Lawyers who provide free legal advice to immigrants can continue to do so now that federal court judge Richard A. Jones has granted Northwest Immigrant Rights Project’s (NWIRP) request for a preliminary injunction against the Department of Justice.
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) attempted to bully Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)—the leading provider of free legal services to immigrants in Washington— by saying their lawyers had to agree to full representation of every immigrant they help. While NWIRP provides full representation to thousands of immigrants, the need for representation is overwhelming. In order to help more people, the organization also provides resources to help people represent themselves in immigration proceedings.
DOJ’s demand that NWIRP fully represent all of these people is heartless, ridiculous and would severely limit the number of immigrants NWIRP helps. Also, it’s unconstitutional.
NWIRP and Davis Wright Tremaine filed a lawsuit the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington challenging the DOJ’s order instructing NWIRP to “cease and desist” from providing limited services to unrepresented immigrants in deportation proceedings. The ACLU-WA filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the lawsuit, NWIRP v. Sessions. In May, Judge Jones granted a nationwide temporary restraining order in the case.
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) attempted to bully Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)—the leading provider of free legal services to immigrants in Washington— by saying their lawyers had to agree to full representation of every immigrant they help. While NWIRP provides full representation to thousands of immigrants, the need for representation is overwhelming. In order to help more people, the organization also provides resources to help people represent themselves in immigration proceedings.
DOJ’s demand that NWIRP fully represent all of these people is heartless, ridiculous and would severely limit the number of immigrants NWIRP helps. Also, it’s unconstitutional.
NWIRP and Davis Wright Tremaine filed a lawsuit the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington challenging the DOJ’s order instructing NWIRP to “cease and desist” from providing limited services to unrepresented immigrants in deportation proceedings. The ACLU-WA filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the lawsuit, NWIRP v. Sessions. In May, Judge Jones granted a nationwide temporary restraining order in the case.
Court Case:
NWIRP v. Sessions
