"Without Work, What Would You Do?"

I joined MIRC in January of 2019 to help support MIRC’s expanding farmworker and immigrant workers rights litigation team. MIRC’s focus on equity and belonging for immigrants in Michigan communities is work that resonates with my lived experience. I was born in Honduras and came to the States a couple of months before I turned 4. I grew up in the Bronx in the 1980s and like many first or second generation Latinx immigrants, I learned and spoke English at school and Spanish at home and church.

HB 4083 & HB 4090 (2019)

UPDATE 4/10/19: Despite overwhelming opposition in yesterday's hearing from groups as diverse as the Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Sheriffs Association, Michigan League for Public Policy, Michigan Office for New Americans, and many more, these bills passed out of the Military, Veterans, and Homeland Security committee with all Republicans voting for them and all Democrats voting against. We were grateful for testimony from great partners including Kim Buddin of the ACLU of Michigan and Akash Patel, a law student and friend of our office.

We believe it would be harmful to immigrant communities for these bills to proceed further. Please take a moment to contact your elected officials and express your opposition to them by clicking on the links:

Increasing Access: Integrating Holistic Well-Being

I am an intake coordinator with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center since March this year. My position is to support all our staff in the Washtenaw county office with the management of our robust intake system and with capacity building in the Detroit Metro area. This year alone, we have had an increase in detained intakes of 500% and our overall intakes have doubled. This only means that human rights of immigrants are being violated more and in various new ways.  Through December 3, we have opened 2,678 cases this year.

Warning for non-U.S. citizens about medical and recreational marijuana

As of December 6, 2018, 32 states plus the District of Colombia and Puerto Rico, have legalized medical marijuana. Ten states, including Michigan, have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, too.

People who are not U.S. citizens may believe that using marijuana in Michigan—whether for recreational or medical use—is permissible and will not affect their immigration status. Unfortunately, that is wrong!! It is still a federal offense to possess marijuana even if, under state law, it is legal for medical or recreational purposes.

Front Door Project Releases Needs Assessment for SE Michigan

The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) is pleased to release its report on immigration legal needs in Southeast Michigan. The report was compiled using data from interviews and evaluations with frontline legal service providers across Southeast Michigan between May and June 2018. Funding for this report, along with an array of comprehensive legal services focused on Southeast Michigan, comes from The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and The Kresge Foundation.

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