Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Encyclopedia
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) is a non-profit legal services organization in Washington State. NWIRP's mission is dedicated to providing legal services in the defense and advancement of legal rights for low-income immigrants and refugees in Washington State.
n refugees and others who were able to legalize their status under Amnesty programs.
NWIRP has grown significantly in scope and currently serves more than 10,000 low-income immigrants per year from more than 100 countries across Latin America
, Asia
, the Middle East
, Eastern
and Western Europe
and Africa
.
(owned and operated by the GEO Group
).
, and naturalization or citizenship. NWIRP also provides direct representation, defending individuals who are placed in removal proceedings
(deportation proceedings). In addition, supported by a grant from the Executive Office for Immigration Review
of the U.S. Department of Justice, NWIRP provides legal orientation sessions to all persons detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, who are placed in removal proceedings.
In Bromfield v. Mukasey, a published decision that received widespread attention, the Court found through the record of proceedings that there is a pattern and practice of persecution against gay men in Jamaica. The EOIR also erred by failing to recognize that the Jamaican government not only acquiesces in the torture of gay men, but is also directly involved in such torture. The Court further clarified that even where a petitioner has been found removable based upon an aggravated felony the Court retains jurisdiction to review claims for withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture if the denial was based upon the merits of the claim.
In another far reaching case NWIRP teamed together with the ACLU of Washington State and the law firm of Stoel Rives
in Seattle to file a class action challenge in the Western District of Washington challenging the government's failure to complete adjudication of hundreds of naturalization applicants who had already passed all the necessary exams and demonstrated that they had no disqualifying criminal records. In Roshandel v. Chertoff, the District Court certified the district wide class of applicants for naturalization whose applications had not been timely adjudicated after their interview, as a result of the agency’s failure to complete the namecheck. Similar litigation was pending throughout the country but this was the first class certified on this issue in the United States. The class covered over 450 applicants whose applications had been indefinitely placed on hold by the government. After the Court's order granting class certification Plaintiffs filed for summary judgment. The government then agreed to settle the case, a settlement which ensured that all applications would be adjudicated in time for the entire class to vote in the November 2008 elections.
Other published decisions include:
Chay Ixcot v. Holder, --F.3d--, (9th Cir. June 1, 2011). The Court ruled that the agency violated the law by trying to reinstate a prior deportation order rather than first completing adjudication of his pending application for political asylum. The Court ruled that applying the new reinstatement law that was enacted three years after he applied in order to deprive Mr. Chay Ixcot of the right to have his pending asylum application heard would have an unlawful retroactive effect at it “would impair rights a party possessed when he acted.”
Lopez-Birrueta v. Holder, 633 F.3d 1211(9th Cir. 2011). The Court found that the Immigration Judge and Board of Immigration Appeals erred in applying a restrictive interpretation of battery for purposes of establishing eligibility for cancellation of removal for victims of domestic violence. In this case, Ms. Lopez’ children had been beaten with a stick when they were two and three years old. Nonetheless, the Immigration Judge found that since there was no lasting injury it did not demonstrate a heightened level of violence necessary to qualify for relief for victims of domestic violence. The Court swept aside the agency’s determination clarifying that there is no requirement for a heightened level of violence. The court also rejected the government’s position that the immigration court could consider state-law definitions when determining what is required under this federal law. The Ninth Circuit concluded that the undisputed evidence of physical abuse that M.L.B.’s children suffered clearly met the standard necessary for protection under VAWA.
Franco-Gonzales v. Holder, -- F.Supp.2d --, 2010 WL 5874537 (C.D.Cal. Dec. 27, 2010) The Court granted preliminary injunction for named plaintiffs, finding as a matter of first impression that mentally incompetent plaintiffs were entitled to reasonable accommodation of appointment of counsel, under the Rehabilitation Act and also ruling that Plaintiffs were entitled to a custody hearing.
Cortez-Guillen v. Holder, 623 F.3d 933 (9th Cir. 2010). The Court ruled that the agency erred in ordering the petitioner removed. The Court reiterated that the agency is bound by the elements of the crime, even with regards to the realistic probability test. A such, the Alaskan coercion statute does not categorically qualify as aggravated felony crime of violence as it may encompass threats regarding unlawful conduct that are not violent crimes. The petitioner been a lawful permanent resident for almost thirty years.
