September 2024

New Virtual Waitlist; Volunteers Needed for USCIS Form i589 Help

View this email in your browser VAAP NEWSLETTER September 2024 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Greetings, friends of VAAP! Now staffed by four paid advocates and supported by dozens of volunteers statewide, VAAP is off to the races this fall.  On the education front, we joined Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) to present Continuing Legal Education to an audience of about 20 at the Vermont Bar Association’s Midyear Meeting. We'll continue to host monthly virtual legal case rounds for immigration law practitioners and to deliver trainings on request. We are adding to our roster monthly virtual service providers' Q&A with supervising attorney, Jill Martin Diaz, for any service providers seeking general information about the immigration legal system and how it interacts with other service systems. See you there! On the staffing front, our first-for-Vermont partnership with Immigrant Justice Corps (IJC) opened our intake of full-scope removal defense services for unaccompanied minors in VT. Since the migrant youth-focused 2022 VT Poverty Law Fellowship concluded this summer, VAAP is the state's only legal service provider working to ensure VT immigrant youth's universal access to counsel in removal proceedings.  On the advocacy front, a coalition is forming for the establishment of an "Office for New Americans" equivalent in Vermont for the purpose of centralizing, and thereby maximizing, legal and social service coordination. An initial meeting of about 35 Vermont service providers reached consensus that centralized coordination will safeguard scarce resources for actual  service delivery and subsequently make our services more equitably accessible to more people in need. Speaking of which... On the services front, even with our recent growth, the increasing demand for our services continues to exponentially outpace what we can responsibly supply. After delivering two "Walk-In Wednesday" intake pilot days, we are suspending the pilot for the rest of the year. Instead, we are moving to a web-based waitlist for callbacks which will be more sustainable for our resource-constrained team but hopefully still reasonably accessible to the communities we serve. We will be contacting our amazing volunteers who already signed up to help us on November and December "Walk-In Wednesdays" to offer alternatives.  Read on for details! Thank you for being part of our mission. As always, we’re here to collaborate, support, and advocate for Vermont’s immigrant communities. PARTNER SPOTLIGHT VAAP and CASP Staff Presenting Immigration Law Intersections at the VBA Midyear                                                                            On September 27th, VAAP joined the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) to present at the VBA's Midyear Meeting. CASP is one of a network of Vermont organizations coordinating shelter, food, and support services to area asylum seekers as they navigate the complex U.S. immigration system. CASP support services are vitally important for individuals at the beginning of their immigration journeys, who lack work authorization, photo identification, Social Security numbers, or any other documents necessary for self-sufficiency in society. In a 90-minute presentation, CASP Executive Director Liv Berelson and VAAP team members Marnie Avila Alvarez and Emma Matters-Wood addressed the intersections between immigration law and other Vermont laws and shared practice pointers for navigating ethical and resource limitations in legal practice across Vermont and New England. Our main goal was to equip attendees with the tools to confidently represent noncitizen clients in their respective areas of practice and encourage volunteering with VAAP. View our slide deck here!                                                 Immigrant Justice Corps Mandate Widens Our Legal Service Provision   With the arrival of Vermont's first Immigrant Justice Corps (IJC) Fellows, Emma Matters-Wood and Cameron Briggs Ramos, VAAP is excited to expand its legal services offerings to include in-house, full-scope immigration representation. In particular, IJC Fellows' caseloads will focus on serving unaccompanied minors in removal proceedings. Unaccompanied minors face heightened barriers to accessing proceedings and asserting  claims and defenses. Like adults in removal proceedings, unaccompanied minors face lengthy and challenging legal battle but in their case without critical family or other age-appropriate supports. With Emma and Cameron’s arrival, we are better equipped to help these young individuals pursue legal pathways to safety and stability, offering them a fair chance at building a future in Vermont. We are applying to host additional IJC Fellows for the 2025-27 fellowship cycle and look forward to reporting back! FACT CHECK              As the unmet needs of Vermont’s immigrant populations continue to grow, the establishment of an Office of New Americans (ONA) equivalent is becoming increasingly urgent to ensure the responsible, sustainable, and cost effective delivery of services by government and nongovernment agencies. Centralized coordination to maximize service impacts is especially urgent as we confront a possible second Trump Administration. Accordingly, a coalition of stakeholders is forming to advocate for such an office to centralize coordination, maximize impacts of expert service delivery, and offer immigrants a clear point of contact for accessing services. As 20-or-so other jurisdictions have already found, including New York, California, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maine, and Washington, ONA equivalents eliminate duplicative intake systems across providers, reduce service gaps as organizations cross-refer, allow for more meaningful demographic data collection, and better position service sectors to access desperately-needed federal and private resources. In sum, expanding our state partners' internal coordination with each other, as well as our external collaboration with the national Office of New Americans State Network, would allow Vermont to better address the complex needs of its growing immigrant communities.              Focusing on the legal services sector that VAAP champions, coordinated intake would conserve attorney resources so we can do what we do best: assist noncitizens to invoke immigration legal claims and defenses that enable their full and safe participation in the regulated economy; protect noncitizens from harmful and wasteful enforcement and removal proceedings; and ensures an inclusive and prosperous future Vermont for all not withstanding Vermont's critical workforce and working age taxpayer shortages. Recall that a work authorized social security number is the necessary precursor to proving your identity with public institutions, working, opening a bank account, obtaining a REAL ID needed to travel safely between states, securing financing to own a home, run a business, or access public financial aid, and more. Work authorization is not an independent immigration benefit one can apply for and is only available incident to some other claim or defense you have filed, normally with the assistance of an attorney. Our client communities are navigating election-fueled anti-immigrant hate and fearmongering, and an associated explosion of immigration legal needs to unlock access to basic resources like food, shelter, and healthcare. We are struggling to educate the public on the full scope of these unmet needs, let alone to address them in culturally responsive, accessible, and meaningful ways. For these reasons, we also hope that an ONA equivalent will help us document a fuller and more accurate picture of unmet immigration service needs in Vermont, such as what's left out of the following Seven Days cartoon by Tim Newcomb (2024). The cartoon depicts two female-presenting immigrants wearing hijabs in "refugee" status, presumably Afghan women, celebrating their lived experience of more civil and political rights since coming to Vermont. It is unclear what, if any, role the subjects of this image played in its production.            VAAP constituents and staff with lived experience express feelings of disrespect, infantilization, and minimization upon seeing this image. Furthermore, from our perspective as legal service coordinators, what the cartoon leaves out is the often-fruitless trauma that most humanitarian status-seeking immigrants experience seeking counsel to assert viable immigration legal claims for status and associated work authorization, just to be able to access fundamental social and economic needs like food, housing, employment/income, and healthcare. Federal policy ensured that Afghan evacuees, in particular, had historically unmatched access to legal services and interim resettlement supports and, still, this population struggled to enjoy due process of immigration law and access basic needs. Indeed, the resettlement experience of the vast majority of Vermont's noncitizens, who come from dozens of countries worldwide, looks starkly different than what is summarily depicted here. An ONA equivalent for Vermont would not be a panacea, but at least a means for evidence-based progress toward more equitable and inclusive immigration services and public awareness for all. Feeling impassioned? Get in touch to join our growing coalition. We are stronger together! REQUESTING HELP We are once again adapting intake methods to respond to evolving needs!   In September and October, we piloted a "Walk-in Wednesdays" intake system wherein our growing volunteer base helped us to make intake more immediately accessible to the community. It’s been heartening to see more than 20 families and community members access legal advice by walking in or calling in during these no-appointment intake days. However, at October's clinic, we reached capacity with just one hour of opening our doors and phone lines. We subsequently disappointed many individuals who took time off of work to visit us later in the day seeking help. For the impact we had on clients and service providers alike, we apologize sincerely. Going forward, in an effort to manage intake in a way that more effectively balances clients' accessibility needs with our small team's resource limitations, we have suspended the pilot and reverted back to an improved internet-based intake system.  Effective immediately, please use the QR code linked above and/or this Request Immigration Legal Help Form to join our confidential callback waitlist. As detailed on our website, we will use the contact information provided in form responses to return calls for help in the order in which we receive them OR in order of apparent legal urgency, all pursuant to capacity limitations. Thanks for your patience as we learn by doing and help build sustainable immigration legal services for Vermont! VOLUNTEERING       We are once again pivoting volunteer models, too! THANK YOU to legal advocates who already volunteered for an upcoming "walk-in Wednesday" limited assistance clinic this fall. We will be reaching out to you shortly to propose a remote-based workflow for providing VAAP clients with asylum application assistance on your scheduled days.   For legal advocates who are interested in volunteering, the need has never been more urgent! Partners at Migrant Justice alone report over 30 asylum seeking members who will reach their one year filing deadline by January 2025, with dozens of other members hoping to file their claims before a potential Trump inauguration. Burlington's Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) and the Family Room report similarly pressing needs among their service populations. We need volunteers to help with the expeditious preparation and filing of preliminary or "skeletal" asylum applications on USCIS Form I-589. Any legal professionals, not just lawyers, are welcome to assist. We will ask you to review and sign our mentorship and confidentiality agreements, complete about 1.5 hours of virtual training, and then sign up for at least one 3-hour application assistance shift to be completed virtually or in person.    These discreet volunteer shifts are a great opportunity to learn or fine-tune asylum law and practice skills and to help us advance VAAP’s mission. We’ll coordinate all logistics and provide you with training, resources, interpreters, supervision, and practice insurance. No experience or multilingual language skills necessary - just a willingness to learn and meet potential clients where they are at! Contact us to express your no-obligation interest and learn more. Whether you're completing your first-year attorney mentorship licensing requirements, planning your retirement projects, interested in skilling up, or interested in giving back, VAAP is here for you! SAVE THESE DATES Tuesday, October 15: VAAP hosts inaugural virtual immigration Q&A for VT immigrant non-legal service providers.  Tuesday, October 29: VAAP hosts virtual immigration case rounds for VT lawyers and legal workers.  Tuesday, November 19: VAAP hosts virtual immigration Q&A for VT immigrant non-legal service providers.  Tuesday, November 26: VAAP hosts immigration case rounds for VT lawyers and legal workers.  Tuesday, December 17: VAAP hosts virtual immigration Q&A for VT immigrant non-legal service providers.  We'll share rolling updates through our blog, calendar, newsletters, and social media. Follow along and encourage potential clients and partners to do the same. You can also contact VAAP to express no-obligation interest in volunteering anytime. CONNECTING CULTURES' CORNER Updates from our partners at Connecting Cultures   As we announced last month, we’re excited to begin sharing VAAP newsletter and blog space with our multidisciplinary partners at Connecting Cultures, with whom VAAP collaborates closely to provide culturally relevant and trauma-informed asylum seeker resettlement services. This round of Connecting Cultures' Corner, we spotlight: Addiction Policy Forum multilingual resources & Insight Collaborative's humanitarian wellness resources. A country profile on the Democratic Republic of Congo. A clinician profile of Rosalie Wright-Lapin. Upcoming events, and more! We are grateful to Connecting Cultures (formally known as New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma or NESTT) for paving the way for VAAP to exist and supporting us with funding to deliver legal services and community education. Check out our blog to learn more! THANK YOU FROM OUR TEAM   From our humble beginnings as a volunteer-led effort to today's paid staff of four, the VAAP staff and VAAP board extend our heartfelt thanks for making our mission a reality! Donate to VAAP   Vermont Asylum Assistance Project  P.O. Box 814, Elmwood Ave, Burlington, VT 05402 802-999-5654 ‖ info@vaapvt.org ‖ www.vaapvt.org Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

