Immigration Injustice
Speakers:
Antonio Gutierrez, Organized Communities Against Deportations
Lam Ho, Beyond Legal Aid
Alejandra Torres, NYU Law Student Fellow
Ellie Happel, NYU Law Global Justice Clinic
No one is illegal. How do we build the power of immigrant communities to dismantle the racist deportation machine and lead the design of systems that are rooted in dignity and inclusion?
Zoom link: https://nyu.zoom.us/s/99924063917
Workshop #1 – Communities at the margins
Friday February 18th, 2022 10:30am-12:00pm ET
Injustice is a reality, and the very structures of legal systems in the United States often act to depower and limit community voice and direction. This pre-conference session will examine the shape of this access to justice problem within the immigration system and introduce critical legal empowerment as a methodology and movement.
Workshop #2 – Legal empowerment is happening now
Thursday February 24th, 2022 11:00am-12:00pm ET
Told through real life examples, anchor organizations will share how they use legal empowerment methods (e.g. community paralegals, accompaniment, community-driven litigation) to address injustice and invite participants to share their community empowerment strategies.
Workshop #3 – Pushing forward toward justice
Friday March 4th, 2022 10:30am-12:00pm ET
Legal empowerment approaches do not come without challenges, including concerns about unauthorized practice of law (UPL), funding difficulties, evidence gaps, and delegitimization by the legal profession. This post-conference workshop will provide participants a chance to conduct power mapping to identify levers for change.