Doissaint v. Mukasey: The Court ruled that the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) had erred in failing to address the Petitioner’s arguments as to eligibility for protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The Court also held that the BIA could not try to cure its own error by denying a motion to reopen by the petitioner;
Mandujano-Real v. Mukasey: The Court ruled that an identity theft conviction does not qualify as an aggravated felony theft conviction for immigration purposes because the elements of the identity theft statute encompass many forms of conduct that do not fall under the common law definition of theft. The Court also clarified that it was not appropriate to remand the case to the BIA where the BIA’s interpretation was not entitled to deference and the BIA had an opportunity to address the issues presented. Finally, the Court reconfirmed that the government may not rely upon an individual’s concession of removability that is incorrect as a legal matter;
Suazo-Perez v. Mukasey: The Court held that the Immigration Judge and Board of Immigration Appeals erred in finding that the petitioner’s misdemeanor conviction for assault constituted a crime of violence and thus rendered him deportable despite his lawful permanent resident status;
Hosseini v. Gonzales: The Court found that an applicant for relief who has been identified as a supporter of a counterrevolutionary group in Iran qualifies for relief under the Convention Against Torture even where the individual had not experienced past torture;
Hernandez-Guadarrama v. Ashcroft: In this case, the Court reaffirmed an often-ignored principle: that the government cannot use statements against non-citizens in removal proceedings without making a reasonable attempt to have the affiants available for cross-examination. This point is especially crucial where the government itself removed the affiants instead of making them available at the removal proceedings;
Cuevas-Gaspar v. Gonzales: The Court held that a conviction for burglary in the State of Washington does not categorically constitute a crime involving moral turpitude. In addition, the Court ruled the lawful admission and residence of the parents can be imputed to a minor child for purposes of qualifying for cancellation of removal;
Perez-Gonzalez v. Ashcroft: The Court found that certain individuals with prior deportation orders are nonetheless entitled to have their applications for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence along with the necessary waivers adjudicated before the government can moved to reinstate the prior order of removal. The Court held that notwithstanding the prior deportation or removal orders, such individuals are still eligible to become permanent residents. Before Perez-Gonzalez, the vast majority of these individuals were being summarily deported without a hearing and denied the opportunity to become permanent residents;
Garcia-Lopez v. Ashcroft: The Court ruled that, (1) prior offense of grand theft would not be considered misdemeanor under California statute providing that “wobbler” offense was to be treated as misdemeanor after judgment imposed punishment other than imprisonment in state prison, but (2) California court's declaration that such offense was misdemeanor was binding on BIA;
Castro-Cortez v. Ashcroft: The Court found that it had jurisdiction to directly review administrative reinstatement orders, and that the provision of Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) permitting INS to reinstate prior orders of removal did not apply retroactively.
In June 2011, NWIRP joined immigration and gay rights organizations from around the country in signing Lambda Legal
's letter to Secretary Janet Napolitano and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in urging the Department of Homeland Security to examine cases of abuse against LGBT people and people with HIV/AIDS in immigration detention. The letter also called for standardized guidelines and protocol for the treatment of LGBT people and people with HIV/AIDS while they are in detention, including assigning improper housing to transgender persons, not providing adequate medical treatment for those with HIV/AIDS, denying medications and hormone treatments to transgender persons, and allowing "rampant sexual, physical and mental abuse of LGBT detainees."
Denouncement of "Secure Communities" Program
NWIRP does not support the "Secure Communities
" Program, which would inject local law enforcement into immigration enforcement roles. As of June 2011, several Washington State counties had announced their intention to participate in the program.
NWIRP Executive Director Jorge Baron expressed the organization's opinion: “We believe that ‘Secure Communities’ will encourage racial profiling practices and further erode immigrant communities’ trust in local law enforcement agencies. As a consequence, victims, witnesses
and other immigrant community members will be reticent to approach local law enforcement.”
NWIRP also trains law students and pro bono attorneys through the Immigrant Family Advocacy Project at the University of Washington School of Law, and refers cases to them. NWIRP attorneys frequently instruct at a joint NWIRP/UW Immigration Law Clinic designed to serve low-income asylum seekers . NWIRP also refers some domestic violence cases to the Immigration Law Clinic at the Seattle University School of Law.
2009 Radio KSVR 91.7
2008 Jana Heyd
2007 Colors NW Magazine: Victoria Cherniak and the Newcomers Resource Project of the King County Bar Association
2006 Annie Benson: El Comite Pro Amnistia
2005 Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney: Jill Dutton
2004 Legal Foundation of Washington: The Sanctuary Movement: Dr. Richard Kovar
2003 Atieno Odhiambo: David Ayala
2002 Diane Narasaki: Nieves Negrete
2001 Guadalupe Gamboa: Roberta Ray
2000 KDNA Radio: Jay Stansell: Jennifer Wellman
1999 Bob & Gracie Ekblad and Vince Brown: Grance Huang & Rebecca Smith
2009 Matthew Geyman
2008 Williams Kastner
for its pro bono representation of low-income individuals seeking political asylum.
