NextGen America Announces Seven Figure Investment for Immigration Legal Services Network
Network will help leading immigrant rights organizations serve at-risk communities in need of legal services under the Trump Administration
Tom Steyer announced NextGen America’s new immigration legal services investment today at a panel at the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Las Vegas. The panel featured Yvanna Cancela, Professor Michael Kagan, Nelson Lucero, and was moderated by Erika Castro.
LAS VEGAS — Today at an event in Las Vegas, NextGen America announced a seven figure investment to support a national immigration Legal Services Network, designed to connect and strengthen the immigrant rights organizations striving to meet increased demand for legal representation under the Trump Administration.
Since day one of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has scapegoated America’s immigrant community and prioritized detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants. President Trump’s executive orders on immigration enforcement have promised to dramatically increase detention and deportation cases across the country, leaving immigration legal services organizations overburdened, underfunded, and struggling to meet demand.
“For immigrants, having legal representation is often the difference between staying in this country with your family or being forcibly removed. As the Trump Administration widens the scope of who can be arrested and deported, more and more immigrants are facing the courtroom alone – unable to afford or access a lawyer to defend their rights,” said NextGen America President Tom Steyer. “NextGen America will not silently stand by as the Trump Administration tries to tear families apart. Now is the time to increase access to legal services to protect immigrant rights, and we are proud to establish this network to address the key challenges facing legal services providers today.”
NextGen America’s Legal Services Network will enhance the ability of immigrant rights organizations to serve their communities by:
- Expanding Referral Systems — NextGen America will help partner organizations expand their capacity to refer clients and cases to law schools, clinics and firms, and increase the number of accredited legal personnel to advise, support and represent vulnerable immigrants.
- Advancing Technology — NextGen America will partner with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Immigration Council and the U.C. Hastings Center for Gender and Refugee Studies to further develop an online education hub and engagement platform for lawyers, a platform to share legal developments and news affecting immigration law, and a virtual library to access important legal resources and training materials.
- Organizing Trainings and Materials — NextGen America will work with partners to provide technical assistance regarding screening, supporting and representing undocumented immigrants and refugees through trainings and shared materials, as well as programmatic assistance for organizations that want to expand their legal services programs.
To date, NextGen America’s partners in the Legal Services Network include the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), a project of the Center for Community Change, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Immigration Council, the Council on Arab Islamic Relations, the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Advancing Justice Asian Law Caucus, the University of California Immigrant Legal Services Center, the University of Davis Law School Immigration Clinic, and the UC Hastings Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS).
“Expanding access to legal services is critical for supporting immigrant communities who are suffering under Trump’s deportation agenda,” said Kica Matos, director of immigrant rights and racial justice at the Center for Community Change. “Far too often, families are torn apart because they cannot afford or do not know how to find a lawyer to help them through our immigration system. With NextGen America’s investment, FIRM’s grassroots affiliates will be able to recruit more legal personnel and connect them to immigrants in need.”
“Immigrants and refugees need good lawyers now more than ever,” said UC Hastings Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS) Co-Legal Director Blaine Bookey. “At CGRS, we provide support to every attorney who turns to us for help because we know that for asylum seekers effective legal representation can be life-saving. We are thrilled to be partnering with NextGen America to use novel technologies to meet the growing and urgent need for expertise in asylum cases.”
“As the immigrant communities we represent face unprecedented threats to their safety, it’s going to be increasingly important for civil rights defenders to quickly respond with solutions,” said Aarti Kohli, Executive Director of Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus. “With the help of NextGen America and Tom Steyer, we’re looking forward to scaling and improving the impact we can make here in San Francisco and across the country.”
“The University of California and its Immigrant Legal Services Center is excited and appreciative of this generous support from NextGen America,” said Maria Blanco, Executive Director of the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center. “Our services support the immigrant students, with and without DACA, of the University of California and their families. In these turbulent times for immigrants, legal services provide a lifeline that helps students integrate and succeed.”
“The American Muslim community is experiencing unprecedented levels of hate, bias and bigotry. It is more important now than ever to strengthen our civil rights organizations,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “In partnership with NextGen America, we will build a stronger civil rights infrastructure for 20 CAIR chapters across the country. It will expand the capacity of chapters to provide legal services and assist individuals who face discrimination, creating a strong, resilient and empowered community.”
“The Immigration Justice Campaign (IJC) welcomes Next Gen America’s investment in the technological infrastructure that will build capacity for pro bono lawyers to help immigrants detained across the country,” said Karen Lucas, Director of the Immigration Justice Campaign. “The two organizations that coordinate the IJC’s efforts, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Immigration Council, know well that having an attorney is crucial to a vulnerable immigrant’s chance of making his or her case. NextGen America’s investment is going to ensure clients and attorneys can seamlessly connect, and through their work, will help the countless American communities these immigrants and their families proudly call home.”
“With over 300,000 immigrants in rural California eligible for citizenship, and at least another 300,000 undocumented farm workers spread across the same expansive geographic region, the need to expand access to community-based immigration services is critical. California’s rural immigrant families are the most underserved, under-resourced, and isolated. They live in the most conservative parts of our state where immigrants are most vulnerable to fraud, worker exploitation is rampant, and access to free, quality legal services is scarce,” said Amagda Pérez, Executive Director of CRLA Foundation. “CRLA Foundation is looking forward to partnering with an organization like NextGen America that understands the immense importance of ensuring that low-income immigrants in rural California can obtain free legal information, assistance, and representation.”