July/August 2024

Seeking Volunteers and Welcoming Clients for Fall Intake and Legal Help Clinics

View this email in your browser VAAP NEWSLETTER JULY & AUGUST 2024 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Greetings, friends of Vermont Asylum Assistance Project! We have lots to celebrate from summer and as much to forecast for fall, and we owe it all to our amazing community partners. After an outrageously productive summer, we bid farewell to our incredible inaugural summer intern class. Julia, Phebe, Jake, Isaiah: THANK YOU for making all of this summer's services, outreach, and advocacy possible for Vermont's immigrant communities.  We also partnered with Downs Rachlin Martin to deliver our first firm-based asylum filing clinic. To the DRM attorneys, support staff, and summer associates who volunteered a summer Friday to serve 19 asylum seekers with VAAP's support: THANK YOU for making these asylum seekers 150% more likely to prevail in their claims with just one day of volunteer service. We also welcomed two fantastic new directors to our board, as well as Vermont's first ever Immigrant Justice Corps Fellows to our staff. Trudy, Aisa, Cam, Emma: THANK YOU for joining the VAAP team and for all you do to advance migrant justice! This fall, we are piloting "Walk-in Wednesdays" when we'll dedicate one Wednesday per month to receiving new intake requests by phone, email, social media, and in person. We will also dedicate one additional Wednesday per month to scheduling eligible asylum seekers for an appointment with a volunteer advocate to fill out an initial asylum application for filing. We'll continue to host monthly virtual case rounds for any and all interested immigration practitioners, and are available to deliver trainings and explore partnerships on request. Read on for more! Community Outreach   On July 13th, VAAP was fortunate to participate in the annual Migrant Justice Torneo de Fútbol, a vibrant community event that brings together migrant workers and their families for a day of soccer, solidarity, good food, and celebration. The event, held at Leddy Park, Burlington was not just about soccer—it was a chance to strengthen ties within the community, build new relationships, and reaffirm our commitment to standing with Vermont's migrant population. Our team had the opportunity to connect with attendees, share information about our services, and support the efforts of Migrant Justice in advocating for the rights of migrant workers. We set up a makeshift booth alongside Pinetree Legal Assistance's Farmworker Unit where we provided resources on asylum assistance, legal support, and community programs available to migrants in the state. A big shout out to Migrant Justice for organizing such an impactful event and look forward to continued collaboration in the future. Echoing thanks to Vermont Afghan Alliance for welcoming VAAP to its panel of legal rights educators at their highly successful inaugural know your rights training on July 12th. We invite all community partners to please keep VAAP in mind for future similar community outreach and education opportunities! Inaugural Firm-Based Clinic at Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC   On July 26th, VAAP partnered with Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC to deliver our first firm-based attorney-for-a-day clinic to outrageous results. Thanks to intrepid DRM organizers, advocates, and volunteers, we were able to help nine families comprising 19 individuals to prepare and file their asylum applications in immigration court. VAAP provided training, case screening, file preparation, and logistics and supervision support on the day. The DRM team brought their professionalism and dedication, making sure each family got the support they needed to set their asylum claims up for success. We’re incredibly grateful for DRM's willingness to pilot a new service model with us, and look forward to future work with them and, hopefully, other local firms to deliver similarly impactful attorney-for-the-day events. NEW FACES             Emma and Cam are VT's First Immigrant Justice Corps Legal Fellows!   We’re thrilled to announce first-for-Vermont partnership with the nationally competitive Immigrant Justice Corps (IJC), and extend a heartfelt welcome to legal advocates Emma Matters-Wood and Cameron Briggs Ramos. Emma and Cam will focus on representing unaccompanied minors in removal proceedings, given the special barriers this population faces to asserting and prevailing in their legal claims. Their arrival marks a new chapter in VAAP's mission as we expand into full-scope immigration legal representation for the first time. We look forward to celebrating their impactful work with Vermont's youngest humanitarian status seekers. Welcome, Emma Matters-Wood and Cameron Briggs Ramos!       Trudy and Aisa Joined the VAAP Board!   We’re also thrilled to welcome Gertrude "Trudy" Namubiru and Aisatou "Aisa" Diallo to our board of directors. Gertrude is a mother who immigrated to the USA in 2018 and settled in Vermont. With the help of law student clinicians at Vermont Law and Graduate School, the Chittenden Asylum Seekers Assistance Network (CASAN), and the community, her case was approved by a Boston Immigration Court Judge in  2022 amidst  so many challenges. As a highly trained finance professional, she worked with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) for several years before joining the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, called to both nonprofits' missions of helping improve the lives of local community members. Gertrude loves Vermont and to her, this is a home away from home. Aisa is a licensed attorney practicing in New York and Georgia. As a principal of Diallo Law, she actualizes her deep-seated passion for immigration law representing individuals held in detention facilities and those facing immigration detainers across the United States. Raised in The Bronx by Guinean parents, she witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by immigrant communities, which fueled her determination to make a difference in this field. Thank you, Trudy and Aisa, for bringing your passion and expertise to VAAP's leadership team! FACT CHECK Vermont Takes the Stage in National Border Discourse   Election season and "border brain" have put a media spotlight on immigration issues in Vermont. Like many of our partners, VAAP hopes to capitalize on this opportunity to build awareness of Vermont's longtime barriers to migrant justice and leverage awareness for systems change. For example, we recently sat down with NBC5 In Depth and Ali's Corner on Town Meeting TV to challenge the notion that immigration injustice is a new issue. On NBC5 In Depth, summer legal intern Isaiah Gonzales spoke passionately about the immense challenges individuals face while navigating the complex asylum process, including lengthy wait times, legal complexity, and language barriers. Together with executive director Jill Martin Diaz, he highlighted how increased investment in border militarization and enforcement distracts from the overwhelming, preexisting need for safer border processing and speedier adjudications. There are already 1.6 million asylum seekers living in limbo waiting for their opportunity to be heard. Rather than drawing increased investment in access to counsel and opportunities to be heard, "border brain" instead piles onto the backlog and exacerbates fear and danger in our immigrant communities. As a descendant of immigrants, Isaiah expressed how much it meant to him to provide culturally relevant, language accessible representation to VAAP's clients. He emphasized that our work aims to “ensure that those fleeing persecution have access to fair and timely legal processes, ultimately helping them find safety and build new lives in the United States.”   Despite the false dichotomy between the “right" pathways and the so-called "illegal" pathways to presence in the United States, VAAP stresses what Congress makes clear in INA § 208: there is no wrong way to seek asylum. VAAP is closely monitoring the Biden Administration's rapidly evolving changes to border processing and parole-in-place, and will be publishing analysis and sharing resources on our blog in the coming months.  PARTNER SPOTLIGHT Outgoing Vermont Poverty Law Fellow Publishes a Roadmap for VAAP VAAP also bid farewell to the incredible Vermont Poverty Law Fellow 2022-24, Maya Tsukazaki, Esq., who completed her immigration-focused fellowship at Vermont Law and Graduate School's Center for Justice Reform Clinic last month. As a parting gift, Maya published a final report outlining her powerful vision for the future of immigration justice in Vermont. Her recommendations include joining the national movement toward universal representation; streamlining immigration intake processes statewide; supporting volunteer networks with state-funded services; and pursuing legislative reforms to strengthen legal protections for noncitizens. We thank Maya for her trailblazing work and look forward to carrying her vision forward. INTRODUCING: Connecting Cultures' Corner   We’re excited to begin sharing VAAP newsletter and blog space with our multidisciplinary partners at Connecting Cultures, with whom VAAP collaborates closely to provide culturally relevant and trauma-informed asylum seeker resettlement services. This round of Connecting Cultures' Corner, we spotlight: Videos by the Vermont Language Justice Project about free meals, voting, flood relief, and more. A country profile on Nepal. A clinician profile of Richard Norton. Upcoming trainings and events, and more! We are grateful to Connecting Cultures (formally known as New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma or NESTT) for paving the way for VAAP to exist and supporting us with funding to deliver legal services and community education. Check out our blog to learn more! SAVE THESE DATES ATTENTION, potential clients and potential volunteers: intake is OPEN! On select Wednesdays this fall, VAAP will mobilize volunteer advocates to help us respond to new requests for legal help and to assist asylum seekers with preparing and filing their initial application forms.  Potential clients with immigration legal questions can contact us between the hours of 11am and 5:30pm on select Wednesdays by calling, texting, emailing, WhatsApp, or social media messaging - or by visiting us in person in at our Burlington Office. During Walk-In Wednesday events we will speak to potential clients on a first come, first served basis. As VAAP continues to work on generating resources to professionalize our office administration, note that Walk-in Wednesdays will be the only way to request VAAP's legal help this fall. We are unfortunately unable to respond to requests at other times. Help us spread the word! Potential volunteers who are interested in getting involved, thank you! We seek volunteer lawyers and legal advocates who are willing to complete about 1.5 hours of virtual training followed by at least one 3-hour shift during any upcoming intake or application assistance events. Shifts can be completed virtually or in person, with a preference for in person. Please check out these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to learn more, request access to our insiders-only resource SharePoint to familiarize yourself with asylum law and practice, and express your no-obligation interest in volunteering today.  TL;DR: Save these dates! Wednesday, September 11: Walk-In Wednesday intake day, as above. **Legal volunteers needed! Tuesday, September 24: VAAP hosts virtual immigration case rounds for VT lawyers and legal workers.  Wednesday, September 25: Appointment-only asylum application filing clinic. **Legal volunteers needed! Friday, September 27: VAAP presents a CLE in person at the Vermont Bar Association's annual meeting at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, VT. Wednesday, October 2: Walk-In Wednesday. As above. **Legal volunteers needed! Wednesday, October 16: Appointment-only asylum application filing clinic. **Legal volunteers needed! Tuesday, October 29: VAAP hosts virtual immigration case rounds for VT lawyers and legal workers.  Wednesday, November 6: Walk-In Wednesday. As above. **Legal volunteers needed! Wednesday, November 20: Appointment-only asylum application filing clinic. **Legal volunteers needed! Tuesday, November 26: VAAP hosts immigration case rounds for VT lawyers and legal workers.  Wednesday, December 4: Walk-In Wednesday. As above. **Legal volunteers needed! Wednesday, December 18: Appointment-only asylum application filing clinic. **Legal volunteers needed! We'll share rolling updates through our blog, calendar, newsletters, and social media. Follow along and encourage potential clients and partners to do the same. You can also contact VAAP to express your no-obligation interest in volunteering. VOLUNTEERING Once again, for the folks sitting in the back: potential volunteers who are interested in getting involved, THANK YOU! VAAP seeks volunteer lawyers and legal workers who are willing to complete about 1.5 hours of virtual training followed by at least one 3-hour virtual or in person shift during any upcoming intake or application assistance events.                    These discreet volunteer shifts are a great opportunity to learn or fine-tune asylum law and practice skills and to help us advance VAAP’s mission. We’ll coordinate all logistics and provide you with training, resources, interpreters, supervision, practice insurance, and snacks! No experience or multilingual language skills necessary - just a willingness to learn and meet potential clients where they are at! Contact us to express your no-obligation interest and learn more.                             Whether you're completing your first-year attorney mentorship licensing requirements, planning your retirement projects, interested in skilling up, or interested in giving back, VAAP is here for you! THANK YOU FROM OUR TEAM   From our humble beginnings as a volunteer-led effort to today's paid staff of four, the VAAP staff and VAAP board extend our heartfelt thanks for making our mission a reality! Donate to VAAP   Vermont Asylum Assistance Project  P.O. Box 814, Elmwood Ave, Burlington, VT 05402 802-999-5654 ‖ info@vaapvt.org ‖ www.vaapvt.org Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