2007 Professor Anita Ramasastry and the Immigrant Families Advocacy Project of the University of Washington School of Law
2006 Bob Pauw and Bob Gibbs, Law Office of Gibbs Houston Pauw
2005 Cozen O' Connor
2004 Perkins Coie
History
Founded in 1984, the project was created to address the legal needs of Central AmericaCentral America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n refugees and others who were able to legalize their status under Amnesty programs.
NWIRP has grown significantly in scope and currently serves more than 10,000 low-income immigrants per year from more than 100 countries across Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Eastern
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Offices
NWIRP has four offices in Washington State. The Seattle Office serves the low-income immigrant communities in Western Washington. The Granger Office (in the Yakima Valley) and the Moses Lake Office, serve the low-income immigrant communities in Eastern Washington. The fourth office, located in Tacoma, focuses solely on serving the 1000 persons detained at the Northwest Detention CenterNorthwest Detention Center
Northwest Detention Center is a private immigration prison located on the tide flats of the Port of Tacoma in Tacoma, Washington, USA. The prison is operated by the GEO Group on behalf of the U.S...
(owned and operated by the GEO Group
GEO Group
The GEO Group, Inc. is a company headquartered in One Park Place, Boca Raton, Florida. GEO is a multi-national provider of governmental services specializing in the management of correctional, detention and mental health and residential treatment in North America, Australia, South Africa and the...
).
Areas of Practice
NWIRP provides direct representation to individuals who are applying for political asylum, family visas, lawful status under the Violence Against Women ActViolence Against Women Act
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 is a United States federal law. It was passed as Title IV, sec. 40001-40703 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, , and signed as by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994...
, and naturalization or citizenship. NWIRP also provides direct representation, defending individuals who are placed in removal proceedings
Removal proceedings
Removal proceedings are administrative proceedings to determine an individual's removability under United States immigration law. Removal proceedings are typically conducted in Immigration Court by an immigration judge....
(deportation proceedings). In addition, supported by a grant from the Executive Office for Immigration Review
Executive Office for Immigration Review
The Executive Office for Immigration Review is an office of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for adjudicating immigration cases in the United States. The EOIR oversees immigration courts in the United States through the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge...
of the U.S. Department of Justice, NWIRP provides legal orientation sessions to all persons detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, who are placed in removal proceedings.
Impact Litigation
Apart from representing individuals in administrative proceedings, NWIRP also provides direct representation before the federal district courts in Washington State and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. These are cases that are designed to affect large numbers of people and bring about meaningful social change through setting precedents. NWIRP has successfully represented individuals on several published decisions, including:In Bromfield v. Mukasey, a published decision that received widespread attention, the Court found through the record of proceedings that there is a pattern and practice of persecution against gay men in Jamaica. The EOIR also erred by failing to recognize that the Jamaican government not only acquiesces in the torture of gay men, but is also directly involved in such torture. The Court further clarified that even where a petitioner has been found removable based upon an aggravated felony the Court retains jurisdiction to review claims for withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture if the denial was based upon the merits of the claim.
In another far reaching case NWIRP teamed together with the ACLU of Washington State and the law firm of Stoel Rives
Stoel Rives
Stoel Rives LLP is a U.S. business law firm with 11 office locations in seven U.S. states. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon in the Standard Insurance Center, it is the 134th largest law firm in the United States, making it the largest law firm in the state of Oregon, and one of the largest in the...
in Seattle to file a class action challenge in the Western District of Washington challenging the government's failure to complete adjudication of hundreds of naturalization applicants who had already passed all the necessary exams and demonstrated that they had no disqualifying criminal records. In Roshandel v. Chertoff, the District Court certified the district wide class of applicants for naturalization whose applications had not been timely adjudicated after their interview, as a result of the agency’s failure to complete the namecheck. Similar litigation was pending throughout the country but this was the first class certified on this issue in the United States. The class covered over 450 applicants whose applications had been indefinitely placed on hold by the government. After the Court's order granting class certification Plaintiffs filed for summary judgment. The government then agreed to settle the case, a settlement which ensured that all applications would be adjudicated in time for the entire class to vote in the November 2008 elections.
