Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice

A message from Mabel Center regarding the shameful return of children and family detention: See full email here: https://lnkd.in/ebvQ6k_e

Thank you to?IFSI - Immigrant Family Services Institute - USA for bringing so many dedicated people together to imagine alternative futures - when we fight, we win! We appreciate the opportunity to talk about the legal services landscape and think of solutions for the challenges our community is facing.

Thank you to?IFSI - Immigrant Family Services Institute - USA for bringing so many dedicated people together to imagine alternative futures - when we fight, we win! We appreciate the opportunity to talk about the legal services landscape and think of solutions for the challenges our community is facing.

We face the next four years resolved to continue the important fight on behalf of U.S. asylum-seekers. Though the incoming administration is trying to undermine U.S. asylum law, we will not back not down and will continue to uphold the rights and dignity of our clients.

We are thrilled to welcome Raphaela Barros Campbell as the new Director of Development at Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice! Raphaela brings a wealth of expertise to this role, with a strong background in education, visual and written communications, and grant writing. Prior to joining our team, she held key roles at Rian Immigrant Center and The Center for Hope and Healing, where she excelled in data management, strategic planning, foundation relations, event planning, and fundraising—just to name a few of her many skills! Originally from Brazil, Raphaela’s lived experience as an immigrant, combined with her unwavering commitment to serving others, makes her an outstanding fit for our mission at Mabel Center. We are confident that her expertise and passion will greatly contribute to our efforts to support asylum-seeking families in the Boston area. Please join us in giving Raphaela a warm welcome to the team!

It's a day to celebrate! As Mabel Center gears up for the difficult work in the coming four years, we are inspired by the resilience that Mabel and all of our clients demonstrate. If you'd like to support our fight, please donate on our website: https://lnkd.in/gGwbAi2f

We are proud and excited to announce that Tamara Shamir will be joining Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice for two years as a Skadden Fellow! Following her graduation from Harvard Law School in the spring, Tamara will be working with Mabel Center providing legal services for families and individuals impacted by accelerated asylum programs such as the Asylum Processing Rule and Family Expedited Removal Management. In this role, she’ll be preventing wrongful deportations caused by expedited asylum processes.? Tamara has been a critical component of Mabel Center since its inception. She took a semester off as a Harvard Senior to help cofounders Jill and Daniel launch Mabel Center in December 2020. Tamara has been deeply involved in almost every aspect of the organization from client intake and affidavits, to press releases and assisting with dozens of pro se asylum applications. In addition to Tamara’s previous work with Mabel Center, she has clerked with the Texas Civil Rights Project and for Innovation Law Lab in Oregon. She has contributed to research projects with professors at Harvard, Yale, and UCLA on asylum, abortion, and Constitutional law. We are grateful to the Skadden Foundation for providing this opportunity and to Tamara for developing a project that fills an important gap in our services. We are delighted to work with Tamara for the next two years, and we know she’ll use her expertise, compassion, tenacity, insight, and talent to provide invaluable legal services for families and individuals impacted by expedited asylum programs. Congratulations Tamara – we’re thrilled to work with you again!

On November 7th, a large fire destroyed an apartment building in Peabody. Tragically, 20 families were displaced by the blaze. All of Mabel Center’s staff were there the next day alongside the American Red Cross, Peabody Emergency Management, and Massachusetts Department Of Transitional Assistance, among others. We provided legal consultations and support to the families displaced by the fire – answering general legal questions and advising how to replace immigrant documents lost in the fire. We are proud to have been part of the team assembled by Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) that provided aid to these families. We know that the next few months will bring added challenges and we look forward to being a part of the community response. https://lnkd.in/gSKmZtzf

Please get out and vote! Today is an important day. Your vote shapes the future and ensures your voice is part of the critical decisions facing our country. This is a particularly important election with far-reaching consequences for the future of our democracy. And the implications for immigration policy can’t be overstated. We can’t go back to the wildly restrictive immigration policies of the Trump years. Over the last couple administrations, asylum-seekers have faced unprecedented and unjust legal challenges while seeking safety in the United States. Most likely today will end with uncertainty, and it will be some time before a victor is declared. Regardless of who wins, alongside other immigrant advocates, Mabel Center will continue to fight until every asylum seeker is treated with the humanity and dignity they deserve. In solidarity, Jill

Though this year has brought its own challenges, including increasingly restrictive policies towards asylum seekers, it has also brought some unique opportunities—allowing us to do extensive work with Haitian clients at a Massachusetts emergency shelter. Even as we are wrapped up in the work of 2024, it’s useful to look back and take stock of what we’ve accomplished and learned along the way. We hope that you’ll take a look at our annual report and see all that we’ve achieved together in Fiscal Year 2023! https://lnkd.in/ga3Nxzc3