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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact
James E. Bentley II
james.bentley2@balimorecity.gov
(443) 257-9794

November 15, 2018

Baltimore City Joins the Vera Institute of Justice in Celebrating One Year of Providing Public Defense to Immigrants Facing Deportation as Part of the SAFE Network

The Network, Created by the Vera Institute of Justice, Includes 12 Diverse Jurisdictions Nationwide

 

BALTIMORE, MD.  — At a time when harsh immigration policies are disrupting our community, separating children and parents, and increasing detention and deportation, Baltimore City celebrates the successes of the first year of work with the Vera Institute of Justice’s Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Network. The SAFE Network is a diverse group of a dozen cities and counties across America dedicated to providing publicly-funded universal representation for people facing deportation and to build evidence for its effectiveness.

For too long, most immigrants facing the terrifying prospect of deportation from their homes, loved ones, communities, and families have had no access to legal counsel and have found themselves navigating the complexities of immigration law alone. The SAFE Network aims to change that imbalance and ensure due process for immigrants, providing clients with representation, legal information, and a fair day in court. In its first year, SAFE Network attorneys made a difference in the lives of their clients and related families and communities: in year one, a remarkable 38 percent of cases represented by SAFE attorneys and completed in immigration court resulted in successful outcomes, permitting SAFE clients to remain in the United States. By comparison, only approximately 3 percent of unrepresented cases nationwide are successful.

“Although we rightly celebrate the first anniversary of providing support and deportation defense to our immigrant community, we know that this is merely a starting point and we have much work to do in providing the resources our immigrant residents need to access the full protections of the law,”said Mayor Catherine E. Pugh.

Meanwhile, many of the individuals represented by SAFE attorneys have demonstrated deep roots and ties to the communities and families in their midst - for example, clients served in the first year have been in the U.S. for an average of 14 years and 87 percent of the children with represented parents are U.S. citizens. The approach advanced by the SAFE Network and its universal representation model recognizes that a crucial way to keep our communities cohesive, stable, safe, and successful is to ensure legal representation for those whose future depends on it. Ultimately, it’s for a judge to decide what happens to each case in immigration court. But a fair decision cannot be reached when only one side is properly represented.

According to Annie Chen, Program Director for the SAFE Network at the Vera Institute of Justice, “Year one of the SAFE Network was a demonstrated success, resulting in positive outcomes for clients and their families at a rate ten times the national average for unrepresented individuals. We look forward to building on these successes and growing the SAFE Network in year two, working with local partners to advance due process for all residents, keep more families together, and maintain safe and strong communities for all.”

In light of its importance and first year successes, Vera also announced plans to expand the SAFE Network through a Request for Proposals. Applicants will be considered for one of three levels of membership: Member, Partner, or Affiliate. Vera will award up to five jurisdictions with Member status, which includes a catalyst grant of up to $100,000. Letters of Interest are due January 17, 2019.

The approach advanced by the SAFE Network and its universal representation model recognizes that a crucial way to keep our communities cohesive and safe, and to protect the values of due process and fairness, is to ensure legal representation for those whose future depends on it. Much like a public defense model in criminal cases, the universal representation model advanced by the SAFE Network means that everyone at risk of deportation should have access to due process and a fair day in court even if they cannot afford an attorney.

In 2017, the City of Baltimore was awarded funding by the Vera Institute of Justice to increase access to legal counsel as part of the Safe City Baltimore Fund. An initiative established by Open Society Institute Baltimore and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to educate immigrants about their rights, increase access to immigration lawyers and connect individuals facing deportation with defense attorneys. 

Other key statistics about the SAFE Network during its first year include:

• SAFE clients include asylum seekers, longtime legal residents, parents or spouses of U.S. citizens, and people who came to the United States as children.
• More than a third of clients (39 percent) came to the United States as children, arriving before the age of 18.
• Many SAFE clients (44 percent) are part of mixed-status families, composed of family members with different citizenship statuses.
• SAFE Network clients are responsible for supporting themselves and their families financially—79 percent of clients with families are the “breadwinners,” responsible for at least half of their family’s income.
• Overall, the network has represented clients from 43 different countries who speak at least 20 different languages.
• By the end of the SAFE Network’s first year, 41 percent of detained clients had been released from custody, either freed on bond or having won their cases outright.
• A quarter of SAFE clients (25 percent) have been identified by their lawyers as possible victims of crime, domestic or intimate partner violence, or human trafficking. For female clients, the figures are even starker, with 41 percent identified as possible victims.
• 67 percent of SAFE Network clients who have filed an application for relief are pursuing protection-based claims (asylum, withholding of removal, or seeking relief under the Convention against Torture).

For more information: https://www.vera.org/spotlights/safe-expansion-and-success

The SAFE Network includes the following jurisdictions:

• Atlanta, GA
• Austin, TX
• Baltimore, MD
• Chicago, IL
• Columbus, OH
• Dane County, WI
• Denver, CO
• Oakland/Alameda County, CA
• Prince George’s County, MD
• Sacramento, CA
• San Antonio, TX
• Santa Ana, CA

About the Vera Institute of Justice:

The Vera Institute of Justice is a justice reform change agent. Vera produces ideas, analysis, and research that inspire change in the systems people rely upon for safety and justice, and works in close partnership with government and civic leaders to implement it. Vera is currently pursuing core priorities of ending the misuse of jails, transforming conditions of confinement, and ensuring that justice systems more effectively serve America’s increasingly diverse communities.

About Safe City Baltimore:

The Safe City Baltimore Fund was established by the Open Society Institute Baltimore (OSI) in partnership with the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA) in 2017.

Safe City Baltimore expands services and resources in order to educate immigrant communities in Baltimore about their rights, provide access to lawyers for individuals with viable claims to remain in the United States, and connect individuals facing deportation with defense attorneys. Safe City Baltimore also coordinates existing pro bono resources to make these critical resources more easily accessible, all of which helps to #KeepFamiliesTogether in Baltimore.