Author: Nadia Tavera

Have You Ever Stepped Foot in a Courtroom?

Imagine defending your case in a foreign language and unfamiliar environment, with the outcome determining whether you return to danger or find safety. This is the reality for asylum seekers at the new Immigration Courthouse in Contra Costa County.

Join the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity (IM4HI) and the Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance (CCIRA) as a Welcome Navigator at the new Concord Immigration Courthouse!

Help provide comfort and clarity to families arriving at immigration court. As a Welcome Navigator, you can:

• Give basic directions within the courthouse
• Connect migrants to the attorney of the Day -on site-
• Be a friendly face in a time of fear

Interested?
To become a Welcome Navigator, please follow these steps:

Step 1) Watch our updated online info session with general information about the Concord Immigration Court (50 mins)

Step 2:  Watch our video training on Important Principles of Accompaniment, since being a Welcome Navigator is a form of Accompaniment (36 mins)

Step 3: Attend an IN PERSON training. 

Trainings will be held every three months. Trainings will be from 8:00am to 10:30am in person at the Concord Immigration Courthouse: 1855 Gateway Boulevard, Ste 850, Concord, CA 94520). Park on the 5th + floors only. Read about the Building Access and Security Screening Process click HERE

Please RSVP to the training by filling out the form below. All you have to do is show up one of the training days at 8am in the waiting area of the 10th floor. Nadia Tavera will be there to greet you.

IM4HI’s Legal Orientation Program

Our Legal Orientation Program provides basic orientation and pro-se clinics to empower and provide tools for immigrants.  We’re thrilled to have the skills and leadership of Pablo Guerrero, an asylum-seeker from Nicaragua, who has become an invaluable member of the IM4HI community. Pablo provides pro-se legal clinics and consultations to families from our NEAT Accompaniment Program, so they can be empowered to stand in love over fear. Through Pablo’s paralegal and legal preparer support, families are receiving support they may otherwise not have access to:

• Know Your Rights presentations
• Pro se asylum application workshops
• Pro se work permit application workshops

Check our calendar for upcoming workshops.

We are actively seeking bilingual volunteers to assist Pablo in filling out intake questionnaires in Spanish. If you are interested in volunteering, we will train you and support you as you meet this important community ask. Please contact Kelly Younger, Accompaniment Manager, at kyounger@im4humanintegrity.org to sign up.

Pablo’s Journey with IM4HI: Serving Fellow Migrants

At IM4HI we believe that immigrants, especially those who have experienced the challenges of our immigration system firsthand, know best how we can collectively protect and serve immigrants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pablo reached out to us with a passion for supporting his community and raising awareness about the situation in Nicaragua. IM4HI was able to support him to bring his children from Nicaragua through our I-134a Reuniting Families program, and he is now happily reunited with them. As a former attorney in Nicaragua, he began volunteering with us, assisting asylum seekers with their applications through our NEAT Accompaniment Program, demonstrating unwavering dedication to helping others like himself.  This summer, Pablo became the lead volunteer for our Newcomer Housing summer pilot at the University of San Francisco, ensuring that all 10 asylum seekers had filed their asylum applications before the end of the summer.

On November 19th. 2024 Pablo completed his Paralegal Immigration Training with the Paralegal Institute of the Americas, and Pablo helped design our new Legal Orientation and Pro Se program, which will have a lasting impact on the lives of hundreds of immigrants facing deportation and uncertain futures.

A Successful Collaboration Supporting Asylum Seekers

Since 2024 we have partnered each summer with the San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA) and the University of San Francisco to offer 8 weeks of housing in unused on-campus dorms to 10 asylum seekers.

We are seeking to expand our work to create similar partnerships with other college campuses throughout the Bay Area!

Interns from USF embody the institution’s values of “Change the World from Here” to provide essential case management. Interns link guests to community-based services in San Francisco such as obtaining IDs, food banks, and accessing medical care. Interns also teach people to use google maps and BART, enroll students in ESL classes, and guests to community activities. We also partner with pro bono legal services in order submit asylum and work permit applications.

For interested interns, see our USF Summer Newcomer Housing Intern FAQ

Volunteers from the community played an invaluable role for food deliveries, move-in day, and special outings.

Together, we create welcoming community

For more details on the success of this program from a student’s perspective, check out this article in USF News written by one of our 2024 USF interns: Kemelyn Alvarado’s Story: Supporting Newcomers at USF

A Partnership That’s Expanding Nationwide

This initiative is a powerful example of community collaboration, and we’re excited to announce that IM4HI is partnering with Every Campus a Refuge to expand this pilot program to other colleges campuses across the United States.  We hope all college campuses will consider offering their unused student housing over the summer to be a part of the solution for asylum seekers.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible—from the interns and volunteers to the legal teams and community partners.

Want to support our work? We are raising $20,000.00 to cover costs for the dorm room stays, welcome funds for each asylum seeker, and emergency funds to assist with their next housing opportunity. Please donate HERE

To get involved in our USF Summer Newcomer Housing program, or to bring this program to your campus, please contact Kelly Younger, Accompaniment Manager, at kyounger@im4humanintegrity.org