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Non-profit

Amica Center for Immigrant Rights

Website:

amicacenter.org
Location:

Washington, DC
Tax ID:

52-2141497
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2022):

Revenue: $10,074,941
Expenses: $8,721,618
Assets: $10,388,702
Type:

Immigration Advocacy Group
Formation:

1999 (as Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (CAIR Coalition))
Executive Director:

Michael Lukens
CEO:

Kathryn Doan

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (Amica) is a left-of-center advocacy organization that works to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants. The group is based in Washington, D.C. and was formerly known as the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (CAIR Coalition). 1

Amica operates various campaigns with the shared goal of preventing the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants and implementing left-of-center changes to the system of immigration law in the United States, including the abolition of detention centers. 2 3

Background

The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights began as a project of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. It became an independent nonprofit in 1999 known as the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition. Later renamed Amica, the center is the only nonprofit organization in the District of Columbia region focused on providing legal services to illegal immigrants who are detained and facing deportation. Since 2010, Amica has more than doubled its staff. 1

Initiatives

The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights has several legal and policy initiatives to achieve left-of-center immigration changes in the United States. 2

Through the Detained Adult Program, Amica offers direct legal representation to detained immigrants. Amica representatives visit detained immigrants and provide them “know your rights” training and legal counsel, as well as connect immigrants to other social services. 4

Amica’s Children’s Program provides legal services directly to immigrant children detained by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at juvenile facilities in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. 5

The Immigration Impact Lab is Amica’s central advocacy arm through which it pursues systemic, left-of-center immigration reform by appealing cases, developing impact litigation, and launching advocacy efforts to transform the system and establish new legal precedents for immigrants. In the case Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coal v. Trump (2020), Amica’s Immigration Impact Lab helped challenge then-President Doland Trump’s national asylum ban that denied asylum to immigrants who passed through a third country in which they did not first seek asylum en route to the United States. 6

Other Activism

In November 2024, Amica co-signed a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration with nearly 200 other left-of-center immigration advocacy groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The letter urged Joe Biden’s U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to close immigrant detention centers, halt ICE exemption efforts, and release detained illegal immigrants. 3

In a statement following the November 2024 second election of Donald Trump to the United States presidency, Amica expressed its discontent with a second Trump term, calling the former president’s immigration policies “Xenophobic and racist.” 7

Partners

The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights lists over 100 partners on its site, including public universities, public law schools, non-profit organizations, private law firms, and local agency partners. 8

Some of Amica’s most notable partners include American University, Cornell University, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, Georgetown Law, the Southern Poverty Law Center, University of Virginia Law School, Equal Justice Works, Immigrant Justice Corps, and Skadden. Amica also received pro bono legal services from dozens of private law firms, including O’Melveny and Myers, a Los Angeles-based international law firm that worked with Amica to produce a legal resource center for lawyers helping illegal immigrants escape deportation. 8 9

Leadership

Michael Lukens is the executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights. He joined the organization in 2014 and oversees the legal and operational programs for the center. Prior to joining the Amica Center, Lukens was an attorney at Paul Hastings. He earned an M.A. in Public Management from the University of Maryland with a focus on nonprofit management and a law degree from Hofstra Law School. He is the treasurer on the board of the Washington Council of Lawyers. 10

In July 2024, Lukens wrote in an op-ed that he does not believe in illegal immigrant detention. While lamenting the Southern Poverty Law Center’s layoff of over 70 employees, Lukens alleged that United States immigration enforcement officers brutalized detained immigrants and claimed that the enforcement of American immigration laws was “right-wing nationalism in action.” 11

Kathryn Doan is the chief executive officer of the Amica Center and has worked at the organization since 2008. Doan was Amica’s executive director until Lukens filled the role in 2024. Before joining the Amica Center, Doan was the deputy director of the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) in D.C., where she also managed the agency’s Immigration Legal Services and Community Support Services programs. Doan is a graduate of Cornell University and Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law. 12 13

Andrew Genz is chairman of the board of directors at the Amica Center. He is also the chairman of the board of directors of the Acacia Center for Justice, a left-of-center advocacy organization that provides legal advice and counsel to illegal immigrants. 14 15

Finances

In 2022, Amica reported $10,074,941 in revenue, $8,721,618 in expenses, and $10,388,702 in total assets. 16

