Mayor Bowser Celebrates National Citizenship Day by Awarding Funds to Organizations Committed to Protecting Immigrant Residents in the District

Today, in honor of National Citizenship Day on September 17, Mayor Muriel Bowser highlighted her commitment to protecting immigrant residents’ rights by announcing the recipients of the eighth round of Immigrant Justice Legal Service Grant (IJLS) funding. In her Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Fair Shot Budget, Mayor Bowser allocated $3.5 million to the IJLS program, once again highlighting the District’s commitment to advancing the legal security of immigrant residents.

“Over the years, the IJLS program has not only benefitted DC’s immigrant residents, it has also helped us advance our DC values and strengthened the capacity of legal services providers and pro bono attorneys,” said Mayor Bowser. “Having a lawyer can make the difference between having legal status and living in the shadows, and I am incredibly grateful for the community organizations who have worked with us to make the IJLS program a success.”  
 
Since its launch in early 2017, the IJLS program has become a national model for advancing legal protections for immigrants and the program has steadily grown from a $500,000 program to $3.5 million program, with 25 grants in FY 2023 up from 23 grants in FY 2022 and nine grants at the outset. The program complements other community grant programs run by the various constituent services offices and the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants. The IJLS program benefits green card holders, torture survivors, survivors of domestic violence, asylum seekers, Dreamers, persons seeking Temporary Protective Status or renewing their TPS status, community members who want to become American citizens, residents detained by the federal immigration authorities, people wishing to make emergency preparedness plans with their families, and others.

The following organizations and their programs will receive IJLS grants in FY23:

• African Communities Together (ACT) – DC Immigration Legal Program
• American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Research Institute (ADCRI) – Legal Services for Arab and Muslim Residents of Washington, DC
• Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center – Immigration Legal Services for the District’s Asian Pacific Islander Immigrant Community
• Asylum Works – Low Bono Legal Access Initiative
• Ayuda – Community Legal Interpreter Bank
• Ayuda – Consultation and Representation Expansion Program
• Bread for the City – Legal Representation for Immigrant Survivors Project
• Briya Public Charter School – Immigration Legal Services and Education for the Briya Public Charter School Community
• Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition – DC Detained Immigrant Representation Program
• Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) – Immigrant Justice Legal Outreach and Services
• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington – Immigration Legal Services
• DC Affordable Law Firm (DCALF) – DC Comprehensive Immigration Legal Services Project
• DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (DCVLP) – Representation & Legal Advocacy for Immigrant Families (RELIEF)
• Empowerment Legal Services – Empowerment IJLS Project
• Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), Inc. – Access to Justice: Free Immigration Legal Services for Unaccompanied Immigrant and Refugee Children in Washington, DC
• Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) – Immigrant Justice Program
• Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia – Immigrants’ Rights Legal Services Project
• Many Languages One Voice (MLOV) – Immigrant Justice Program
• Mil Mujeres, Inc. – Mil Mujeres Legal Services
• Nigerian Center, Inc. – Nigerian Center Immigration Access Program
• Renaissance Center for Culture and Education – Renaissance Immigration Services
• Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) International – TASSC Legal Services Program
• Trabajadores Unidos de Washington DC (TUWDC) – Adult Workers Immigration Legal Services Resources Project
• US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) – DC Children’s Legal Services
• Whitman-Walker Health – De Colores (DC) Legal Access Initiative

Three organizations are first-time IJLS grantees: Mil Mujeres; the Nigerian Center; and the Renaissance Center for Culture and Education.

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