Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (formerly known as CAIR Coalition)

The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights—formerly CAIR Coalition—engages in unwavering legal defense and strategic litigation for immigrant children and adults facing detention and deportation. Everyone deserves access to due process and legal representation, and we work every day to make that a reality.

Equal justice for all immigrants at risk of detention and deportation in the Washington, DC region. We are driven in our pursuit of this vision by our understanding of the grave human costs of the American detention and deportation system.

Goal One: Prioritize Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Heart of the Organization and Staff Development, Support, and Retention.

Goal Two: Increase Non-Client-Facing Staff - Finance, Development, People & Culture, & Comms - to Allow Client-Facing Staff to Focus on Core Competencies and Enhance The Capabilities Of The Organization.

Goal Three: Define and Strengthen Our Provision of Social Services in an Effort to Become a More Holistic Legal Service Provider

This year CAIR Coalition has invested in a five-part leadership training for all managers on staff. The training seeks to strengthen and develop management skills regarding conflict resolution, providing productive and critical feedback, mentoring direct reports for success on the job, and strategies to recognize and deal with vicarious trauma.

The Maryland legislature passed the Dignity Not Detention (DND) Act which required localities to end all ICE Intergovernmental Service Agreements in Maryland by October 1, 2022, so that local jails can no longer serve as immigration detention centers. CAIR Coalition has been planning for the potential closure of ICE facilities in Maryland for over a year, to ensure that we remain well positioned to advocate for immigrants at risk of detention and deportation. People detained in Maryland, which includes Virginia and DC residents, are being sent to facilities across the East Coast, most particularly to Pennsylvania and Georgia. To conduct detention center visits and meet with our clients, we must drive to the out-of-state facilities, which can take up to seven hours roundtrip to the largest facility in Pennsylvania. This facility located in Moshannon has the capacity to hold over 1,500 people. We have also started to do monthly visits to Georgia to visit clients and build a referral network in the state. The vast majority of immigrants who are detained are BIPOC individuals and low-income. They struggle to afford private attorneys, and are being held in jails that are already far from most attorneys’ offices and their support networks. This means that most detained immigrants are forced to represent themselves, in a language they may not speak and navigate a notoriously complex legal system, all while held in jails, with no access to relevant documents, evidence, witnesses, or other things they might need to prepare a compelling case. CAIR Coalition is committed to traveling to Pennsylvania and Georgia to deliver these services. We believe it is vital to ensure that local residents are not forced into the shadows, away from their support networks.