COLUMN > PRO BONO ORGANIZATION OF THE MONTH
Q&A WITH NWIRP PRO BONO COORDINATING ATTORNEY JORDAN WASSERMAN
Q. Tell us a bit about the history of your organization. What is your organization’s philosophy? Why do you do what you do?
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education. We strive for justice and equity for all persons, regardless of where they were born.
Q. Where is your organization located? Do volunteers participate remotely, in person, or both?
NWIRP has offices in Seattle, Wenatchee, Granger, and Tacoma. Our volunteers provide in-person and remote representation to clients across Washington state, including those at the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma.
Q. Who does your organization serve?
NWIRP serves the needs of low-income immigrants.
Q. What area(s) of law do you provide services in?
Immigration.
Q. Does your organization provide training, CLE credit, or other benefits to volunteers?
NWIRP provides training, CLE credit, helpful resources, interpreter resources, malpractice insurance, and technical support.
Q. Please provide one or two (anonymous) client stories—examples of people who were helped and how.
“CS” was a Venezuelan journalist who was blacklisted, harassed, and threatened for his reporting. The harassment escalated until his home was broken into by pro-government forces, the facade of his home was shot up, and his two dogs were killed. CS fled Venezuela and was detained coming into the U.S. NWIRP helped him apply for (and receive) asylum. He is now a U.S. citizen.
“CC” is a 70-year-old woman from the Philippines. She has been a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States for nearly 50 years. Unfortunately, CC developed a drug addiction 40 years ago and has been unable to stay sober. Her drug addiction led to several arrests. She was ultimately detained by ICE and put into deportation proceedings. NWIRP helped her gather support from her estranged children and show the immigration judge that her positive qualities were sufficiently strong to outweigh her criminal history, and that she merited a favorable exercise of discretion. She was able to retain her LPR status and was let out of detention.
Q. What does a typical weekly or monthly commitment look like for a volunteer? How many hours? How many clients?
Most volunteer attorneys provide direct representation to one or two clients at a time. They will typically work on a case a few hours a week. Most attorneys spend between 50-100 hours working on a case over a period of time that could span between several months and several years.
Q. What do volunteers say they enjoy most about serving clients through your organization?
Most volunteers say they enjoy being able to have a huge impact on the lives of their clients.
Q. Are you currently in need of volunteers? If so, how can legal professionals reach out to get involved?
NWIRP needs volunteers now more than ever. If interested, please email me, Jordan Wasserman (Pro Bono Coordinating Attorney). My email address is jordan@nwirp.org.
Q. What gaps in our existing system(s) does your organization fill?
NWIRP provides pro bono representation to low-income immigrants in their immigration matters, when they cannot afford to hire their own attorney. In immigration matters, people who cannot afford an attorney usually must proceed pro se.
Q. What would you most want readers to know about the type of work your organization does and the type of people who need your services?
You do not need prior experience, and you will receive the support you need. Without the help of volunteer attorneys, even more low-income immigrants would be unrepresented, and without representation, their chances of success plummet. The majority of immigrants in deportation proceedings are unrepresented.
Learn More > To get involved, please visit https://nwirp.org/. More information about volunteering can be found at: https://nwirp.org/join/volunteer/.
About the author
Jordan Wasserman has been a staff attorney at NWIRP for over 18 years. He provides direct representation to NWIRP clients and manages NWIRP’s pro bono program. He can be reached at: