Immigrant Justice Network

The Immigrant Justice Network is a collaboration between the Immigrant Defense Project, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Just Futures Law, and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyer’s Guild (NIP/NLG). Guided by the vision of a society where all people receive fair and equal treatment under the law, we work together to to provide legal, technical, and messaging support to immigrant communities, legal practitioners, and all advocates seeking to advance the rights of noncitizens.

IJN’s chief goals are to protect the rights of immigrants accused of crimes within the criminal justice process, eliminate unjust and disproportionate immigration penalties for immigrants accused or convicted of crimes, and seek just immigration reform for all immigrants.

Current Work

IJN is fighting for just immigration and criminal justice reforms, including:

  • Ending disproportionate and retroactive double punishment for past convictions;
  • Securing a fair day in court for immigrants by restoring judicial discretion to consider deportation cases individually;
  • Terminating mass deportation programs, like the Criminal Alien Program, 287(g), and now the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP-COMM);
  • Ending mandatory detention and the detention bed quota under which Congress requires that 34,000 immigrants be held in ICE custody on any given day;
  • Fixing law enforcement policies and practices that encourage racial profiling and lead to the disproportionate criminalization of people of color;
  • Reforming sentencing policies that include immigrants;
  • Ensuring a broad and inclusive path to citizenship;
  • Expanding relief from deportation under DACA and eventually DAPA, so that the executive policies are as inclusive as possible

Successes

Since its founding in 2006, IJN has

  • Coordinated campaigns to end state involvement in mass deportation programs, such as Secure Communities. For example, we helped pass detainer discretion policies in localities across the country, including Santa Clara, District of Columbia, and New York City.
  • Created community resources to help others form, implement, and message their detainer campaigns;
  • Collaborated with allies to fight back against harmful provisions in legislation that would undermine due process and fairness for immigrants with criminal convictions;
  • Provided bill analyses and messaging assistance for lawmakers regarding provisions in prior federal reform legislation impacting immigrants accused or convicted of a crime;
  • Built support and power amongst groups aligned with our values but not always part of the larger immigration discussion, including defense organizations, prosecutors, judges, criminal and juvenile justice reform advocates, drug policy advocates, domestic violence organizations, and law enforcement officers.
  • Authored legal treatises and practice advisories for criminal and immigration attorneys, and coordinated litigation strategies involving the immigration consequences of crimes.

To learn more about Immigrant Justice Network, click here.