As the unmet needs of Vermont’s immigrant populations continue to grow, the establishment of an Office of New Americans (ONA) equivalent is becoming increasingly urgent to ensure the responsible, sustainable, and cost effective delivery of services by government and nongovernment agencies. Centralized coordination to maximize service impacts is especially urgent as we confront a possible second Trump Administration. Accordingly, a coalition of stakeholders is forming to advocate for such an office to centralize coordination, maximize impacts of expert service delivery, and offer immigrants a clear point of contact for accessing services.
As 20-or-so other jurisdictions have already found, including New York, California, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maine, and Washington, ONA equivalents eliminate duplicative intake systems across providers, reduce service gaps as organizations cross-refer, allow for more meaningful demographic data collection, and better position service sectors to access desperately-needed federal and private resources. In sum, expanding our state partners' internal coordination with each other, as well as our external collaboration with the national Office of New Americans State Network, would allow Vermont to better address the complex needs of its growing immigrant communities.
Focusing on the legal services sector that VAAP champions, coordinated intake would conserve attorney resources so we can do what we do best: assist noncitizens to invoke immigration legal claims and defenses that enable their full and safe participation in the regulated economy; protect noncitizens from harmful and wasteful enforcement and removal proceedings; and ensures an inclusive and prosperous future Vermont for all not withstanding Vermont's critical workforce and working age taxpayer shortages.
Recall that a work authorized social security number is the necessary precursor to proving your identity with public institutions, working, opening a bank account, obtaining a REAL ID needed to travel safely between states, securing financing to own a home, run a business, or access public financial aid, and more. Work authorization is not an independent immigration benefit one can apply for and is only available incident to some other claim or defense you have filed, normally with the assistance of an attorney.
Our client communities are navigating election-fueled anti-immigrant hate and fearmongering, and an associated explosion of immigration legal needs to unlock access to basic resources like food, shelter, and healthcare. We are struggling to educate the public on the full scope of these unmet needs, let alone to address them in culturally responsive, accessible, and meaningful ways. For these reasons, we also hope that an ONA equivalent will help us document a fuller and more accurate picture of unmet immigration service needs in Vermont, such as what's left out of the following Seven Days cartoon by Tim Newcomb (2024). The cartoon depicts two female-presenting immigrants wearing hijabs in "refugee" status, presumably Afghan women, celebrating their lived experience of more civil and political rights since coming to Vermont. It is unclear what, if any, role the subjects of this image played in its production.
VAAP constituents and staff with lived experience express feelings of disrespect, infantilization, and minimization upon seeing this image. Furthermore, from our perspective as legal service coordinators, what the cartoon leaves out is the often-fruitless trauma that most humanitarian status-seeking immigrants experience seeking counsel to assert viable immigration legal claims for status and associated work authorization, just to be able to access fundamental social and economic needs like food, housing, employment/income, and healthcare.
Federal policy ensured that Afghan evacuees, in particular, had historically unmatched access to legal services and interim resettlement supports and, still, this population struggled to enjoy due process of immigration law and access basic needs. Indeed, the resettlement experience of the vast majority of Vermont's noncitizens, who come from dozens of countries worldwide, looks starkly different than what is summarily depicted here.
An ONA equivalent for Vermont would not be a panacea, but at least a means for evidence-based progress toward more equitable and inclusive immigration services and public awareness for all. Feeling impassioned? Get in touch to join our growing coalition. We are stronger together!
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We are once again adapting intake methods to respond to evolving needs!
In September and October, we piloted a "Walk-in Wednesdays" intake system wherein our growing volunteer base helped us to make intake more immediately accessible to the community. It’s been heartening to see more than 20 families and community members access legal advice by walking in or calling in during these no-appointment intake days. However, at October's clinic, we reached capacity with just one hour of opening our doors and phone lines. We subsequently disappointed many individuals who took time off of work to visit us later in the day seeking help. For the impact we had on clients and service providers alike, we apologize sincerely. Going forward, in an effort to manage intake in a way that more effectively balances clients' accessibility needs with our small team's resource limitations, we have suspended the pilot and reverted back to an improved internet-based intake system.
Effective immediately, please use the QR code linked above and/or this Request Immigration Legal Help Form to join our confidential callback waitlist. As detailed on our website, we will use the contact information provided in form responses to return calls for help in the order in which we receive them OR in order of apparent legal urgency, all pursuant to capacity limitations. Thanks for your patience as we learn by doing and help build sustainable immigration legal services for Vermont!
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We are once again pivoting volunteer models, too!
THANK YOU to legal advocates who already volunteered for an upcoming "walk-in Wednesday" limited assistance clinic this fall. We will be reaching out to you shortly to propose a remote-based workflow for providing VAAP clients with asylum application assistance on your scheduled days.
For legal advocates who are interested in volunteering, the need has never been more urgent! Partners at Migrant Justice alone report over 30 asylum seeking members who will reach their one year filing deadline by January 2025, with dozens of other members hoping to file their claims before a potential Trump inauguration. Burlington's Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) and the Family Room report similarly pressing needs among their service populations.
We need volunteers to help with the expeditious preparation and filing of preliminary or "skeletal" asylum applications on USCIS Form I-589. Any legal professionals, not just lawyers, are welcome to assist. We will ask you to review and sign our mentorship and confidentiality agreements, complete about 1.5 hours of virtual training, and then sign up for at least one 3-hour application assistance shift to be completed virtually or in person.
These discreet volunteer shifts are a great opportunity to learn or fine-tune asylum law and practice skills and to help us advance VAAP’s mission. We’ll coordinate all logistics and provide you with training, resources, interpreters, supervision, and practice insurance. No experience or multilingual language skills necessary - just a willingness to learn and meet potential clients where they are at! Contact us to express your no-obligation interest and learn more. Whether you're completing your first-year attorney mentorship licensing requirements, planning your retirement projects, interested in skilling up, or interested in giving back, VAAP is here for you!
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Tuesday, October 15: VAAP hosts inaugural virtual immigration Q&A for VT immigrant non-legal service providers.
Tuesday, October 29: VAAP hosts virtual immigration case rounds for VT lawyers and legal workers.
Tuesday, November 19: VAAP hosts virtual immigration Q&A for VT immigrant non-legal service providers.
Tuesday, November 26: VAAP hosts immigration case rounds for VT lawyers and legal workers.
Tuesday, December 17: VAAP hosts virtual immigration Q&A for VT immigrant non-legal service providers.
We'll share rolling updates through our blog, calendar, newsletters, and social media. Follow along and encourage potential clients and partners to do the same. You can also contact VAAP to express no-obligation interest in volunteering anytime.
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CONNECTING CULTURES' CORNER
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Updates from our partners at Connecting Cultures
As we announced last month, we’re excited to begin sharing VAAP newsletter and blog space with our multidisciplinary partners at Connecting Cultures, with whom VAAP collaborates closely to provide culturally relevant and trauma-informed asylum seeker resettlement services. This round of Connecting Cultures' Corner, we spotlight:
- Addiction Policy Forum multilingual resources & Insight Collaborative's humanitarian wellness resources.
- A country profile on the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- A clinician profile of Rosalie Wright-Lapin.
- Upcoming events, and more!
We are grateful to Connecting Cultures (formally known as New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma or NESTT) for paving the way for VAAP to exist and supporting us with funding to deliver legal services and community education. Check out our blog to learn more!
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From our humble beginnings as a volunteer-led effort to today's paid staff of four, the VAAP staff and VAAP board extend our heartfelt thanks for making our mission a reality!
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