June 2024

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View this email in your browser VAAP NEWSLETTER JUNE 2024 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Greetings, friends of Vermont Asylum Assistance Project! VAAP staff are benefitting from the tremendous contributions of our wonderful summer intern team, so we have lots of great work to celebrate from the month of June. Most notably, we served 19 asylum seekers during VAAP's first in-person legal help clinic! As a result, we helped over a dozen families assert their claims and begin accruing time toward work authorization. Check out our growing blog and social media for details! Sharing endless thanks to the staff and interns of VAAP, Migrant Justice, and Vermont Law and Graduate School's Center for Justice Reform Clinic for behind-the-scenes work that made the event such a well-organized success. Special thanks to volunteer advocates Kate Paarlberg-Kvam, Faith Orr, Hillary Rich, Kristen Connors, Kira Botting, Lescha Carpenter, Jayvana Perez, Catalina Londono, Raul Muniz, Isaiah Gonzales, Jake Goodwin, Ryan Busse, Colleen McGovern, Kate Chandley, for providing clinic clients with such caring and quality service.  What's more, the very next day we awoke to co-deliver a first-for-Vermont asylum seeker support symposium to over 400 people in person and online! Here's how to access symposium materials: Stream the recording here. Please help us share widely! Watch WCAX coverage here.  Read about the event here and here. Request proof of attendance here. Note we are still working on obtaining CLE credit and will share an update in the July/August newsletter.  We're so grateful to all our presenters, attendees, organizers, and volunteers who made the event such a great success. We're especially thankful to the Vermont Poverty Law Fellow Maya Tsukazaki for making this her capstone fellowship project, and to the Vermont Asylum Support Network for trusting VAAP to help bring your vision to fruition. We are in talks with Connecting Cultures/New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma to reprise the event together in Burlington next year. Stay tuned! We're reflecting on what we learned over the course of our June programming to refine our service offerings and volunteer needs for the second half of the year. Read on for important updates and don't forget to review our website periodically for rolling updates on how we're carrying out our mission, what we're accomplishing, events we're scheduling, or to review past newsletters. FACT CHECK! Know Your Rights! VAAP is working on building our public-facing resource page. Meanwhile, we recommend immi.org as a reliable and bilingual source of Know Your Rights information, including information about what to expect during immigration court proceedings and how to assess yourself for the most common pathways to regularized immigration status. Last week, the Biden Administration extended Temporary Protected Status for Haitians through February 2026. Qualifying Haitians with TPS can visit USCIS to reregister. Also last week, former Burlington City Councilmember Ali Dieng hosted VAAP on his CCTV show, Ali's Corner to digest Biden's enacted and proposed changes to asylum seeking and adjudication and expanded family-based immigration pathways.  Despite the Biden changes, migrants continue to seek asylum at the U.S./Mexico border. This reporting is consistent with research data that tougher border policies do not achieve their stated purpose of reducing displaced peoples' need or practice of asylum seeking.  Meanwhile, Canada is piloting an interesting "Airbnb for refugees" emergency housing model that appears eerily similar to the one brainstormed during the symposium's case management workshop! "Operating like a non-profit version of Airbnb, an online home-sharing platform has been launched in the face of Canada’s housing crisis, addressing the needs of at least one particularly vulnerable group. The new tool by Refugee Housing Canada [go to this link for details...] matches asylum seekers in need of safe, secure accommodation with Canadian hosts who are willing to open their home and offer their spare rooms at an affordable rent..." REQUESTING HELP After working through our winter/spring waitlist and responding to dozens of new calls for legal help, VAAP's intake is now closed for the summer. Due to limited staffing, we are unable to responsibly manage a waitlist at this time. This means that, unfortunately, we will be unable to respond to any new help requests from now until September, besides what we have already committed to doing before this week. Intake will reopen in September 2024 when we will be piloting "Walk-in Wednesdays" as the only means of requesting VAAP's legal help. This means we will be supporting volunteers to welcome interested noncitizens to walk-in or call-in on specific days of the month to request legal help. Legal advocates, language access, and legal support volunteers will be on hand to assist with completing legal screenings, collecting all necessary client data, and offering brief advice and referrals as appropriate. We will be supplementing Walk-in Wednesdays with tabling efforts at select community events (such as the recent Mobile Mexican Consulate in Montpelier and the upcoming Migrant Justice Torneo de Futbol). If we identify during a "walk-in" intake clinic or tabling effort that VAAP is the appropriate provider to provide a person with immigration legal help, we will refer them to one of our by-appointment legal help clinics. There, VAAP advocates will help the person to prepare and/or review their immigration application forms for filing, with language access coordinated by VAAP. Otherwise we will orient folks to the legal system and their options, share resources, and make referrals.  All of this means we will not be registering or responding to referrals by email or voicemail going forward, except to inform referral makers/requestors of the upcoming Walk-in Wednesdays, and other intake clinics and tabling events, as the appropriate time to register the referral/request.  We will be sharing more information about "Walk-in Wednesdays" soon, but for now, potential clients, partners, and pro bonos can save the following dates as times when we'll be accepting walk-in and call-in requests for legal help: September 11, October 2, November 6, and December 4. No appointments necessary. We will be sharing rolling updates on our website blog, our calendar, our newsletters, and our social media. Follow those channels, encourage potential clients to do the same, and contact VAAP to express your no-obligation interest in volunteering at one of the clinic events! VOLUNTEERING We hope that all of our amazing volunteers save those dates, too, because we need you! If you are a lawyer or legal worker and you're interested in volunteering your time by providing an asylum seeker with free legal help but you're not quite sure where to start, check out our latest updates to our Volunteer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and email us for access to our pro bono email list serv and insiders-only Resource SharePoint. Not ready to take a case for full representation without some practice experience under your belt, or simply limited on time? Start by volunteering as an attorney-for-a-day at one of our upcoming pro se assistance clinics. The next one is July 13th at the Migrant Justice Torneo de Futbol. We'll be training and supervising pro bono advocates to assist walk-up Torneo participants with legal information, orientation, and referral making. We'll handle the language access, you just RSVP. Refreshments will be served! TL;DR: Don't wait to express your no-obligation interest in volunteering as attorney-for-a-day at one of our upcoming tabling events or legal clinics, or your interest in a deeper volunteer experience representing an asylum seeker from intake through to their merits hearing. Whether you're completing your first-year attorney mentorship licensing requirements, planning your retirement projects, interested in skilling up, or interested in giving back, VAAP its here to support you along the way.  PARTNER SPOTLIGHT Migrant Justice works to build the voice, capacity, and power of the farmworker community and engage community partners to organize for economic justice and human rights. Through community-building and collective bargaining, they contract farmer-employers and distributors to produce milk with dignity; disentangle local safety systems from federal immigration law enforcement to end "polimigra" practices; secure equitable higher education access regardless of immigration status; assist workers to defend against deportation; secure equitable Covid-19 stimulus relief and safe access to Vermont driver privilege cards; and much, much more. Numbering among the many incredible solidarity services Migrant Justice offers their members, staff regularly screen and refer members seeking immigration legal help to VAAP and our legal service partners. They also provide unrepresented members with highly skilled case support. Migrant Justice has welcomed VAAP to table at their signature summer event, a soccer tournament on Saturday, July 14, 2024 at Burlington's Leddy Park. Tabling will involve sharing outreach materials, fielding general questions, orienting people to the immigration system, and information gathering for eligible prospective clients. If you are interested in supporting our tabling effort for some or all of the July 13th Torneo, please email us to express your no-obligation interest. We need your help! Training and malpractice insurance provided! SAVE THE DATES Saturday, July 13: VAAP and volunteers will be tabling at Migrant Justice's Torneo de Futbol and offering walk-up individuals with legal orientation, brief advice, and referrals. Training, insurance, and refreshments always provided! Tuesday, July 30: Last Tuesday of each month, besides August and December, VAAP hosts virtual immigration legal case rounds for lawyers and legal workers to discuss law, policy, and practice questions and support each other. All are welcome! Wednesday, September 11: Walk-In Wednesday. VAAP and volunteers will be welcoming noncitizen Vermonters to call-in, or walk-in to VAAP's Burlington office, for legal orientation, brief advice, intake, and referrals. Tuesday, September 24: VAAP hosts immigration case rounds for lawyers and legal workers.  Friday, September 27: VAAP presenting at Vermont Bar Association's annual meeting at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, VT. Wednesday, October 2: Walk-In Wednesday. As above. Tuesday, October 29: VAAP hosts immigration case rounds for lawyers and legal workers.  Wednesday, November 6: Walk-In Wednesday. As above. Tuesday, November 26: VAAP hosts immigration case rounds for lawyers and legal workers.  Wednesday, December 4: Walk-In Wednesday. As above. Follow the VAAP calendar for more events as they unfold! Donate to VAAP THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! -The VAAP Team MEET OUR TEAM Jill Martin Diaz (they/them), elle), Executive Director is VAAP's supervising attorney and first full-time paid staff. They come to VAAP from Vermont Law and Graduate School where they taught doctrinal and clinical immigration law and directed the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. Previously, Jill practiced as a Vermont Poverty Law Fellow at Vermont Legal Aid and an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at Sanctuary for Families New York. The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association recognized Jill’s achievements by honoring them as one of 2023’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40. They speak English and Spanish and are licensed to practice in New York, Vermont, and the District of Vermont. Marnie Avila Alvarez (she/her, ella), Paralegal Advocate/Program Coordinator, is a Cuban lawyer who is pursuing Vermont Law Office Study at VAAP. In 2014, she earned her law degree magna cum laude from the Havana University Faculty of Law and in 2023 completed her LLM as a Global Energy Fellow at Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment. Before VAAP Marnie's legal work focused on renewable energy projects, regulatory compliance, and environmental law. Since coming to the U.S., she gained experience handling immigration cases, providing support to individuals navigating the immigration system, and advocating for fair and just immigration policies. In 2022, Marnie co-founded Alviera Group LLC, which assists immigrants to establish themselves legally, economically, and socially in the United States, while supporting clean energy access and energy efficiency solutions for the immigrant community. Marnie serves as adjunct faculty at VLGS, teaching their Global Sustainability Field Class in Cuba every year. Becky Wasserman (she/her), Board Member is an attorney and the Director of Economic Empowerment at the Office of the State Treasurer. Becky started working with asylum seekers more than ten years ago through her law school’s immigration clinic. Since then she has worked in a pro bono capacity on a number of immigration matters, including volunteering at the southern border in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, she co-founded the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Kate Paarlberg-Kvam and community partners. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they), Board Member is the Executive Director of the Milk With Dignity Standards Council. She has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro, VT. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Board Member is the Director of Finance at Evernorth and lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Board Member is Burlington Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak's Chief of Staff. Previously she worked as Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, and before that she was a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School. There, she served as the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Faith Orr (she/her), Board Member is a third-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar.   Vermont Asylum Assistance Project  P.O. Box 814, Elmwood Ave, Burlington, VT 05402 802-999-5654 ‖ info@vaapvt.org ‖ www.vaapvt.org Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

