Saturday, January 2, 2016

Your Tax Dollars pay for Legal Representation of Immigrants




A 501c6 organization





The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is the national association of more than 11,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. AILA works with pro bono attorneys to represent low income and indigent immigrants before the agency and the federal courts nationwide. In addition to the many pro bono initiatives at AILA chapters across the country, AILA supports the Military Assistance Project (MAP), AILA Citizenship Day, and the AILA Member Pro Bono Pledge. 



(But as you can see by the federal grants below, it is OUR tax dollars that pay for these programs!)



NOTE:  The AILA also works closely with Tides funded organizations like the American Immigration Council EIN 52-1549711.  More about them later



American Bar Association Commission on Immigration

The American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Immigration directs the ABA's efforts to ensure fair treatment and full due process rights for immigrants and refugees within the United States. Pro bono programs operated by the Commission include the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), the Immigration Justice Project (IJP) of San Diego, the Detention Standards Implementation Initiative (DSII), and The Fight Notario Fraud (FNF) Project. To learn more, visit the ABA Commission on Immigration.

Federal Grants to AILA

Contracting Agency
Date Signed
 ($)
Contracting Office
OFFICES, BOARDS AND DIVISIONS
5-Jun-06
$58,573.00
DEPT OF JUSTICE
OFFICES, BOARDS AND DIVISIONS
1-Jun-15
$199,018.00
LIBRARY STAFF
OFFICES, BOARDS AND DIVISIONS
3-Jun-10
$75,212.23
DEPT OF JUSTICE
U.S. CUSTOMS
6-Aug-12
$3,220.00
TRADE FACILITATION&MISSION SUPPORT CONTRACTING DIVISION
U.S. CUSTOMS
7-Jul-14
$3,521.20
TRADE FACILITATION&MISSION SUPPORT CONTRACTING DIVISION
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
19-Mar-08
$121,937.04
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
30-Oct-12
$0.00
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
16-Sep-08
$6,956.00
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
26-Aug-09
$1,868.00
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
8-Dec-09
$7,060.00
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
17-Dec-10
$7,060.00
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
20-Dec-11
$7,060.00
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
6-May-13
($312.00)
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
28-Jun-10
$99,886.00
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
24-Jan-12
$0.00
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
31-Jul-10
$21,661.34
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
13-Jan-12
$0.00
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
13-Dec-12
$6,956.04
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
19-Apr-15
($0.04)
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
25-Feb-14
$10,000.00
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
13-Jan-15
$10,500.00
MISSION SUPPORT ORLANDO
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
16-Sep-06
$6,708.00
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
21-Aug-07
$33,327.95
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
12-Sep-07
$11,225.00
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. IMMIG & CUSTOMS
7-Dec-07
$0.00
MISSION SUPPORT DALLAS
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
29-Aug-05
$5,364.00
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
8-May-06
$79,519.09
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
24-May-06
$6,516.90
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
1-Jun-06
$4,876.43
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
3-Aug-06
$3,280.55
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
12-Sep-06
$17,455.05
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
2-Jan-08
$3,397.00
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
25-Aug-08
$4,166.40
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
9-Sep-08
$6,252.39
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
30-Dec-08
$3,297.00
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
31-Aug-10
$3,202.89
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
31-Aug-10
$32,663.75
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
21-Jun-12
$4,267.00
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
24-Aug-12
$36,714.00
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
27-Nov-12
$5,797.60
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
20-Sep-13
$7,876.80
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
24-Sep-13
$10,381.20
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
6-Aug-14
$58,759.25
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION
17-Sep-15
$8,077.84
USCIS CONTRACTING OFFICE
 



Know the players:



Their Council Ambassador: Stephen Blower 

blowerlaw@yahoo.com
Blower Law Firm, PC


Their Council Ambassador: Kenneth Schmitt


About Kenneth: Ken is a founder and principal of US Legal Solutions. He has practiced law in the St. Louis Metropolitan area for over twenty years and in the last fifteen years, has focused  a substantial and increasing portion of his professional time representing immigrants and their employers and families in a variety of immigration and other matters. 

Ken received his Juris Doctorate cum laude from St. Louis University School of Law in 1993, his Master of Arts in Public Administration from St. Louis University in 1993 and his Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Political Science from St. Louis University in 1989. He is a graduate of St. Pius X High School in Festus, Missouri. He is a lifetime resident of Missouri, was raised in Jefferson County and currently resides in the City of St. Louis,




Kansas CLE Commission
(continuing Legal Education)

400 S. Kansas Avenue
Suite 202
Topeka, KS 66603
Tel: (785) 357-6510



(See the affiliate map for addresses – I count over a dozen for the KS/MO area alone)



Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) is a non-profit legal support organization incorporated in 1988 to serve the nation's most vulnerable immigrants, including refugees/asylum-seekers, detainees, families in need of reunification, laborers abused in the workplace, and survivors of violence.



BIA Pro Bono Project

The BIA Pro Bono Project, CLINIC's partnership with the Board of Immigration Appeals, is one of the nation's most successful pro bono initiatives. Through this project, CLINIC works with more than 400 attorneys and law school clinics to provide pro bono legal representation to indigent immigrants. Through a network of committed volunteers, trainers and mentors, the BIA Project facilitates access to justice, a critical component to safeguarding the rights of vulnerable asylum-seekers and long-time lawful permanent residents. 

Start making a file to share with your local council, state representatives and Congress.   Test the waters to find the people who will work for you and vote the others out!