June 2023

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MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

June 2023

UPDATES FROM OUR TEAM

Dear all,

We know it has been a couple of months since we have sent out our last newsletter but we have been busy behind the scenes streamlining our volunteer process, planning several projects, and forging new partnerships.  We hope to share these initiatives next month!

 In the meantime, we continue to be excited about the work we are doing.  Since March, we have made a new pro bono attorney and asylum seeker match and received news that one of our pro bono attorney teams completed the submission of an I-589 for an asylum seeker. The VAAP Board also had its first meeting at the end of April and is actively recruiting for additional members.

See below for additional news and to learn more about ways to get involved with VAAP!

PRO BONO NEWS

Title 42 Restrictions
Following the end of Title 42, the Administration is putting in place new restrictions at the southern border that will continue to impact a person's ability to seek asylum. These restrictions include new bars to asylum that create obstacles for asylum seekers to exercise their legal right to claim asylum.

On May 11th the Biden Administration lifted Title 42, the pandemic-era public health measure that immigration authorities used to manage and deter asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

VAAP is committed to supporting the legal right of asylum seekers to gain protection in the United States, regardless of how they enter the country. We encourage you to read more about these restrictions here.

Afghan Re-Parole Process
On June 8th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) opened a process for eligible Afghan Nationals who arrived under humanitarian parole through the Operation Allies Welcome to request a new period of parole so they can continue to live and work legally in the United States.  Under the law, parole requests are considered on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons and significant public benefit.  Importantly, Afghan parolees who apply for asylum or for adjustment to lawful permanent resident prior to the expiration of their initial parole period do not need to submit an application for re-parole, as DHS will consider for an extension of their original parole period on a case-by-case basis.

Stay tuned to learn more about our plans to support Afghans in Vermont.

GET INVOLVED

We continue to actively match new pro bono attorneys with experienced mentors to work on asylum cases with clients in need of legal assistance. Please email vaap@caspvt.org if you or your firm would like more information about that process! We would also like to hear from you if you are interested in joining our Board.

VAAP is building a budget that would help us support a full-time director to fully resource pro bono asylum attorneys in the State. If you would like to support this growing project, please donate here.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
- THE VAAP TEAM

Donate to VAAP
Erin Jacobsen (she/her), Chair of the Board is an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Vermont Attorney General and Co-Director of the office’s Community Justice Division, which seeks to improve equity, public safety, and fairness in all aspects of the criminal legal system. She was previously a Professor of Law and Director of the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and 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.
Caitlin Jenness (she/her), Treasurer 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.
Faith Orr (she/her), Secretary is a first-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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