Our Victories

 

Some recent victories and accomplishments in the IJC include the following:

  • Obtaining prosecutorial discretion and administrative closure for a six-year-old boy from South America who had been placed in removal proceedings.
  • Publishing a report on the experiences of immigrant guest workers who staff the traveling fair and carnival industry in the United States. The report, entitled Taken for a Ride, was published in collaboration with Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc.
  • Presenting a shadow report and live testimony before the UN Committee on Migrant Workers in Geneva regarding Colombia’s compliance with the UN Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families, as it relates to the experience of Colombians living overseas.
  • Obtaining asylum and successfully overcoming the one-year bar for a gay man who had experienced persecution in Honduras, his country of origin.
  • Litigating a wage claim on behalf of an immigrant restaurant worker who had been underpaid and mistreated at a prominent D.C. restaurant, and successfully negotiating a confidential settlement.
  • Obtaining Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for two teenagers from El Salvador, each of whom had been abandoned by a parent.
  • Obtaining procedural safeguards and ultimately asylum for a detained immigrant from Africa who suffers from a severe mental illness.
  • Obtaining withholding of removal for a lawful permanent resident from Ethiopia who faced removal proceedings due to a minor criminal offense.
  • Obtaining Cancellation of Removal for a long-term permanent resident from El Salvador, who had been detained due to a string of alcohol-related offenses.
  • Obtaining asylum for a young man from El Salvador on the basis of sexual orientation, and successfully overcoming the one-year bar to asylum.
  • Publishing two editions of a thorough guide for advocates to help them ensure that their Mexican clients receive unpaid wages, monetary damages, or other funds that are owed to them. The guide, entitled Money Transfers to Mexico: A Manual Examining the Transfer of Funds from U.S. Advocates to Clients in Mexico, was prepared in collaboration with Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. and Global Workers Justice Alliance.
  • Obtaining a waiver of inadmissibility and adjustment of status for a refugee from Burundi, who had been detained for nearly a year due to a criminal conviction.
  • Publishing a comprehensive report on government compliance with the D.C. Language Access Act of 2004. The report, entitled Access Denied: The Unfulfilled Promise of the D.C. Language Access Act was prepared in collaboration with the D.C. Language Access Coalition.
  • Obtaining Cancellation of Removal for a long-term permanent resident from Jamaica, who had been detained due to relatively minor criminal offenses.
  • Obtaining U visas for the wife and son of an immigrant homicide victim.
  • Obtaining Special Rule Cancellation of Removal under the Nicaraguan and Central American Refugee Act (NACARA) for a client from El Salvador.
  • Obtaining prosecutorial discretion and administrative closure for two immigrant youths who had been placed in removal proceedings.
  • Obtaining Cancellation of Removal for a Lawful Permanent Resident from Kenya, who had been detained in Maryland, and placed in removal proceedings after a series of minor criminal convictions.
  • Obtaining the release, via a petition for habeas corpus, of a national from India who was detained, had a final order of removal, could not be removed, and was in indefinite immigration detention.
  • Obtaining Cancellation of Removal for a long-term Lawful Permanent Resident from El Salvador, who had been detained in Virginia, and placed in removal proceedings after being convicted of two minor theft offenses.
  • Obtaining Withholding of Removal for a former refugee from Sudan who had been placed in removal proceedings after a series of minor criminal offenses.
  • Obtaining T visas for several former domestic employees of foreign diplomats, who had been trafficked into the U.S. and forced to live and work under exploitative conditions.
  • Publishing a groundbreaking report on the experiences of female migrant workers in Maryland.  The report, based on first-hand research conducted by Clinic students, is entitled Picked Apart: The Hidden Struggles of Migrant Worker Women in the Maryland Crab Industry.
  • Obtaining a federal district court judgment of over $40,000 against two Ecuadorian diplomats for wages owed to their former domestic worker.
  • Filing a charge before the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of a group of immigrant workers who were unjustly terminated for engaging in protected activity.  The Clinic successfully negotiated a settlement of $75,000 on behalf of the workers.
  • Obtaining T-visas and restitution for two Korean immigrant victims of labor trafficking.
  • Filing a claim in federal district court on behalf of a cleaning company employee who was terminated from her position because of language discrimination.  The Clinic successfully negotiated a settlement on behalf of the client.
  • Filing comments with the UN Committee on Migrant Workers with regard to Mexico's compliance with the Convention on Migrant Workers.
  • Testifying before the D.C. City Council – and advocating before a range of D.C. government agencies – about compliance with the D.C. Language Access Act of 2004.
  • Filing a complaint in federal district court on behalf of an immigrant worker who was unjustly apprehended in an Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Baltimore, Maryland.
  • Obtaining asylum for a transgender woman from Guatemala, and successfully overcoming the one-year bar to asylum.
  • Obtaining interim relief under VAWA for an immigrant man who was subjected to extreme cruelty by his U.S. citizen spouse.