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A REMINDER that all Boston Immigration Court cases in which the Respondent reports living at a Vermont-based zip code are being moved to the new Lowell Immigration Court in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. It is very likely that if you have any upcoming court date scheduled at the Boston Immigration Court, the date and location of your next hearing will be changed with very short notice. We recommend checking the Immigration Court's online system weekly while your case is in Immigration Court, by visiting https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/ and typing in your "A-number" (an 8 or 9 digit number listed on the top section of most immigration documents).
We are closely monitoring reports from Lowell being shared among the American Immigration Lawyers Association's New England Chapter and the Northern New England Practitioners' Group. So far, the Lowell Immigration Judges sound thorough and relatively fair, and the return dates sound much sooner than what Judges were offering in Boston (including same-year next hearing dates for Respondents who request them). Keep an eye on Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) for Lowell Immigration Court stats and individual Immigration Judges' grant and denial rates. We're supervising a pro bono attorney for all our first Lowell-based Master Calendar Hearing this week; we'll keep you updated!
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Connecting Cultures/New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma (NESTT) are two names for the same incredible program, of which VAAP is lucky to be a part. Connecting Cultures is an interdisciplinary partnership of psychological, social worker, case management, legal, medical, physical therapy, and other providers who collaborate to provide survivors of "torture," as defined by the TVPA, with holistic, integrated, and effective services in a culturally relevant and client-centered context. VAAP's Executive Director, Jill Martin Diaz, is fortunate to direct the legal wing of the Connecting Cultures partnership, which streamlines VAAP clients' access to forensic psychological and medical evaluations, human services and medical care, counselling, and more. Connecting Cultures is supported by funding from the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which constitutes a large proportion of funding at VAAP. We are all in the process of updating our websites, so please reach out to us with any questions or to get connected to other partners in the Connecting Cultures consortium.
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Earn CLEs with us at the Vermont Bar Association in May!
The Vermont Bar Association (VBA) is hosting VAAP for two immigration 101 trainings this month: one overviewing the origins, structure, and practice of immigration law in a nutshell, and the other overviewing exciting immigration-related legal developments happening locally in Vermont. Yes, these trainings are paywalled, BUT participating means CLE credit and supporting our wonderful Bar.
Share learning at a groundbreaking interdisciplinary forum in June!
You and your organizations are warmly invited to an English-language multidisciplinary symposium covering the ins and outs of welcoming recently arrived immigrants to Vermont. People classed as "refugees" are eligible for government-sponsored resettlement supports—but what about people who are seeking asylum to become a "refugee," who comprise the majority of individuals facing immigration removal proceedings today? This interactive, practical symposium on June 14 will cover the law, practice, and experience of asylum-seeking in Vermont.
Confirmed presenters include Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV); U.S. Committee on Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI); the Center for Justice Reform Clinic (CRJC); Vermont Language Justice Project (VLJP); Vermont Legal Aid (VLA); Vermont Afghan Alliance (VAA); Connecting Cultures; the Vermont State Refugee Office (SRO); Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP); and beyond!
In-person attendance is limited, so register ASAP to secure your spot. Thanks to our generous sponsors, registration is FREE, lunch and refreshments will be served, and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit is pending. If you can't join us in person, we will stream online and also record for those who RSVP. Co-sponsored by the Vermont Asylum Seeker Network, Vermont Afghan Alliance, Vermont Law and Graduate School's Vermont Poverty Law Fellow, and Vermont Asylum Assistance Project.
Complete our online training!
In Fall 2023, the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project partnered with Vecina, a Texas-based nonprofit founded with the mission to “empower immigrant justice advocates through mentoring attorneys, educating communities, and mobilizing volunteers.” We are excited to share that Vecina has designed two online training modules that are available to VAAP pro bono attorneys. The first module is an overview of affirmative asylum and the second trains attorneys to conduct in-depth asylum client intakes. We are so grateful to Vecina for these resources and look forward to sharing them with pro bono attorneys who are interested in volunteering with us. Please email us for details on how to access these trainings.
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Updated Pro Bono FAQs and Pro Se Asylum Clinics
If you are interested in volunteering your time by providing an asylum seeker with free legal help, but you're not quite sure where to start, check out these Frequently Asked Questions which we'll keep updated on a rolling basis. Next, take a look at our public-facing online resources and then email us for access to our pro bono email list and insiders-only Resource SharePoint.
Not ready to take a case for full representation without some practice experience under your belt? Start by volunteering as an attorney-for-a-day at one of our upcoming pro se assistance clinics. The next one is June 13th at the Vermont Law and Graduate School's Burlington Office. We'll be training and supervising pro bono attorneys to assist pro se asylum seekers with with applications on USCIS Form I-589. We'll handle intake and language access, you just RSVP! Refreshments will be served!
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
- THE VAAP TEAM
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Jill Martin Diaz (they/them), Executive Director is VAAP's supervising attorney and first full-time paid staff. They come to VAAP from Vermont Law and Graduate School where they taught doctrinal and clinical immigration law and directed the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. Previously, Jill practiced as a Vermont Poverty Law Fellow at Vermont Legal Aid and an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at Sanctuary for Families New York. The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association recognized Jill’s achievements by honoring them as one of 2023’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40. They speak English and Spanish and are licensed to practice in New York, Vermont, and the District of Vermont.
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Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Board Member is Burlington Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak's Chief of Staff. Previously she worked as Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, and before that she was a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School. There, she served as the Senior Staff Attorney at Vermont Immigrant Assistance project, where she supervised student clinicians on humanitarian immigration cases and taught Immigration Law and Legislation & Regulation in the classroom.
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Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Board Member is the Director of Finance at Evernorth and lives with her husband Miles on a small homestead in Huntington, VT. In 2013, Caitlin earned her M.B.A from Antioch University in Sustainable Business Management, and has spent the last 10 years working in financial leadership of multiple mission-driven entrepreneurial businesses across Vermont. She is excited to bring her affinity for spreadsheets, budgets and financial planning to the organizational efforts of the VAAP team.
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Faith Orr (she/her), Board Secretary is a second-year law student at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She graduated from Concordia University in Montréal in 2015, specializing in French-to-English translation and worked as a French-to-English translator and legal assistant. Faith has experienced her own immigration challenges, and finally became a Canadian permanent resident last year. She moved back to Vermont during COVID-19 to continue her studies and help to better the lives of asylum seekers in Vermont. She plans to practice immigration law after passing the bar.
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Kate Paarlberg-Kvam (she/they), Board Member is the Executive Director of the Milk With Dignity Standards Council. She has a PhD in Latin American Studies, and spent ten years teaching college prior to directing the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in Brattleboro, VT. In that role Kate learned firsthand the transformative power of legal representation for asylum seekers, and worked with CASP to co-found the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project with Rebecca Wasserman. Kate now directs the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, a Burlington-based nonprofit working to ensure the human rights of Vermont's dairy workers. Kate has worked as a researcher and a solidarity activist with social movement organizers in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish, occasionally helping VAAP with interpretation and translation needs.
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Becky Wasserman (she/her), Board Member is an attorney and the Executive Director of the VT Saves Program in the Office of the State Treasurer. Becky started working with asylum seekers more than ten years ago through her law school’s immigration clinic. Since then she has worked in a pro bono capacity on a number of immigration matters, including volunteering at the southern border in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, she co-founded the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, with Kate Paarlberg-Kvam.
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