May 2024

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View this email in your browser VAAP NEWSLETTER MAY 2024 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Greetings, friends of Vermont Asylum Assistance Project! We have so many exciting developments to report from May. Chief among them, VAAP's staff has DOUBLED in size as we welcomed the inimitable Marnie Avila Alvarez, LLM (she/her/ella) to our team and then, with her help, oriented four superstar interns to spend 10 weeks supporting VAAP this summer. More on our growing staff below, and more on our fabulous intern team in our June newsletter. Stay tuned! We also hosted a handful of advocates at our second monthly case rounds on Zoom; scheduled three self-help clinics for dozens of unrepresented asylum seekers seeking help from an attorney-for-a-day; placed two emergency-file and two more LGBTQ+ asylum seekers with advocates for full pro bono representation; spoke at South Burlington High School's Law Day and at University of Vermont's new interdisciplinary immigration justice program; marched alongside Migrant Justice on May Day in solidarity with Milk with Dignity; and finalized plans for a first-for-Vermont public education symposium, flyer below. The June 14th "Welcoming New Americans" Symposium is FREE and HYBRID online/in-person and OPEN TO ALL. Please JOIN US and bring your friends, neighbors, and organizations! Download the flyer here.   We're keeping plenty busy here at VAAP in part to stave off the heaviness of bearing witness to global genocides that force migration, overlayed with the anti-immigrant vitriol of the accelerating U.S. presidential election. Counter-balancing misinformation about asylum seeking in the U.S., and helping noncitizen survivors of foreign torture and trauma to retell their stories and secure asylum here in VT, are the core of our legal work here at VAAP.  We appreciate what an exceedingly difficult time this is in our shared history, and we encourage our supporters to not only give what you can, but to also take what you need. How can VAAP support you during this time? At a minimum, VAAP is here to help you think globally while acting locally, and to share in the group project of making Vermont a more welcoming, equitable, and inclusive place for our most diverse community members.  Read on for more VAAP news including upcoming training opportunities, invitations to volunteer as attorney-for-a-day, a partner organization feature, staff highlights, fact checks, and more. Visit our website for rolling updates on how we're carrying out our mission and what we're accomplishing, events we're scheduling, or to review past newsletters. FACT CHECK! We offer thanks to the lawmakers and organizers who made the 2024 Vermont Legislative Session such a productive one for advancing immigrants' rights. Visit our website for a complete rundown of all local immigration-related law and policy developments that stand to improve the lived experience of Vermont noncitizens, regardless of where they stand on their immigration legal journey. We are fortunate to live in a state that leads the nation in advancing immigrants' rights, especially at a time when many other states are remaining silent in the face of an intractably harmful federal system or, worst of all, affirmatively passing laws to criminalize and further endanger the experience of immigrants in their communities. Take a look at this complete list of this session's worker, healthcare, and education rights advancements, increased protections against the criminalization of immigration and immigration-status discrimination, and the increased enfranchisement of noncitizen Vermonters. At the federal level, VAAP is closely monitoring how the Biden Administration's new expedited processing policy for Boston Immigration Court may or may not impact case processing for Vermont noncitizens. Recall that the Administration recently announced its plan to transfer venue of proceedings for all respondents' who report a Vermont-based zip code to the Lowell Immigration Court in Chelmsford, MA. Transfers to Lowell are well underway, and several VAAP clients have already appeared for master calendar hearings there. On June, 4, 2024, VAAP heard from the Assistant Chief Immigration Judge for Boston and Lowell that Boston's new "recent arrivals" accelerated docket should not include noncitizens with a Vermont address nor individuals who arrived before May 2024. The ACIJ confirmed that no such accelerated docket is being created at Lowell. This means a Vermont noncitizen scheduled for removal proceedings in Boston, whether part of the "recent arrivals" accelerated docket or not, can ask their Immigration Judge to "change venue" of their proceedings to Lowell Immigration Court, where their case will be subject to routine case processing speeds at a court that is slightly more accessible geographically to Vermont.  Meanwhile, we recommend that folks with Immigration Court proceedings continue to regularly monitor their case status using the DOJ self-help case status portal, https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/, and take care not to miss any court hearings to avoid the risk of being ordered removed in your absence (in abstentia).  Finally, regarding the breaking news that President Biden has signed today an executive order severely restricting asylum seeking at the U.S. border, VAAP is monitoring the story and will be prepared to share updates and analysis of the proclamation, available here, at the June 14th symposium and beyond.  ADVOCATE SPOTLIGHT                                       Last month, VAAP warmly welcomed to our staff our newest advocate, Paralegal Advocate/Program Coordinator Marnie Avila Alvarez, LLM (she/her, ella). Marnie is a Cuban lawyer who earned her law degree magna cum laude in 2014 from the Havana University Faculty of Law. After earning her LLM in 2023 at Vermont Law and Graduate School, she is now reading for the bar through Vermont Law Office Study and pursuing Board of Immigration Appeals Recognition and Accreditation to practice immigration law federal agencies in the meantime. Marnie's legal career is marked by a deep commitment to serving marginalized communities and advocating for their rights. She previously focused her legal practice on international business, trade, and energy law until 2021, when she was accepted as a Global Energy/LLM Fellow at Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment. With a background in energy law and a focus on sustainability, she has been deeply involved in legal research, writing, and case management related to clean energy solutions, renewable energy projects, regulatory compliance, and environmental law.  Marnie developed a keen interest in U.S. immigration law over the course of her own resettlement in Vermont, yielding skills and experiences that she promptly paid forward by offering support to other individuals navigating the U.S. immigration system. In 2022, Marnie co-founded the Alviera Group LLC, a company dedicated to assisting immigrants in establishing themselves legally, economically, and socially in the United States, with a strong commitment towards supporting clean energy access and energy efficiency solutions for the immigrant community in the country.  Marnie's professional experience spans both private practice and nonprofit settings, giving her a well-rounded understanding of legal issues from multiple perspectives. Her ability to connect with clients, understand their needs, and provide effective legal assistance make her a most valuable asset to the VAAP team. Furthermore, she brings teaching experience to her role, serving as an adjunct faculty at the Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, and having previously served as a law professor at Havana University Faculty of Law. Her dedication to educating future legal professionals reflects her commitment to fostering a more just and equitable legal system. This includes her commitment of supporting and developing a more robust international students’ community in Vermont.  In her new role at VAAP, Marnie is poised to make a significant impact for our fledgling organization by leveraging her legal skills, energy focus, and passion for immigration law to support asylum seekers and advocate for their rights in the United States. Please join us in warmly welcoming Marnie to the team!                                          Furthermore, come September 2024, VAAP will also welcome a third incredible advocate to our staff, Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow Cameron Briggs Ramos (she/her, ella). Cameron will join VAAP as the state's and Vermont Law and Graduate School's first-ever Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow. Her focus will be growing VAAP's direct legal services practice, beginning with universal representation for "unaccompanied children" who are navigating immigration removal proceedings in Vermont. Happy Graduation, Cameron! We cannot wait to welcome you soon. PARTNER SPOTLIGHT                                              Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) and the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) are two southern Vermont organizations supporting the safe resettlement of asylum seekers and refugees in Vermont. ECDC is one of the state's designated refugee resettlement support organizations for individuals arriving in Vermont with "refugee" status. CASP is one of the state's community-based organizations that emerged to offer comparable supports to asylum seeking Vermonters awaiting a "refugee" determination by the U.S. government.                                            VAAP is mentoring paralegal advocates at both partner organizations to assist our mutual client communities with filing initial asylum applications, work permit applications and renewals, applications for derivative beneficiary family members, and green card applications for asylees and refugees with a year or more in that status. Subscribe to our newsletters and/or monitor our websites closely to learn more about upcoming self-help clinics, community education opportunities, and other collaborative events that VAAP is partnering with CASP and ECDC to deliver to advance our common goal of improving Vermont noncitizens' access to immigration counsel. PRO BONO TRAINING Earn CLEs with us at the VBA Meeting on 9/27! After hosting VAAP for two highly attended continuing legal education (CLE) seminars this month, the Vermont Bar Association (VBA) has welcomed VAAP to present an "immigration intersections" themed session at its upcoming September 27th meeting in Fairlee, Vermont. Save the date! As always, participating means CLE credit, supporting our wonderful Bar, and spending an early fall day at the gorgeous Lake Morey Resort. See you there!   Join us at our 6/14  Welcoming New Americans Symposium! You and your organizations are warmly invited to an English-language multidisciplinary symposium covering the ins and outs of welcoming recently arrived immigrants to Vermont. People classed as "refugees" are eligible for government-sponsored resettlement supports—but what about people who are seeking asylum to become a "refugee," who comprise the majority of individuals facing immigration removal proceedings today? This interactive, practical symposium on June 14 will cover the law, practice, and experience of asylum-seeking in Vermont. Scroll up to the top of this newsletter for the full program agenda and speaker list. In-person attendance is limited, so register ASAP to secure your spot. Thanks to our generous sponsors, registration is FREE, lunch and refreshments will be served, and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit is pending. If you can't join us in person, we will stream online and also record for those who RSVP.  Co-sponsored by the Vermont Asylum Seeker Network community-based organizations, Vermont Afghan Alliance, Vermont Law and Graduate School's Center for Justice Reform Clinic, and Vermont Asylum Assistance Project. Complete our online training! In Fall 2023, the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project partnered with Vecina, a Texas-based nonprofit founded with the mission to “empower immigrant justice advocates through mentoring attorneys, educating communities, and mobilizing volunteers.”  We are excited to share that Vecina has designed two online training modules that are available to VAAP pro bono attorneys. The first module is an overview of affirmative asylum and the second trains attorneys to conduct in-depth asylum client intakes. We are so grateful to Vecina for these resources and look forward to sharing them with pro bono attorneys who are interested in volunteering with us.  Please email us for details on how to access these trainings. GET INVOLVED Updated Pro Bono FAQs and Pro Se Asylum Clinics If you are interested in volunteering your time by providing an asylum seeker with free legal help, but you're not quite sure where to start, check out these Frequently Asked Questions which we'll keep updated on a rolling basis. Next, email us for access to our pro bono email list serv and insiders-only Resource SharePoint. Not ready to take a case for full representation without some practice experience under your belt? Start by volunteering as an attorney-for-a-day at one of our upcoming pro se assistance clinics. The next one is June 13th at the Vermont Law and Graduate School's Burlington Office. We'll be training and supervising pro bono attorneys to assist pro se asylum seekers with with applications on USCIS Form I-589. We'll handle intake and language access, you just RSVP! Refreshments will be served! Our next two self help clinics will be June 22nd at the Mobile Mexican Consulate in Montpelier and at the July 13th Justicia Migrant Torneo de Futbol (Migrant Justice's annual soccer tournament and community celebration). Join us! Donate to VAAP THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM MEET OUR TEAM Jill Martin Diaz (they/them), elle), Executive Director is VAAP's supervising attorney and first full-time paid staff. They come to VAAP from Vermont Law and Graduate School where they taught doctrinal and clinical immigration law and directed the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. Previously, Jill practiced as a Vermont Poverty Law Fellow at Vermont Legal Aid and an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at Sanctuary for Families New York. The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association recognized Jill’s achievements by honoring them as one of 2023’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40. They speak English and Spanish and are licensed to practice in New York, Vermont, and the District of Vermont. Marnie Avila Alvarez (she/her, ella) is a Cuban lawyer who is completing Vermont Law Office Study as VAAP's inaugural Paralegal Advocate and Program Coordinator. In 2014, she earned her law degree magna cum laude from the Havana University Faculty of Law and in 2023 completed her LLM as a Global Energy Fellow at Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment.. Marnie has been deeply involved in legal research, writing, and case management related to renewable energy projects, regulatory compliance, and environmental law. In addition, she has experience handling immigration cases, providing support to individuals navigating the immigration system, and advocating for fair and just immigration policies. In 2022, Marnie co-founded Alviera Group LLC, which assists immigrants to establish themselves legally, economically, and socially in the United States, while supporting clean energy access and energy efficiency solutions for the immigrant community. Marnie serves as adjunct faculty at VLGS, teaching their Global Sustainability Field Class to Cuba every year. Becky Wasserman (she/her), Board Member is an attorney and the Executive Director of the VT Saves Program in the Office of the State Treasurer. Becky started working with asylum seekers more than ten years ago through her law school’s immigration clinic. Since then she has worked in a pro bono capacity on a number of immigration matters, including volunteering at the southern border in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, she co-founded the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, with Kate Paarlberg-Kvam.  Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they), Board Member is the Executive Director of the Milk With Dignity Standards Council. She has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro, VT. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Board Member is the Director of Finance at Evernorth and lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Board Member is Burlington Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak's Chief of Staff. Previously she worked as Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, and before that she was a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School. There, she served as the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Faith Orr (she/her), Board Secretary is a second-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar.   Vermont Asylum Assistance Project  P.O. Box 814, Elmwood Ave, Burlington, VT 05402 802-999-5654 ‖ info@vaapvt.org ‖ www.vaapvt.org Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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April 2024