Amica has received several grants and donations, including a $1,572,167 grant from the Vera Institute of Justice in 2021, a $392,392 grant from the Immigrant Justice Corps in 2021, and smaller grants from the District of Columbia Bar Foundation and the Virginia Law Foundation in 2021 and 2022. 17 18 19 20

References

  1. “About Us.” Amica Center. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/about-us/
  2. “Our Work.” Amica Center. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/our-work/
  3. “NGO letter regarding detention.” Detention Watch Network. November 15, 2024. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/NGO%20letter%20regarding%20detention_11.15.24.pdf
  4. “Detained Adult Program.” Amica Center. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/our-work/detained-adult-program/
  5. “Children’s Program.” Amica Center. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/our-work/childrens-program/
  6. “Immigration Impact Lab.” Amica Center. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/our-work/immigration-impact-lab/
  7. “Following Election Results, Amica Center Remains Committed to Defending One Another.” Amica Center. November 6, 2024. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/statements/following-election-results-amica-center-remains-committed-to-defending-one-another/
  8. “Partners.” Amica Center. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/about-us/partners/
  9. “The Amica Center for Immigration Rights: Deportation without Due Process.” O’Melveny. July 8, 2024. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.omm.com/news/in-the-news/the-amica-center-for-immigration-rights-deportation-without-due-process/
  10. “Michael Lukens Bio.” Amica Center. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/about-us/staff-directory/michael-lukens-bio/
  11. Lukens, Michael. “The need for more immigration attorneys in the Deep South was already urgent. After the SPLC layoffs, it’s a full-blown crisis.” Prism Reports. July 15, 2024. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://prismreports.org/2024/07/15/deep-south-immigration-attorney-crisis-splc-layoffs/
  12. “Kathryn M. Doan Bio.” Amica Center.” Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/about-us/staff-directory/kathryn-m-doan-bio/
  13. “Kathryn Doan Profile.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-doan-a088167/
  14. “Andrew Genz Profile.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-genz-30534316/
  15. “What We Do – Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs
  16. “Amica Center – 2022 Federal Form 990.” Amica Center. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://amicacenter.org/app/uploads/2024/05/2022-Exempt-Organization-Return-CAIR-Coalition-Public-Disclosure.pdf
  17. “Vera Institute Of Justice Inc – 2021 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/131941627/202331359349319408/IRS990ScheduleI
  18. “Immigrant Justice Corps Inc – 2021 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464879076/202321989349302327/IRS990ScheduleI
  19. “The District Of Columbia Bar Foundation – 2021 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521109547/202301799349301025/IRS990ScheduleI
  20. “Virginia Law Foundation – 2022 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/510198088/202343179349306059/IRS990ScheduleI
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: July 1, 1999

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2022 Dec Form 990 $10,074,941 $8,721,618 $10,388,702 $6,321,296 N $3,814,344 $6,281,384 $2,169 $134,062 PDF
    2021 Dec Form 990 $8,220,603 $7,168,655 $4,021,347 $1,307,260 N $3,513,134 $4,718,435 $947 $110,796
    2020 Dec Form 990 $6,789,738 $6,883,289 $3,027,411 $1,365,272 N $6,816,883 $0 $1,373 $113,315
    2019 Dec Form 990 $5,872,100 $5,675,053 $2,252,455 $496,765 N $5,970,938 $0 $1,042 $108,983 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $4,530,567 $3,658,758 $1,794,899 $236,256 Y $4,565,360 $0 $446 $105,682 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $2,566,730 $2,156,915 $841,890 $155,056 N $2,592,118 $0 $200 $97,083
    2016 Dec Form 990 $1,703,754 $1,813,655 $407,030 $130,011 N $1,698,464 $0 $91 $94,267 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $1,520,560 $1,484,709 $462,064 $75,144 N $1,526,500 $0 $176 $91,057 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $977,507 $962,372 $400,537 $49,468 N $965,175 $0 $151 $84,075 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $910,035 $749,160 $374,104 $38,170 N $909,873 $0 $162 $79,616 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $644,969 $684,750 $202,082 $27,023 N $644,760 $0 $209 $75,459 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $747,345 $606,976 $238,529 $23,689 N $746,894 $0 $451 $73,099 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Amica Center for Immigrant Rights

    1025 CONNECTICUT AVE. NW
    Washington, DC