The content in this preview is based on the last saved version of your email - any changes made to your email that have not been saved will not be shown in this preview.

PAIFUP

News from the fight for freedom, safety and dignity for all immigrants

detained or facing deportation in Pennsylvania.

October 2022 | Issue 23

View as Webpage

Subscribe Here!

What's Happening?

PAIFUP recently applied for a community partnership grant aimed at supporting new campaigns for universal representation. If successful, we hope one of our PAIFUP community-based organizations will be able to hire an organizer to lead the charge for UREP in untapped PA locales.


This month we are highlighting one of our affiliates, Casa San Jose, located in Pittsburgh. Read about one client below, as PAIFUP, New Sanctuary Movement, and Casa San Jose worked together to get him out of detention and home to his family.

Stronger Together: Meet Our Affiliates

Casa San Jose was established in 2013 by Sister Janice Vanderneck to serve as a base of support for English language learners, helping them to access services – especially, services for children, youth, and families – in order to better acclimate to their new home in the Pittsburgh area. It now has a staff of 24 people, three Sisters of St. Joseph, and more than 100 active volunteers. Our Mission is to connect, support, and advocate with and for the Latino community. Our Vision is a Pittsburgh region that celebrates Latino culture, welcomes immigrants, and embraces inclusion, dignity, and respect.

Client Success: Jesus

In May, ICE pulled over Jesus and his U.S. citizen wife Amber while they were driving home from court. Jesus is originally from Mexico and has lived in the United States for over 15 years. He and Amber reside in Chester County with their children. Jesus had not had an opportunity to obtain his permanent residency in the U.S. through Amber because of the strain that the application and attorneys’ fees would put on their household budget. 


ICE detained Jesus and transferred him to Moshannon Valley Processing Center, nearly four hours from Jesus and Amber’s home. Even though Jesus was entitled to bail, the Immigration Court and ICE kept Jesus detained for months on end. During this time, Jesus’s family struggled financially, culminating in Amber being served with eviction papers. 



In late September Amber called PAIFUP. With PAIFUP representation, Jesus was able to show the Immigration Judge that he was eligible for his green card and a bond hearing. At the hearing the judge heard testimony from both Amber and Jesus before determining that Jesus was neither a danger to the community nor a risk to not appear at future hearings. PAIFUP was able to work with New Sanctuary Movement to obtain bail funds from Casa San Jose. Jesus is now reunited with Amber and the kids, and PAIFUP will continue to assist the family in obtaining Jesus’s permanent residency.  

In Other News

Yet Another Bus of Migrants Were Sent to VP Kamala Harris' Residence

On Thursday, a bus carrying migrants and asylum seekers was unceremoniously dropped off at Vice President Kamala Harris' residence at the Naval Observatory for the second time this year. The stunt appears to be a part of a months-long strategy enacted by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. . .

Read More

Courts deliver a blow to DACA, impacting young immigrants in the Philly region and across the U.S.

The courts have dealt another blow to DACA, the program that grants permission to live and work in the United States to about 600,000 undocumented young people who came to the country as children.




Read More

At 13, she fought to block her father's deportation. Now she fights for the nationals-bound George Washington cheer team.

The George Washington High cheer team will be heading to the national competition in Dallas in January, thanks to Philadelphians who donated more than $30,000 to fund the trip. But that doesn't mean the pressure is off.

Read More
Catch up on the previous issue here
Questions? Comments? News worth sharing? Send Yomayra Burgos, our PAIFUP coordinator, an email at [email protected].

The Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project (PAIFUP) is a collaborative of nonprofit organizations in Pennsylvania formed in order to achieve universal representation for detained immigrants facing removal proceedings in PA.