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View this email in your browser VAAP NEWSLETTER APRIL 2024 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Greetings, friends of VAAP! April brought us lots of exciting developments, in keeping with the transition to spring. On the education front, we hosted our first virtual attorney case rounds, during which six pro bono humanitarian immigration attorneys gathered to workshop case strategy and share learning.   We also advanced planning for Vermont's first-ever statewide asylum public education forum on June 14th, to which you are all cordially invited! More on that below! On the staffing front, we learned we will be honored as Vermont's first-ever host of the Immigrant Justice Corps Fellowship, with our first attorney-fellow joining us full-time in September 2024. We also recruited our first Paralegal Advocate/Program Coordinator who will pursue Board of Immigration Appeals Recognition & Accreditation as well as undertake the Vermont Law Office Study Program - more on that next month! On the direct services front, we supervised our first remote legal help clinic in partnership with Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) and the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), assisting about a dozen humanitarian status seekers and their families to seek asylum and apply for adjustment of status. We also continued to work through our long-and-growing waitlist for asylum eligibility screenings, successfully placing asylum seekers from countries including Iran, Turkey, and Ecuador with pro bono attorneys for limited or full representation.  Finally, on the advocacy front, we published our first Op/Ed to help diversify the voices reflecting on Vermont immigration in mainstream media. We offered expert testimony to a variety of congressional committees and executive branch leaders and committees in support of H.606, which Governor Scott is expected to sign into law this month.   We also submitted a request for Congressionally Directed Spending to grow our Paralegal Team amidst a once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse?! Amazing! Read on for more VAAP news including upcoming training opportunities, pro se assistance clinics, a partner organization feature, a fact check, and more. FACT CHECK! A REMINDER that all Boston Immigration Court cases in which the Respondent reports living at a Vermont-based zip code are being moved to the new Lowell Immigration Court in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. It is very likely that if you have any upcoming court date scheduled at the Boston Immigration Court, the date and location of your next hearing will be changed with very short notice. We recommend checking the Immigration Court's online system weekly while your case is in Immigration Court, by visiting https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/ and typing in your "A-number" (an 8 or 9 digit number listed on the top section of most immigration documents).  We are closely monitoring reports from Lowell being shared among the American Immigration Lawyers Association's New England Chapter and the Northern New England Practitioners' Group. So far, the Lowell Immigration Judges sound thorough and relatively fair, and the return dates sound much sooner than what Judges were offering in Boston (including same-year next hearing dates for Respondents who request them). Keep an eye on Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) for Lowell Immigration Court stats and individual Immigration Judges' grant and denial rates. We're supervising a pro bono attorney for all our first Lowell-based Master Calendar Hearing this week; we'll keep you updated! PARTNER SPOTLIGHT                                     Connecting Cultures/New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma (NESTT) are two names for the same incredible program, of which VAAP is lucky to be a part. Connecting Cultures is an interdisciplinary partnership of psychological, social worker, case management, legal, medical, physical therapy, and other providers who collaborate to provide survivors of "torture," as defined by the TVPA, with holistic, integrated, and effective services in a culturally relevant and client-centered context. VAAP's Executive Director, Jill Martin Diaz, is fortunate to direct the legal wing of the Connecting Cultures partnership, which streamlines VAAP clients' access to forensic psychological and medical evaluations, human services and medical care, counselling, and more. Connecting Cultures is supported by funding from the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which constitutes a large proportion of funding at VAAP. We are all in the process of updating our websites, so please reach out to us with any questions or to get connected to other partners in the Connecting Cultures consortium.    PRO BONO TRAINING Earn CLEs with us at the Vermont Bar Association in May! The Vermont Bar Association (VBA) is hosting VAAP for two immigration 101 trainings this month: one overviewing the origins, structure, and practice of immigration law in a nutshell, and the other overviewing exciting immigration-related legal developments happening locally in Vermont. Yes, these trainings are paywalled, BUT participating means CLE credit and supporting our wonderful Bar.  Share learning at a groundbreaking interdisciplinary forum in June! You and your organizations are warmly invited to an English-language multidisciplinary symposium covering the ins and outs of welcoming recently arrived immigrants to Vermont. People classed as "refugees" are eligible for government-sponsored resettlement supports—but what about people who are seeking asylum to become a "refugee," who comprise the majority of individuals facing immigration removal proceedings today? This interactive, practical symposium on June 14 will cover the law, practice, and experience of asylum-seeking in Vermont.   Confirmed presenters include Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV); U.S. Committee on Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI); the Center for Justice Reform Clinic (CRJC); Vermont Language Justice Project (VLJP); Vermont Legal Aid (VLA); Vermont Afghan Alliance (VAA); Connecting Cultures; the Vermont State Refugee Office (SRO); Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP); and beyond!    In-person attendance is limited, so register ASAP to secure your spot. Thanks to our generous sponsors, registration is FREE, lunch and refreshments will be served, and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit is pending. If you can't join us in person, we will stream online and also record for those who RSVP.  Co-sponsored by the Vermont Asylum Seeker Network, Vermont Afghan Alliance, Vermont Law and Graduate School's Vermont Poverty Law Fellow, and Vermont Asylum Assistance Project. Complete our online training! In Fall 2023, the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project partnered with Vecina, a Texas-based nonprofit founded with the mission to “empower immigrant justice advocates through mentoring attorneys, educating communities, and mobilizing volunteers.”  We are excited to share that Vecina has designed two online training modules that are available to VAAP pro bono attorneys. The first module is an overview of affirmative asylum and the second trains attorneys to conduct in-depth asylum client intakes. We are so grateful to Vecina for these resources and look forward to sharing them with pro bono attorneys who are interested in volunteering with us.  Please email us for details on how to access these trainings. GET INVOLVED Updated Pro Bono FAQs and Pro Se Asylum Clinics If you are interested in volunteering your time by providing an asylum seeker with free legal help, but you're not quite sure where to start, check out these Frequently Asked Questions which we'll keep updated on a rolling basis. Next, take a look at our public-facing online resources and then email us for access to our pro bono email list and insiders-only Resource SharePoint. Not ready to take a case for full representation without some practice experience under your belt? Start by volunteering as an attorney-for-a-day at one of our upcoming pro se assistance clinics. The next one is June 13th at the Vermont Law and Graduate School's Burlington Office. We'll be training and supervising pro bono attorneys to assist pro se asylum seekers with with applications on USCIS Form I-589. We'll handle intake and language access, you just RSVP! Refreshments will be served! Donate to VAAP THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM MEET OUR TEAM Jill Martin Diaz (they/them), Executive Director is VAAP's supervising attorney and first full-time paid staff. They come to VAAP from Vermont Law and Graduate School where they taught doctrinal and clinical immigration law and directed the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. Previously, Jill practiced as a Vermont Poverty Law Fellow at Vermont Legal Aid and an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at Sanctuary for Families New York. The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association recognized Jill’s achievements by honoring them as one of 2023’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40. They speak English and Spanish and are licensed to practice in New York, Vermont, and the District of Vermont. Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Board Member is Burlington Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak's Chief of Staff. Previously she worked as Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, and before that she was a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School. There, she served as the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Board Member is the Director of Finance at Evernorth and lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Board Secretary is a second-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they), Board Member is the Executive Director of the Milk With Dignity Standards Council. She has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro, VT. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Becky Wasserman (she/her), Board Member is an attorney and the Executive Director of the VT Saves Program in the Office of the State Treasurer. Becky started working with asylum seekers more than ten years ago through her law school’s immigration clinic. Since then she has worked in a pro bono capacity on a number of immigration matters, including volunteering at the southern border in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, she co-founded the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, with Kate Paarlberg-Kvam.    Vermont Asylum Assistance Project  P.O. Box 814, Elmwood Ave, Burlington, VT 05402 802-999-5654 ‖ info@vaapvt.org ‖ www.vaapvt.org Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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March 2024

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View this email in your browser VAAP NEWSLETTER MARCH 2024 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Greetings, friends of VAAP! Lots to highlight from March. On the local front, March saw VAAP placing newly screened cases, recording ethics training, and celebrating our award-winning pro bono attorneys. On the national front, March brought VAAP to Washington for the American Immigration Lawyers Association's National Day of Action. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice officially re-venued all Vermont respondents' removal proceedings to its new Lowell Immigration Court (actually located in Chelmsford, MA). Read on for details! The Vermont Poverty Law Fellow, the Prisoners' Rights Office, and the Central Vermont Refugee Action Network (CVRAN) joined VAAP in congratulating VAAP volunteer attorney Seth Lipschutz for receiving the Vermont Bar Association’s distinguished 2024 Pro Bono Service Award. The Award recognizes the “extraordinary legal services” Attorney Lipschutz has provided to indigent asylum seekers in our community since retiring from his storied career at the Vermont Prisoners’ Rights Office in 2019. We thank Seth for his ongoing service! If you are planning for retirement and want to learn more about volunteering with VAAP as a Pro Bono Emeritus Attorney, get in touch today! The Vermont Poverty Law Fellow also joined VAAP as Vermont Delegates at American Immigration Lawyers Association's National Day of Action in Washington. While there, the offices of Representative Balint, Senator Sanders, and Senator Welch solicited case stories from us that illustrated how national immigration issues are impacting noncitizens back home in Vermont. We offered them local context for the ways AILA's proposal for comprehensive legislative fixes would make Vermont a safer and more equitable place for noncitizens to live, work, and raise their families.  Our bottom line was that responding to immigration legal needs at the borders alone will not make our broken immigration system function better or more fairly or justly; to fix the system, we need Congress to legislate solutions to pre-existing, less sensationalized immigration reform needs in the interior including by increasing pathways to status, appropriately resourcing the agencies that process applications, and defunding agencies amounting to the largest armed law enforcement agency in the world. See what partners at the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition have to say about it, and make your voice heard here: https://www.aila.org/advocacy-tools/aila-s-advocacy-action-center.  In regional news, the Department of Justice issued notice that noncitizen respondents with a Vermont zip code noted in their removal proceedings before an Immigration Judge will now have their cases heard at the new Lowell Immigration Court in Chelmsford, MA. This means respondents with next hearings scheduled in Boston Immigration Court should expect those hearings to be cancelled and rescheduled at Lowell to some future date. This could mean that cases are going to be heard sooner or later than what was expected for their next hearing date in Boston. We are monitoring updates from AILA New England Chapter colleagues and will share guidance with pro bono attorneys on request and via VAAP's Resource SharePoint (to which active attorneys have access) as we learn more.  Meanwhile, we recommend attorneys also monitor Political Asylum/Immigration Project (PAIR) updates and Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) Maine's updates for the latest. If you are concerned about how the move to Lowell Immigration Court will impact an asylum seeker you are assisting, contact VAAP for guidance! If you or someone you know might be impacted by this change, you can check your court date and location online here https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/ by typing in your A-number (which is an 8 or 9 digit number on most immigration documents). PRO BONO TRAINING Save the date! VAAP has partnered with the Vermont Poverty Law Fellow the Vermont and New Hampshire Asylum Seeker Network to deliver an Asylum Seeker Symposium at Vermont Law and Graduate School on June 14th. We would love to have you join us for this interdisciplinary public education event in person in South Royalton or online at vermontlaw.edu/live. More soon! Complete our online training! VAAP has partnered with Vecina, a Texas-based nonprofit working to “empower immigrant justice advocates through mentoring attorneys, educating communities, and mobilizing volunteers.”  We are excited to share that Vecina has designed two online training modules that are available to VAAP pro bono attorneys via the VAAP Resource SharePoint to which actively engaged attorney have access. The first module is an overview of affirmative asylum and the second trains attorneys on how to conduct in-depth asylum client intakes.  VAAP was also welcomed to join our local partners at the U.S. Committee on Refugees and Immigrants Vermont (USCRI) at a well-attended Ethics for Immigration Lawyers workshop presented by Vermont Judiciary Bar Counsel, Michael Kennedy. Thanks to USCRI for organizing and inviting participation from our pro bono attorneys with active asylum cases, and thanks to Attorney Kennedy for supporting their work.  We are so grateful to our partners for these resources and look forward to sharing them with pro bono attorneys who are interested in volunteering with us. Please email us for details on how to access these trainings and the SharePoint. Stay tuned for VAAP's training calendar coming soon and be sure to subscribe to the Vermont Bar Association's newsletter for early access to the live Continuing Legal Education (CLE) training sessions VAAP will be offering later this year! GET INVOLVED Volunteer Opportunities We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance, including individuals and families from Afghanistan.  Please email if you or your firm would like more information about that process! Seeking Board Members VAAP is looking for dynamic board members to help us grow our organization.  We seek individuals who are committed to our mission and encourage members of the communities we serve to apply. Special consideration will be given to anyone with lived immigration experience as well as those with an interest or experience in fundraising, public relations, legal, or financial backgrounds. Please contact us to learn more. Financial Contributions VAAP is building a budget that will help us support pro bono asylum legal work across Vermont. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here. Donate to VAAP THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM MEET OUR TEAM Jill Martin Diaz (they/them), Executive Director is VAAP's supervising attorney and first full-time paid staff. They come to VAAP from Vermont Law and Graduate School where they taught doctrinal and clinical immigration law and directed the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. Previously, Jill practiced as a Vermont Poverty Law Fellow at Vermont Legal Aid and an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at Sanctuary for Families New York. The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association recognized Jill’s achievements by honoring them as one of 2023’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40. They are licensed to practice in New York, Vermont, and the District of Vermont. Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Board Member is Chief of Staff of Burlington Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak. She was most recently an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. Previously, she was a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Board Member lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Board Member is a first-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they), Board Member has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Becky Wasserman (she/her), Board Member is an attorney and the Executive Director of the VT Saves Program in the Office of the State Treasurer. Becky started working with asylum seekers more than ten years ago through her law school’s immigration clinic. Since then she has worked in a pro bono capacity on a number of immigration matters, including volunteering at the southern border in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, she co-founded the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Kate Paarlberg-Kvam and a group of immigration attorneys and advocates from around the state.    Vermont Asylum Assistance Project  P.O. Box 814, Elmwood Ave, Burlington, VT 05402 802-999-5654 ‖ info@vaapvt.org ‖ www.vaapvt.org Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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January/February 2024

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View this email in your browser VAAP NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM This winter, VAAP celebrated the arrival of our first full-time staff member in Attorney Jill Martin Diaz. After settling into Vermont Green Offices, a sustainable coworking space in Burlington's Old North End, they hit the ground running fulfilling their duties as Executive Director. Jill completed intakes for asylum seekers from countries including Brazil, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, and Mexico; mentored new and existing volunteer attorneys representing asylum seekers pro bono; coordinated with partners statewide to develop VAAP programming for 2024; developed infrastructure for professional case supervision and online resource management; fundraised to support VAAP's sustainable growth; and more.    READ ON for additional news and trainings opportunities! On February 1, Jill also spoke with WCAX about the impact of improving access to immigration counsel and the variety of ways folks can contact VAAP to request or offer asylum legal help. Watch the clip here: Thanks to an invitation from the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV), Jill also participated in a liaison meeting with leaders of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) and the Enforcement and Removals Office (ERO). What we learned is that, now more than ever, noncitizens’ access to counsel in removal proceedings will mean the difference between which asylum seekers receive a fast and fair hearing and which do not. ICE reports actively prosecuting about 307,000 non-detained removal cases across New England. Of these, about 900 cases are for noncitizens based in Vermont, all of whom are subject to the jurisdiction of Boston Immigration Court (for now). OPLA's Boston team of 28 attorneys are prosecuting over 150,000 cases overall, up from 120k last year and 90k the year before that. It is unclear when Immigration Judges will begin hearing removal cases, including for Vermont-based respondents, at the new Lowell Immigration Court.   ICE reports supervising 200 dedicated beds across northern New England for noncitizens who the immigration law says ICE must detain as well as those the law says ICE may detain subject to review by an Immigration Judge. None of these beds are in Vermont, so the agencies have 72 hours to relocate a person newly detained in Vermont to an ICE facility in a nearby state. Note that if the agencies detain someone under 18 years old, they should relocate the youth to less restrictive Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody in a nearby state while plans are made to release the youth to a parent, guardian, or other custodian in concert with the appropriate state-level child protection agency(s).   ICE reports that most Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE officers patrolling the Swanton Sector, which includes most of Vermont, are working up north for short term periods while detailed from other regional offices. This explains why we are seeing inconsistent application of these agencies’ own prosecutorial discretion policies by CBP and ICE officers making immigration arrests in our communities.   Note that this month Canada reimposed visa restrictions for Mexican nationals to curb asylum seeking in Canada and at the U.S./Canada border. VAAP is collaborating with the U.S./Canada Border Network to monitor access to justice for noncitizens caught up in the political crossfire, who continue to have an unqualified right to seek asylum in the U.S. pursuant INA § 208 and international law. We will continue to monitor reporting on northern border crossings.   TL;DR: As CBP and ICE (and Canada) ramp up border enforcement, we will continue to see more cases entering and then stagnating in the U.S. Immigration Court system.   As no-cost asylum attorneys and advocates, here’s what we can do:   Help noncitizens know their rights. Everyone in the U.S. has the right to assert their fear of returning to their country of origin at ANY time; to request a credible fear interview by the government; to request review by an Immigration Judge if their fear is found “not credible;” and to go through this process with an interpreter (at the government’s expense) and with an attorney (at their own expense).    Promote government accountability for its own rules. Help VAAP document the manner and methods in which agencies are enforcing immigration laws in our border communities by writing info@vaapvt.org, so we can track agencies’ compliance with the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement, Vermont Fair and Impartial Policing policies, and Vermont antidiscrimination and human rights laws, as well as international and federal immigration and due process laws.   Enter our appearance for an asylum seeker in removal proceedings! Access to counsel helps asylum seekers meet confusing statutory filing deadlines, prove up complex legal standards, and accelerate toward receiving a work authorized social security number that is the key to government-issued ID, work, banking, health care, professional licensure, you name it. As for ensuring access to a fair hearing, Asylum legal counsel also makes it exponentially more likely that an asylum seeker will ultimately prevail in their case. As for ensuring access to a fast hearing, ICE OPLA shares our interest in seeing asylum cases litigated to their finality and taken off the docket, so let’s make it easy for them! For a well papered case, ICE will join a Motion to Advance an asylum seeker’s final merits hearings and can even stipulate to some of the key elements the asylum seeker must prove to win. These types of legal work are VAAP’s bread and butter. JOIN US! PRO BONO TRAINING Complete our online training! In Fall 2023, the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project partnered with Vecina, a Texas-based nonprofit founded with the mission to “empower immigrant justice advocates through mentoring attorneys, educating communities, and mobilizing volunteers.”  We are excited to share that Vecina has designed two online training modules that are available to VAAP pro bono attorneys. The first module is an overview of affirmative asylum and the second trains attorneys to conduct in-depth asylum client intakes. We are so grateful to Vecina for these resources and look forward to sharing them with pro bono attorneys who are interested in volunteering with us.  Please email us for details on how to access these trainings. Join us at the Vermont Bar Association's Mid-Year Meeting! We are looking very forward to attending the VBA's spring conference on March 29 in Burlington, which offers several CLE sessions directly on point:   Leveraging Collective Care & Social Work Strategies to Address Workplace Trauma & Stress (1.5 MCLE wellness), 8:30am - 10:00am, Speaker: Cassie Gillespie. Attorneys and legal professionals are exposed to stress, human suffering, and secondary trauma every day at work. The impact of this exposure can be significant. Nevertheless, many people who work in the legal profession have not been supported to address workplace trauma exposure or have only been asked to address it at the individual level with self-care practices. Self-care is not solving the problems of workplace stress, trauma, and burnout. Leveraging the power of teams and professional relationships is the next frontier in tackling workplace impact. This session will explore workplace trauma exposure and how we can think differently about preventing it.   Take an International Tour (1.5 MCLE general), 10:30am - 12:00pm, Speakers: Kristen Connors, Molly Gray, Mark Oettinger, Maya Tsukazaki, and Nathan Virag. Got cabin fever? No passport needed. Let the VBA’s International Law & Practice Section (ILP) take you on a tour of current topics in international law. Molly Gray and Nathan Virag will describe the legal challenges facing Vermont’s immigrant population…and what they are doing to help. Spoiler alert! They’re looking for help. Then, Kristen Connors and Maya Tsukazaki will discuss the related topic of Immigration Relief for Young Vermonters. Even if you’ve never considered handling a case with cross-border characteristics, you need to be able to spot cross-border issues when they arise. And yes, there are more pro bono opportunities available. And speaking of issue spotting, the final third of the event will feature Moderator and ILP Chair Mark Oettinger addressing International Law Issue Spotting for the Vermont Practitioner, and providing a brief update on the status of Supranational Courts. We don’t see as much international law in Vermont as one might in a place like New York City or Los Angeles. That said, the world is becoming a smaller place, and some would argue that we are witnessing a convergence between common law and civil law systems. In Vermont, we share a border with a French-speaking civil law jurisdiction. Are you comfortable when a long-standing client wants to export…or import…or wants to hire a non-U.S. citizen…or can’t travel to Canada because of a DUI conviction from college. The potential fact patterns are endless. And they’re unusual…and hence fun! Join us in exploring current events in the context of international law. US Supreme Court Update (1.0 MCLE general), 2:00pm - 3:00pm, Speaker: Rod Smolla, President, VLGS Vermont Law and Graduate School. Rod Smolla will present an update on the evolving constitutional jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court, focusing principally on those areas of constitutional law that are currently undergoing major change. The topics will include discussion of the Court’s reshaping of the meaning of the Religion Clauses, the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses, separation of powers principles, and doctrines circumscribing the powers of administrative agencies. The update will include as a theme the Court’s increasing emphasis on textualism and originalism as driving approaches to constitutional interpretation. Everything You Wanted to Know About Ethics But Were Afraid to Ask (now's your chance!) (1.5 MCLE ethics), 3:30pm - 5:00pm, Speakers: Mike Kennedy and Stuart Teicher. Okay, maybe that’s slightly overselling it. The program won’t be about absolutely everything. But it’s going to cover a lot of ground…and you’ll be able to ask questions! Join Vermont’s Bar Counsel Michael Kennedy and his guest, educator Stuart Teicher, as they take your questions on the ethics issues you’d like to talk about. Plus, they have some words of their own. We’ll be discussing the latest in artificial intelligence, issues about conflicts, and more! GET INVOLVED Volunteer Opportunities We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance, including individuals and families from Afghanistan.  Please email if you or your firm would like more information about that process! Seeking Board Members VAAP is looking for dynamic board members to help us grow our organization.  We seek individuals who are committed to our mission and encourage members of the communities we serve to apply. Special consideration will be given to anyone with lived immigration experience as well as those with an interest or experience in fundraising, public relations, legal, or financial backgrounds. Please contact us to learn more. Financial Contributions VAAP is building a budget that will help us support pro bono asylum legal work across Vermont. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here. Donate to VAAP THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM MEET OUR TEAM Jill Martin Diaz (they/them), Executive Director is VAAP's supervising attorney and first full-time paid staff. They come to VAAP from Vermont Law and Graduate School where they taught doctrinal and clinical immigration law and directed the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. Previously, Jill practiced as a Vermont Poverty Law Fellow at Vermont Legal Aid and an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at Sanctuary for Families New York. The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association recognized Jill’s achievements by honoring them as one of 2023’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40. They are licensed to practice in New York, Vermont, and the District of Vermont. Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Board Chair is an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. She was previously a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Board Treasurer lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Board Secretary is a first-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they), Board Member has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Becky Wasserman (she/her), Board Member is an attorney and the Executive Director of the VT Saves Program in the Office of the State Treasurer. Becky started working with asylum seekers more than ten years ago through her law school’s immigration clinic. Since then she has worked in a pro bono capacity on a number of immigration matters, including volunteering at the southern border in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, she co-founded the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, with Kate Paarlberg-Kvam.    Vermont Asylum Assistance Project  P.O. Box 814, Elmwood Ave, Burlington, VT 05402 802-999-5654 ‖ info@vaapvt.org ‖ www.vaapvt.org Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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December 2023

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View this email in your browser PRO BONO OPPORTUNITIES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2023 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM As we approach the New Year, we wanted to thank you for your invaluable contributions to VAAP this past year and announce some exciting changes that are coming in 2024.  We are thrilled to announce that Jill Martin Diaz (they/them) will join VAAP in January as the organization's inaugural Executive Director.  Jill comes to VAAP with significant immigration law experience.  Most recently, Jill was a Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Center for Justice Reform, where they taught doctrinal immigration law and led the Center for Justice Reform Clinic (CJRC).  The new CJRC grew from the legacy Vermont Immigrant Assistance clinic project, Vermont's foremost immigration legal service provider and its only pro bono removal defender.  We are so excited to have Jill join the VAAP team and help us to grow Vermont's immigration legal services bar into a more diversified, accessible, and sustainable one. Keep reading below for additional news and trainings for pro bono attorneys! PRO BONO TRAINING New Training Modules for Pro Bonos In Fall 2023, the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project partnered with Vecina, a Texas-based nonprofit founded with the mission to “empower immigrant justice advocates through mentoring attorneys, educating communities, and mobilizing volunteers.”  We are excited to share that Vecina has designed two online training modules that are available to VAAP pro bono attorneys.  The first module is an overview of affirmative asylum and the second trains attorneys to conduct asylum client intakes. We are so grateful to Vecina for these resources and look forward to sharing them with pro bono attorneys who are interested in volunteering with us.  Please email us for details on how to access these trainings. GET INVOLVED Volunteer Opportunities We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance.  Please email if you or your firm would like more information about that process! Afghan Asylum Project We have recently started matching attorneys to work on Afghan asylum cases through the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV).  AALV are still in need of more pro bono attorneys to assist them with additional Afghan asylum cases.  AALV staff would be on-hand to mentor pro bono attorneys, including by answering questions and reviewing drafts.  Please email us if you are interested in assisting with one of these cases.   Seeking Board Members! VAAP is looking for dynamic Board members to help us grow our organization.  We seek individuals who are committed to our mission and encourage members of the communities we serve to apply.  Special consideration will be given to anyone with an interest or experience in fundraising, public relations, legal, or financial backgrounds.  Please contact us to learn more. Financial Contributions VAAP is building a budget that will help us support a full-time director to fully resource pro bono asylum attorneys in the State. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM Donate to VAAP MEET OUR BOARD Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Chair of the Board is an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. She was previously a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Treasurer lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Secretary is a first-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they) has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Becky Wasserman (she/her) (Co-Founder) Becky is an attorney and the Executive Director of the VT Saves Program in the Office of the State Treasurer. Becky started working with asylum seekers more than ten years ago through her law school’s immigration clinic. Since then she has worked in a pro bono capacity on a number of immigration matters, including volunteering at the southern border in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, she co-founded the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, with Kate Paarlberg-Kvam.  Our mailing address is: 50 Lakeside Avenue, Unit 118-H25 Burlington, VT 05401 Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. 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November 2023

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View this email in your browser PRO BONO OPPORTUNITIES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2023 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM During this Thanksgiving holiday, we wanted to take a moment to thank all of our volunteers and donors whose generous time and support make it possible for us to help asylum seekers in Vermont.  We are grateful for your support! Keep reading below for additional news and trainings for pro bono attorneys! PRO BONO NEWS USCIS Reverts to 180-Day Automatic Extensions of Employment  On October 27th, USCIS announced it will end its temporary 540-day automatic extension period for filing certain employment authorization documents.  In May 2022, USCIS implemented by temporary rule an increase in the automatic extension period from 180 days to up to 540 days for certain renewal applicants.  This temporary rule was in effect until October 26, 2023.  Beginning October 27, 2023, automatic extensions based on timely filed applications to renew employment authorization and/or employment authorization documents are subject to the original 180-day period for eligible applicants.  USCIS will not apply this change retroactively and will honor all prior automatic extensions of up to 540 days.  More information about this change can be found here.   GET INVOLVED Volunteer Opportunities We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance.  Please email if you or your firm would like more information about that process! Afghan Asylum Project We have recently started matching attorneys to work on Afghan asylum cases through the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV).  AALV are still in need of more pro bono attorneys to assist them with additional Afghan asylum cases.  AALV staff would be on-hand to mentor pro bono attorneys, including by answering questions and reviewing drafts.  Please email us if you are interested in assisting with one of these cases.   Seeking Board Members! VAAP is looking for dynamic Board members to help us grow our organization.  We seek individuals who are committed to our mission and encourage members of the communities we serve to apply.  Special consideration will be given to anyone with an interest or experience in fundraising, public relations, legal, or financial backgrounds.  Please contact us to learn more. Financial Contributions VAAP is building a budget that will help us support a full-time director to fully resource pro bono asylum attorneys in the State. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM Donate to VAAP MEET OUR BOARD Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Chair of the Board is an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. She was previously a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Treasurer lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Secretary is a first-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they) has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Our mailing address is: 50 Lakeside Avenue, Unit 118-H25 Burlington, VT 05401 Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? 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October 2023

