Taking a Year to Help KIND
- Wednesday, September 14, 2011 |
- Written by Matthew Mesa
-
Fresh out of law school, two first-year associates at Ropes & Gray took a less conventional path to launch their legal career. They accepted a one-year fellowship at the firm to practice public interest law at an organization of their choosing -- nonprofit organization, government agency, international organization, or a prosecutor or public defender office. Lucky for us, they chose KIND.
Big Steps Forward for Guatemala Return and Reintegration Project
- Friday, July 29, 2011 |
- Written by Administrator
-
On a recent trip to Guatemala, KIND signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a similar agreement with the Attorney General's office. The MOUs formalize both agencies' collaboration with KIND and their support of KIND's Guatemalan Child Return and Reintegration Project (GCRRP) to assist Guatemalan children who are returning to Guatemala from the United States.
Read more: Big Steps Forward for Guatemala Return and Reintegration Project
Advocacy Day 2011
- Wednesday, June 29, 2011 |
- Written by Megan Mckenna
-
KIND's first-ever Advocacy Day, hosted with Troutman Sanders, was a great success and helped further KIND's advocacy efforts. We accomplished what we set out to do-gain more support for adequate funding for unaccompanied children's services and for the reauthorization of a key anti-trafficking bill.
Troutman Sanders' Mark Newman, Chair, Immigration Practice Group, and Wally Christensen, Partner and KIND Board Member, welcomed participants. After an instructive advocacy training by two highly esteemed Hill experts, Bill Kamela, Policy Counsel, Microsoft, and Rob Bradner, Partner, Holland & Knight, our advocacy teams hit Capitol Hill. Teams were divided between the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and met with staffers of key members of Congress on the appropriations and judiciary committees of each body.
KIND on the Move in Los Angeles with Holland & Knight
- Wednesday, June 29, 2011 |
- Written by Megan Mckenna
-
In another show of significant support to KIND, Holland & Knight invited KIND to its noteworthy Open House reception, which was attended by more than 400 people, including immigration judges, government officials, and pro bono attorneys. The event, which celebrated the firm's relocation to the Mellon Bank Center in Downtown Los Angeles, was an exceptional opportunity for KIND to catch up with supporters and to introduce KIND to potential new friends. KIND is grateful that Holland & Knight has taken us with them to the new building and again provided us with terrific office space.
Read more: KIND on the Move in Los Angeles with Holland & Knight
Roybal-Allard Bill Helps Protect Unaccompanied Children
- Wednesday, June 29, 2011 |
- Written by Ariana Zuno
-
Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard has introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would provide enhanced protection for unaccompanied children and female detainees in the immigration system.
In one of its key provisions, the bill would ensure that independent licensed social workers are involved in the care of unaccompanied children while they are in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Advocacy Update: Protecting services and safeguards for unaccompanied children
- Thursday, May 26, 2011 |
- Written by Megan Mckenna
-
Appropriations season is underway on Capitol Hill. KIND has been working to ensure that adequate funding for unaccompanied children's services is appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services. We are urging Members of Congress on the Appropriations Committee to support the President's budget request of $177 million for these services. A small portion of this funding is used to facilitate these children's access to pro bono counsel, among other vital services. The funding is needed to find pro bono lawyers for the growing number of unaccompanied children coming forward to ask for counsel so that they are not forced to face the immigration system alone. The appropriations process will continue throughout the summer and fall. We will keep you posted on its progress.
Read more: Advocacy Update: Protecting services and safeguards for unaccompanied children
Marathon Oil Supports KIND Houston
- Thursday, April 21, 2011 |
- Written by Administrator
-
KIND is pleased to announce a grant from Marathon Oil to assist KIND-Houston in our efforts to provide legal representation to unaccompanied children.
Marathon Oil, the fourth largest U.S.-based integrated oil company is committed to enriching the communities in which they operate, and their contributions have been remarkable. KIND-Houston Pro Bono Coordinator Victoria Mora says, "They've been wonderful supporters of the Houston office. In addition to monetary grants they worked on several of our cases."
KIND visits Southwest Border
- Monday, March 21, 2011 |
- Written by Megan Mckenna
-
Many of KIND's clients are found by U.S. government officials at the Southwest border that divides Mexico from the United States. The officials, most often Customs and Border Protection officers, are charged with screening children to determine if they are unaccompanied, and for concerns about the child's health, well-being, safety, and fear of return.
IACHR Report on Immigration in the United States: Detention and Due Process
- Friday, March 18, 2011 |
- Written by Adiyah Ali
-
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
Report on Immigration in the United States: Detention and Due Process December 2010
March 18, 2011 Summary
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) report on immigration in the United States is interesting on many fronts, but at KIND, we were particularly pleased to read about the IACHR's reporting and recommendations on unaccompanied children in the United States. The report recommends appointing pro bono counsel to unaccompanied children and ensuring that shelters in which they are housed are located in urban areas with access to vital services including legal, medical, mental health and others.
Read more: IACHR Report on Immigration in the United States: Detention and Due Process
KIND Goes to Guatemala
- Wednesday, February 09, 2011 |
- Written by Administrator
-
KIND's Guatemalan Child Return and Reintegration Project (GCRRP) team traveled to Guatemala for two weeks in mid-January with a packed agenda. This was the first trip to Guatemala since the launch of the GCRRP project and staff was excited to meet KIND's five partner organizations and see their work in action.
The GCRRP team started the first week of the trip with daylong visits to the project's partner organizations. Two of the organizations, Refugio de la Niñez and Fundación el Castillo de Amor Para la Niñez, invited KIND to tour their shelters in and near the capital, Guatemala City. These shelters offer safe spaces that are available to boys and girls who are not able to return to their family and are in need of a temporary home. The GCRRP team met with the organizations' social work teams, which work to strengthen the children's families to support a safe reunification as quickly as possible.