Other published decisions include:
Chay Ixcot v. Holder, --F.3d--, (9th Cir. June 1, 2011). The Court ruled that the agency violated the law by trying to reinstate a prior deportation order rather than first completing adjudication of his pending application for political asylum. The Court ruled that applying the new reinstatement law that was enacted three years after he applied in order to deprive Mr. Chay Ixcot of the right to have his pending asylum application heard would have an unlawful retroactive effect at it “would impair rights a party possessed when he acted.”
Lopez-Birrueta v. Holder, 633 F.3d 1211(9th Cir. 2011). The Court found that the Immigration Judge and Board of Immigration Appeals erred in applying a restrictive interpretation of battery for purposes of establishing eligibility for cancellation of removal for victims of domestic violence. In this case, Ms. Lopez’ children had been beaten with a stick when they were two and three years old. Nonetheless, the Immigration Judge found that since there was no lasting injury it did not demonstrate a heightened level of violence necessary to qualify for relief for victims of domestic violence. The Court swept aside the agency’s determination clarifying that there is no requirement for a heightened level of violence. The court also rejected the government’s position that the immigration court could consider state-law definitions when determining what is required under this federal law. The Ninth Circuit concluded that the undisputed evidence of physical abuse that M.L.B.’s children suffered clearly met the standard necessary for protection under VAWA.
Franco-Gonzales v. Holder, -- F.Supp.2d --, 2010 WL 5874537 (C.D.Cal. Dec. 27, 2010) The Court granted preliminary injunction for named plaintiffs, finding as a matter of first impression that mentally incompetent plaintiffs were entitled to reasonable accommodation of appointment of counsel, under the Rehabilitation Act and also ruling that Plaintiffs were entitled to a custody hearing.
Cortez-Guillen v. Holder, 623 F.3d 933 (9th Cir. 2010). The Court ruled that the agency erred in ordering the petitioner removed. The Court reiterated that the agency is bound by the elements of the crime, even with regards to the realistic probability test. A such, the Alaskan coercion statute does not categorically qualify as aggravated felony crime of violence as it may encompass threats regarding unlawful conduct that are not violent crimes. The petitioner been a lawful permanent resident for almost thirty years.
Doissaint v. Mukasey: The Court ruled that the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) had erred in failing to address the Petitioner’s arguments as to eligibility for protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The Court also held that the BIA could not try to cure its own error by denying a motion to reopen by the petitioner;
Mandujano-Real v. Mukasey: The Court ruled that an identity theft conviction does not qualify as an aggravated felony theft conviction for immigration purposes because the elements of the identity theft statute encompass many forms of conduct that do not fall under the common law definition of theft. The Court also clarified that it was not appropriate to remand the case to the BIA where the BIA’s interpretation was not entitled to deference and the BIA had an opportunity to address the issues presented. Finally, the Court reconfirmed that the government may not rely upon an individual’s concession of removability that is incorrect as a legal matter;
Suazo-Perez v. Mukasey: The Court held that the Immigration Judge and Board of Immigration Appeals erred in finding that the petitioner’s misdemeanor conviction for assault constituted a crime of violence and thus rendered him deportable despite his lawful permanent resident status;
Hosseini v. Gonzales: The Court found that an applicant for relief who has been identified as a supporter of a counterrevolutionary group in Iran qualifies for relief under the Convention Against Torture even where the individual had not experienced past torture;
Hernandez-Guadarrama v. Ashcroft: In this case, the Court reaffirmed an often-ignored principle: that the government cannot use statements against non-citizens in removal proceedings without making a reasonable attempt to have the affiants available for cross-examination. This point is especially crucial where the government itself removed the affiants instead of making them available at the removal proceedings;
Cuevas-Gaspar v. Gonzales: The Court held that a conviction for burglary in the State of Washington does not categorically constitute a crime involving moral turpitude. In addition, the Court ruled the lawful admission and residence of the parents can be imputed to a minor child for purposes of qualifying for cancellation of removal;
Perez-Gonzalez v. Ashcroft: The Court found that certain individuals with prior deportation orders are nonetheless entitled to have their applications for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence along with the necessary waivers adjudicated before the government can moved to reinstate the prior order of removal. The Court held that notwithstanding the prior deportation or removal orders, such individuals are still eligible to become permanent residents. Before Perez-Gonzalez, the vast majority of these individuals were being summarily deported without a hearing and denied the opportunity to become permanent residents;
Garcia-Lopez v. Ashcroft: The Court ruled that, (1) prior offense of grand theft would not be considered misdemeanor under California statute providing that “wobbler” offense was to be treated as misdemeanor after judgment imposed punishment other than imprisonment in state prison, but (2) California court's declaration that such offense was misdemeanor was binding on BIA;
Castro-Cortez v. Ashcroft: The Court found that it had jurisdiction to directly review administrative reinstatement orders, and that the provision of Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) permitting INS to reinstate prior orders of removal did not apply retroactively.