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View this email in your browser PRO BONO OPPORTUNITIES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2023 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Last week was National Pro Bono Week, which is an opportunity to highlight the increasing need of pro bono services nationally and celebrate the lawyers, paralegals, and law students around the country who volunteer their time to provide legal services to those who cannot afford a lawyer.  VAAP is only able to provide pro bono services to asylum seekers in Vermont because of the many attorneys and legal professionals who volunteer their time with us.  We recognize and thank all of our pro bono attorneys for the immense impact they are making in the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. Keep reading below for additional news and trainings for pro bono attorneys! PRO BONO NEWS Updates to USCIS Change of Address Tool On October 12th, USCIS announced the launch of a new Enterprise Change of Address (E-COA) self-service tool.  This tool allows applicants with pending applications, petitions, or requests to update their address with USCIS more easily and allows USCIS to more efficiently process these changes. To use the E-COA tool, the applicant must change their address through the online USCIS portal. More information about this change can be found here.   GET INVOLVED Volunteer Opportunities We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance.  Please email if you or your firm would like more information about that process! Afghan Asylum Project We have recently matched two attorneys to work on Afghan asylum cases through the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV).  AALV are still in need of more pro bono attorneys to assist them with additional Afghan asylum cases.  AALV staff would be on-hand to mentor pro bono attorneys, including by answering questions and reviewing drafts.  Please email us if you are interested in assisting with one of these cases.   Seeking Board Members! VAAP is looking for dynamic Board members to help us grow our organization.  We seek individuals who are committed to our mission and encourage members of the communities we serve to apply.  Special consideration will be given to anyone with an interest or experience in fundraising, public relations, legal, or financial backgrounds.  Please contact us to learn more. Financial Contributions VAAP is building a budget that will help us support a full-time director to fully resource pro bono asylum attorneys in the State. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM Donate to VAAP MEET OUR BOARD Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Chair of the Board is an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. She was previously a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Treasurer lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Secretary is a first-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they) has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Our mailing address is: 50 Lakeside Avenue, Unit 118-H25 Burlington, VT 05401 Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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September 2023

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View this email in your browser PRO BONO OPPORTUNITIES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER August 2023 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Happy fall!  We hope you have had a chance to check out our new website, where you can learn more about our work, ways to volunteer, and legal resources on asylum.  Keep reading below for additional news and trainings for pro bono attorneys. PRO BONO NEWS AND TRAININGS Updates to Employment Authorization Document Renewal Periods Last week, USCIS announced that several changes will be made to the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) process that will expedite processing times and alleviate the need for applicants to frequently apply for renewals.  Beginning October 1, 2023, certain applicants will be issued EADs for five-year periods instead of the current two-year period. This change is in effect for asylees, refugees, asylum seekers, receipts of withholding of removal, adjustment of status applicants, and individuals who received a cancellation of removal.  Also starting on that date, USCIS will begin expediting EAD applications for individuals paroled in after scheduling an appointment with the CBP One application.  You can read more about these changes here. Upcoming Trainings The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) is holding a two-part webinar series on representing asylees and refugees.  You can find out more and register for the event here.  GET INVOLVED Volunteer Opportunities We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance.  Please email if you or your firm would like more information about that process! Afghan Asylum Project We are seeking pro bono attorneys to assist the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV) with Afghan asylum cases.   AALV staff would be on-hand to mentor pro bono attorneys, including by answering questions and reviewing drafts.  Please email us if you are interested in assisting with one of these cases.   Seeking Board Members! VAAP is looking for dynamic Board members to help us grow our organization.  We seek individuals who are committed to our mission and encourage members of the communities we serve to apply.  Special consideration will be given to those to anyone with an interest or experience in fundraising, public relations, legal, or financial backgrounds.  Please contact us to learn more. Financial Contributions VAAP is building a budget that would help us support a full-time director to fully resource pro bono asylum attorneys in the State. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM Donate to VAAP MEET OUR BOARD Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Chair of the Board is an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. She was previously a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Treasurer lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Secretary is a first-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they) has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Our mailing address is: 50 Lakeside Avenue, Unit 118-H25 Burlington, VT 05401 Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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August 2023

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View this email in your browser PRO BONO OPPORTUNITIES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER August 2023 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Dear all: We hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer! We are excited to announce that we recently launched a new website.  Please visit the site to learn more about our work, ways to volunteer, and legal resources on asylum. See below for additional pro bono news and updates on available cases for attorneys. PRO BONO NEWS USCIS Online Request System On August 21st, USCIS launched a new online appointment request page.  This website can be used by both individuals and attorneys to schedule an in-person appointment with USCIS online instead of calling a USCIS Contact Center.  You can request an online appointment here.     GET INVOLVED Volunteer Opportunities We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance.  Please email info@vaapvt.org if you or your firm would like more information about that process! Afghan Asylum Project We are seeking pro bono attorneys to assist the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV) with two Afghan asylum cases.  Attorneys at AALV have already started preparing these cases and it is anticipated that each case will require approximately 20 hours of work.  AALV staff would be on-hand to mentor pro bono attorneys, including by answering questions and reviewing drafts.  Please email us if you are interested in assisting with one of these cases.   Seeking Board Members! VAAP is looking for dynamic Board members to help us grow our organization.  We seek individuals who are committed to our mission and encourage members of the communities we serve to apply.  Special consideration will be given to those to anyone with an interest or experience in fundraising, public relations, legal, or financial backgrounds.  Please contact us at info@vaapvt.org to learn more. Financial Contributions VAAP is building a budget that would help us support a full-time director to fully resource pro bono asylum attorneys in the State. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM Donate to VAAP Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Chair of the Board is an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. She was previously a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Treasurer lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Secretary is a first-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they) has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Our mailing address is: 50 Lakeside Avenue, Unit 118-H25 Burlington, VT 05401 Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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July 2023

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View this email in your browser MONTHLY NEWSLETTER July 2023 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by the devastating flooding in Vermont over the past two weeks.  As Vermonters band together in recovery and relief efforts, we wanted to highlight a way to support Vermont's refugee and immigrant communities through the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV) initiative, New Farms for New Americans.  Beginning this fall we will also be launching a project to assist AALV with providing certain pro bono immigration legal services for Afghan nationals in Vermont.  See below to learn more about how to get involved with VAAP's Afghan Project. We are also thrilled to share that another pro bono attorney volunteering with VAAP recently submitted an asylum seeker's I-589 (asylum) application.  We are so grateful for all the hard work that went into this application process. Finally, we'd also like to welcome VAAP's co-founder, Kate Paarlberg-Kvam, to the Board!  PRO BONO NEWS AND TRAINING Beginning July 31, 2023, USCIS will only accept the 03/01/23 edition of the Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, which is available here.  If you are assisting with an I-589 application, we encourage you to confirm that you are using the correct edition date before submission. We also wanted to share a training opportunity on August 3rd for pro bono attorneys entitled "Form I-589; Tips for Preparing An Asylum Application, provided by the Immigrant Justice Campaign.  You can register for the webinar here. GET INVOLVED Volunteer Opportunities We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance.  Please email info@vaapvt.org if you or your firm would like more information about that process! We also have upcoming opportunities for pro bono attorneys to assist Afghan nationals with seeking asylum and to volunteer at walk-in legal clinics to prepare and file other applications with USCIS.  If you are interested in volunteering for our Afghan Project, please complete the following survey. Seeking Board Members! VAAP is looking for dynamic Board members to help us grow our organization.  We seek individuals who are committed to our mission and encourage members of the communities we serve to apply.  Special consideration will be given to those to anyone with an interest or experience in fundraising, public relations, legal, or financial backgrounds.  Please contact us at info@vaapvt.org to learn more. Financial Contributions VAAP is building a budget that would help us support a full-time director to fully resource pro bono asylum attorneys in the State. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM Donate to VAAP Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Chair of the Board is an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. She was previously a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Treasurer lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Secretary is a first-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they) has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.   Our mailing address is: 50 Lakeside Avenue, Unit 118-H25 Burlington, VT 05401 Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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June 2023

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View this email in your browser MONTHLY NEWSLETTER June 2023 UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM Dear all, We know it has been a couple of months since we have sent out our last newsletter but we have been busy behind the scenes streamlining our volunteer process, planning several projects, and forging new partnerships.  We hope to share these initiatives next month!  In the meantime, we continue to be excited about the work we are doing.  Since March, we have made a new pro bono attorney and asylum seeker match and received news that one of our pro bono attorney teams completed the submission of an I-589 for an asylum seeker. The VAAP Board also had its first meeting at the end of April and is actively recruiting for additional members. See below for additional news and to learn more about ways to get involved with VAAP! PRO BONO NEWS Title 42 Restrictions Following the end of Title 42, the Administration is putting in place new restrictions at the southern border that will continue to impact a person's ability to seek asylum. These restrictions include new bars to asylum that create obstacles for asylum seekers to exercise their legal right to claim asylum. On May 11th the Biden Administration lifted Title 42, the pandemic-era public health measure that immigration authorities used to manage and deter asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. VAAP is committed to supporting the legal right of asylum seekers to gain protection in the United States, regardless of how they enter the country. We encourage you to read more about these restrictions here. Afghan Re-Parole Process On June 8th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) opened a process for eligible Afghan Nationals who arrived under humanitarian parole through the Operation Allies Welcome to request a new period of parole so they can continue to live and work legally in the United States.  Under the law, parole requests are considered on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons and significant public benefit.  Importantly, Afghan parolees who apply for asylum or for adjustment to lawful permanent resident prior to the expiration of their initial parole period do not need to submit an application for re-parole, as DHS will consider for an extension of their original parole period on a case-by-case basis. Stay tuned to learn more about our plans to support Afghans in Vermont. GET INVOLVED We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance. Please email vaap@caspvt.org if you or your firm would like more information about that process! We would also like to hear from you if you are interested in joining our Board. VAAP is building a budget that would help us support a full-time director to fully resource pro bono asylum attorneys in the State. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! - THE VAAP TEAM Donate to VAAP Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Chair of the Board is an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. She was previously a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom. Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Treasurer lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team. Faith Orr (she/her), Secretary is a first-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar. Copyright © 2023, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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February 2023

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Welcome from Our Team