June is a particularly special month to IIA, because of the many celebrations honoring Immigrant Heritage Month and World Refugee Day! Check out how we celebrated, as well as some incredible stories from IIA and the community below.
Immigration Legal Team Highlight!
Human trafficking is a form of violence in which abusers profit from forcing, tricking, or pressuring people into some form of work or commercial sexual exploitation. There are an estimated 27.6 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. Traffickers and their cohorts often target refugees and undocumented, displaced adults and children from outside the U.S. Their controllers often subject them to various forms of manipulation, exploitation, involuntary servitude, violence, or discrimination. Because migrants often experience hardships meeting basic needs such as shelter and food, they are particularly susceptible to being trafficked around the world and in the United States.
The IIA legal team recently worked on a pro-bono case that has the ingredients of human trafficking and involuntary servitude. A woman was arrested and charged with felonies after inflicting wounds on one of her controllers in self-defense against sexual exploitation and domestic violence. If convicted, she would be deported back to her home country.
From the initial inquiry into this woman’s circumstances, IIA lawyers recognized that she may have been a victim of some form of coercion, trafficking, and/or involuntary servitude. She was transported from another state to Ohio to work in a factory. She was presented with a fake ID, worked for unlivable wages, and was provided with inadequate housing. They not only drove her back and forth from the residence to work each day, but they also closely managed every aspect of her whereabouts.
After hearing her story, the IIA legal team collaborated with the criminal defense attorney, advising on the immigration consequences that may arise from this case. After a week of trial, she was acquitted of all charges and immediately released from jail.
Because she cooperated fully with law enforcement in the investigation of this case, IIA can now pursue the immigration issue with a view of convincing USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) of her eligibility for a U-Visa. For now, IIA will work tirelessly to dispel the threat of deportation, with the further goal of obtaining permanent immigration benefits for her.
We are incredibly proud of the life-saving work the IIA team does on a daily basis. We’re honored to share this incredible and harrowing story in which an individual in the immigrant community stood up for herself, and, with some help from our legal team, can now look forward, with some measure of hope, to her future in the U.S.
RubberDucks Game
In honor of World Refugee Day and Immigrant Heritage Month, IIA staff, family, friends, and supporters came together to enjoy a fun night of baseball and fireworks at the Akron RubberDucks Game on Saturday, June 24. Thank you to the RubberDucks team for giving IIA the space for celebration and advocacy!
National March for Jayland
On Wednesday, June 28th, at 1:30 pm in Washington D.C., a group of more than 100 individuals from Northeast Ohio marched in Washington to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to demand justice for Jayland Walker. Demonstrators included members of the Walker family, as well as other families affected by police violence across the country.
Two IIA immigration legal interns went to D.C. with the group to support their efforts. One of the interns, Purva, stated that “working at [IIA] has taught me that we have to fight for everybody, and that includes the people around us in the community.” When we asked the interns why the experience was meaningful to them, they said it was witnessing how people came together in the face of tragedy to fight for their rights. They felt a sense of empowerment and were inspired by the community they were a part of.
At the Department of Justice, Jayland’s mother hand-delivered a letter to a DOJ representative demanding a federal investigation into civil rights violations by the Akron Police Department. The letter was signed by everybody who took part in the march. It is our hope at IIA that representatives from the state and federal government do their part to bring justice to Jayland Walker, and ensure that no other family has to experience the loss that the Walker family went through only one year ago.
Citizenship Workshop
On Saturday, June 17th, the IIA legal team held a Citizenship Workshop to complete and submit citizenship applications for immigrants in the community. IIA attorneys, legal aids, and interns assisted eleven people in applying for citizenship, and we could not be more proud of our team for their hard work and for the community members in taking the next step to becoming U.S. citizens!
World Refugee Day
In partnership with Immigration Network – Akron, IIA celebrated World Refugee Day on Tuesday, June 20th at People’s Park in North Hill. It was a lovely evening filled with performances, games, and food, and most importantly, we had the opportunity to honor and celebrate our Akron refugee community!
Donations Needed
We are currently seeking for donations to support our efforts in assisting refugees and immigrants in integrating into their new communities.
If you can donate anything on the list of needs below, please contact IIA’s Housing and Donation Specialist, Dan Hennon, at dan.hennon@iiakron.org.
Current Needs:
Big pots
Pans
Lightbulbs
Twin-size blankets
Twin-size sheets
Toilet paper
Laundry detergent
Pillows
If you are interested in donating monetarily to support IIA’s work in the refugee and immigrant communities, please visit: https://iiakron.charityproud.org/Donate
IIA is Hiring!
IIA is excited to announce that we are currently seeking to fill the positions of Staff Attorney, Bookkeeper, and
Interpreters. If you are interested in applying for any of these opportunities or wish to learn more about them, visit our website at www.iiakron.org/join-our-team.
We encourage all qualified candidates to apply and look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks for staying up to date on everything IIA, and we look forward to sharing more information soon!