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Immigration Litigation Fund Awards $2.2 Million to Organizations Fighting Injustices in Immigration Enforcement

Dec 16, 2019 | Grantee News & Updates, News & Updates

The Immigration Litigation Fund (ILF) at Borealis Philanthropy is excited to announce that we have awarded $2.2 million to 36 organizations pursuing impact litigation to challenge discriminatory, dehumanizing, and unlawful immigration enforcement policies and practices.

The ILF is a national donor collaborative whose goal is to ensure our immigration enforcement system is fair, humane, and prioritizes the civil and human rights of those vulnerable to deportation.

Litigation supported by the ILF brings harms to light, keeps the day-to-day experiences of immigrants in front of the court and in the public eye, and addresses problems not solved by legislation and in public opinion.

“We deeply appreciate the partnership between the Four Freedoms Fund and the ILF, and how we collaborate and learn from each other,” said Anita Khashu, Director at the Four Freedoms Fund, based at NEO Philanthropy. “Four Freedoms Fund makes grants to pro-immigrant organizations across the country that engage in advocacy, organizing, civic engagement ,and defense of rights. We see the ILF’s focus on impact litigation and protecting the integrity of the courts as an essential and complementary strategy that helps fill a critical gap in resources.”

Part of the ILF’s unique role within the ecosystem of immigration litigation is to support both high-profile, national cases responding to specific policies, and cases addressing the daily indignities and cruelties immigrants face. For example, ILF grantees are fighting the Muslim ban and the government’s efforts to terminate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and also pursuing litigation to end ICE arrests near courthouses, abusive conditions in immigrant detention facilities, and unlawful delays in credible fear interviews that prevent people from obtaining asylum.

This year, several organizations are taking legal action to address the government’s new rule on public charge – an effort by the administration to prevent immigrants receiving federal benefits from obtaining legal status. Additionally, organizations are engaging in litigation to stop local law enforcement from coordinating with ICE, to protect due process for immigrant children, and to defend asylum protections for survivors of domestic violence.

As a part of its efforts to support impact litigation efforts that are connected to and coordinated with immigrant communities and organizations, the ILF is supporting convenings to develop a coordinated immigration litigation agenda for the South, and to address the use of electronic monitoring for immigration detainees released on bond.

The ILF is a collaborative effort of the Ford Foundation, JPB Foundation, NoVo Foundation, Open Society Foundation, Reis Foundation, and Anonymous Donors.

If you are interested in learning more about the ILF or about supporting the Fund, please reach out to Borealis staff at: ILF@borealisphilanthropy.org.

Fall 2019 ILF Grantees: