An Open Letter to my Non-Black Latinx Community

An Open Letter to my Non-Black Latinx Community This is a special blog post by our Paralegal Diana Mateo, who has been inspired to write by the Black Lives Matter movement  to speak out about anti-blackness in the Latino community.  A version in Spanish is available here. Hi friends, this is Benach Collopy paralegal Diana. As a Latina immigration professional, I want to share some thoughts with our BC friends and clients on some troubling issues I’ve seen in our non-Black Latinx community and on ways we can be better allies to our Black siblings.

New Rule on Asylum at Southern Border Violates Letter and Spirit of Asylum Law

The law as passed by Congress is very clear as to who may seek asylum in the United States.  Immigration & Nationality Act Section 208 states: Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum in accordance with this section or, where applicable section 235(b).

Claudia Patricia Gomez Gonzalez and Roxsana Hernandez were killed by U.S. immigration authorities last month

Claudia Patricia Gomez Gonzalez and Roxsana Hernandez were killed by U.S. immigration authorities last month On May 4, 1970, U.S. National Guardsmen shot and killed four people protesting the Vietnam War.  The massacre, known as the Kent State shootings, topped a tumultuous decade that spurred a lot of violence against those making then-controversial claims to civil rights.  In the aftermath of the shooting, many Americans blamed the protesting students and cited violations of law allegedly committed by the protestors.  What was not in dispute was that four young people lost their lives that day at the hand of troops acting under the flag of the United States.

Walls, DACA and Raids: What has happened in immigration since Trump’s inauguration?

Walls, DACA and Raids: What has happened in immigration since Trump's inauguration? Back in November, we made some predictions about what might occur in a Trump presidency as it relates to immigration.  Generally, we were very pessimistic and presumed that almost all areas of immigration would become more difficult and challenging for immigrants, families and communities.  This has proven to be true, but not in all of the ways we anticipated.  In some areas, such as refugees and admission policies, the administration has been as bad as expected. 

Clients of the Month February 2017- Karla and Anthony Duran

Clients of the Month February 2017- Karla and Anthony Duran During these difficult times for our country, when the Trump Administration has suspended the refugee resettlement program and attempted to paint all refugees as terrorists and security threats, Benach Collopy has continued the fight for human rights, including the right to seek asylum and protection from persecution. We are pleased to introduce our Clients of the Month for February 2017, Karla Duran and her six-year-old son Anthony. 

Clients of the Month- October 2016: 5 Child Refugees!

Clients of the Month-  October 2016: 5 Child Refugees! This post was written by Liana Montecinos. Thirsty, hungry, at the brink of exhaustion, and with fear of violent deaths looming large back home is how many Central American children cross into the U.S.  I know this because I have the privilege to work with child refugees in my capacity as paralegal at Benach Collopy and previously as a legal assistant at CAIR Coalition.  But, I also know this because, like the children I work with now, I fled my native Honduras at 11 and I also crossed through Guatemala and Mexico via foot.

Introducing our Fellow for Trans Asylum Issues and Celebrating Thirty Years of Whitman Walker Health Legal Services

Introducing our Fellow for Trans Asylum Issues and Celebrating Thirty Years of Whitman Walker Health Legal Services This is a big week at Benach Collopy as a number of important projects are coming together and we are very excited to share them with you. First, we are very pleased to introduce Maria Celina Marquez as the inaugural Benach Collopy- Whitman Walker Health Fellow for Trans Asylum.  This fellowship is a collaboration between Benach Collopy and Whitman Walker Health, to provide a law student with a summer fellowship to work on asylum cases for transgender people. 

Dree Collopy on Central American Refugees and Asylum Law

Writing in today’s Leadership Blog from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Dree Collopy explains the fundamentals of asylum law the critics, journalists, and politicians fail to understand: Any refusal to recognize gender-motivated violence such as rape and domestic violence as persecution worthy of protection under the Immigration and Nationality Act and the U.N. Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees reflects a complete lack of understanding of women’s relationship to the state and their own governments’ failure to provide adequate protection. 

Fight Daesh by Embracing the Refugee

Fight Daesh by Embracing the Refugee At Benach Collopy, we share the outrage over the terrorist massacre in Paris.  We weep for the families who lives where turned inside out by a murderous death cult.  As residents of another Western capital, we are all too aware that we are also a target of the missionaries of hate.  Now, in the name of protecting us, many politicians call for an end to refugee admissions. 

Bad Decision on Transgender Asylum Seeker Reversed by 9th Circuit

Bad Decision on Transgender Asylum Seeker Reversed by 9th Circuit In Avendano-Hernandez v. Lynch, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled today that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) made an error of law in denying protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) to a transgender woman from Mexico who had been sexually assaulted and raped by members of the Mexican police and military.  Apparently, an immigration judge and the BIA got it so wrong that it took an appeal to the Court of Appeals (a step below the Supreme Court) to reach the right decision.