily.
You can read the sign-on letter here.
What Vice President Harris Should Know About the Southern Border
Kamala Harris’ recently made a much-anticipated trip to the southern border region with Secretary Mayorkas. I hope that the visit will result in positive policy changes for the families fleeing danger that I work with daily, but that remains to be seen. I hope that Vice President Harris met with people who live and work in the southern border region, but as a woman of color, a fellow attorney, and one that works on the front lines with migrants seeking safety at our borders daily, this is what I would tell Vice President Harris if we were to sit down in a room together.
L4GG Applauds New Civil Rights Recommendations to the Federal Judiciary
L4GG applauds new recommendations by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to the federal judiciary. As a reminder, we recently organized a group of more than 1,800 Americans, including 1,400 lawyers, to call for the nomination of civil rights leaders like Perez and Ho. We see Schumer’s recommendations as a commitment to diversifying the ranks of the Federal judiciary in promoting underrepresented groups and civil rights lawyers.
How you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions today
Jillian Blanchard, Director of L4GG’s Climate Change Program was featured today in a Bloomberg Law Insight, writing about how US Cities have the power to implement climate policy through local laws and initiatives.