Other Advocacy Work and Press
Support for LGBT IssuesIn June 2011, NWIRP joined immigration and gay rights organizations from around the country in signing Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender communities as well as people living with HIV/AIDS through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.Lambda's founder William J. Thom, Esq...
's letter to Secretary Janet Napolitano and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in urging the Department of Homeland Security to examine cases of abuse against LGBT people and people with HIV/AIDS in immigration detention. The letter also called for standardized guidelines and protocol for the treatment of LGBT people and people with HIV/AIDS while they are in detention, including assigning improper housing to transgender persons, not providing adequate medical treatment for those with HIV/AIDS, denying medications and hormone treatments to transgender persons, and allowing "rampant sexual, physical and mental abuse of LGBT detainees."
Denouncement of "Secure Communities" Program
NWIRP does not support the "Secure Communities
Secure Communities
Secure Communities is an American deportation program that relies on partnership among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement , the interior immigration enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security, is the program manager.John...
" Program, which would inject local law enforcement into immigration enforcement roles. As of June 2011, several Washington State counties had announced their intention to participate in the program.
NWIRP Executive Director Jorge Baron expressed the organization's opinion: “We believe that ‘Secure Communities’ will encourage racial profiling practices and further erode immigrant communities’ trust in local law enforcement agencies. As a consequence, victims, witnesses
and other immigrant community members will be reticent to approach local law enforcement.”
Partners
NWIRP is partnered with several other immigrant rights and law firms in Washington, including Volunteer Advocates for Immigrant Justice (VAIJ), American Immigrant Lawyer's Association (AILA), American Immigration Council (AIC) and the Law Offices of Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, LLP, and the Alliance for Equal Justice .NWIRP also trains law students and pro bono attorneys through the Immigrant Family Advocacy Project at the University of Washington School of Law, and refers cases to them. NWIRP attorneys frequently instruct at a joint NWIRP/UW Immigration Law Clinic designed to serve low-income asylum seekers . NWIRP also refers some domestic violence cases to the Immigration Law Clinic at the Seattle University School of Law.
Golden Door Award
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) presents the Golden Door Award to one organization or individual for their outstanding work promoting justice and dignity for immigrants and refugees. Nominees have often furthered the cause of immigrant and refugee rights on a national, state, or local level. Previous award recipients include:2009 Radio KSVR 91.7
2008 Jana Heyd
2007 Colors NW Magazine: Victoria Cherniak and the Newcomers Resource Project of the King County Bar Association
2006 Annie Benson: El Comite Pro Amnistia
2005 Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney: Jill Dutton
2004 Legal Foundation of Washington: The Sanctuary Movement: Dr. Richard Kovar
2003 Atieno Odhiambo: David Ayala
2002 Diane Narasaki: Nieves Negrete
2001 Guadalupe Gamboa: Roberta Ray
2000 KDNA Radio: Jay Stansell: Jennifer Wellman
1999 Bob & Gracie Ekblad and Vince Brown: Grance Huang & Rebecca Smith
Amicus Award
The annual Amicus Award recognizes a law firm that has "shown exceptional participation and dedication to the pro bono legal representation of immigrants and refugees." Previous award recipients include:2009 Matthew Geyman
2008 Williams Kastner
Williams Kastner
Williams Kastner is a law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The firm is ranked number 6 on the list of the Puget Sound area's largest law firms by the Puget Sound Business Journal. The law firm is ranked 5 out of 1,291 law firms on Martindale.com's Visibility Ranking for the Seattle area....
for its pro bono representation of low-income individuals seeking political asylum.
2007 Professor Anita Ramasastry and the Immigrant Families Advocacy Project of the University of Washington School of Law
2006 Bob Pauw and Bob Gibbs, Law Office of Gibbs Houston Pauw
2005 Cozen O' Connor
2004 Perkins Coie
Perkins Coie
Perkins Coie is an international law firm based in Seattle, Washington. It has been listed on the Fortune Magazine "100 Best Places to Work in America" for the past nine years. It is noted for its intellectual property, Labor and Employment, and Products Liability practice groups, and for its...