Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Congressman Luis Gutierrez joined more than 100 elected officials, community leaders and volunteers to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Chicago Legal Protection Fund. The Fund was established to assist thousands of immigrants and refugees in the City who were threatened with deportation in the post-election era. To date, the Fund has trained more than 400 community volunteers, conducting nearly 700 Know Your Rights trainings and touched over 22,000 immigrants through community based outreach, education, legal consultations and courtroom representation – surpassing all first year goals. The City plans to continue supporting the Legal Protection Fund with an additional $1.3 investment planned for 2018. The Fund is administered through the Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) and the Resurrection Project in partnership with eight community organizations that include:
- Centro Romero
- Centro de Trabajadores Unidos
- Erie Neighborhood House
- Instituto del Progreso Latino (IDPL)
- Indo-American Center (IAC)
- Hana Center
- Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP)
- United African Organization (UAO)
A recent study by researchers at Syracuse University found that the efforts by the Legal Protection Fund have contributed to a dramatic increase in legal representation for immigrant and refugees in Chicago. According to the report, the percentage of immigrants in Chicago who were represented in deportation hearings spiked from 30 percent in May to 57 percent in August.
