OSI-Baltimore to Launch SAFE CITY BALTIMORE:
An Immigrant Education and Defense Fund |
Fund will support local communities threatened by Executive Orders |
BALTIMORE – On Thursday, April 20th, Open Society Institute-Baltimore (OSI) will host a press conference to announce SAFE CITY BALTIMORE: An Immigrant Education and Defense Fund, established in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs (MIMA).
OSI-Baltimore and MIMA created SAFE CITY BALTIMORE in response to the specific and urgent needs of Baltimore’s immigrant communities, as determined in a series of conversations with on-the-ground organizations including CASA de Maryland, Esperanza Center, CAIR Maryland, Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), University of Maryland Law School Immigration Clinic, Tahirih Justice Center, and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). The fund will focus on three tiers of support, including “know your rights” outreach, legal assistance to help families develop safety plans (such as applying for passports for children who are citizens and executing power of attorney documents), documentation of feasible legal claims to stay in the country (requests for asylum and protection from human trafficking and domestic violence), and legal assistance to those in detention and facing deportation. For more detailed information and background about the fund, go to osibaltimore.org/safecitybaltimore. SAFE CITY BALTIMORE will have an initial budget of $500,000, although the level of support the fund is able to provide to immigrant communities will be dependent on the level of funds raised. Open Society, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Baltimore Community Foundation are among the funders that have already committed to support the fund. Click here to contribute to SAFE CITY BALTIMORE. Photo credit: © Chip Somodevilla/Getty |