Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (CAIR Coalition) is a left-of-center legal advocacy organization that works to prevent deportation of illegal immigrants. The group was founded as a program of the Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs before gaining independent nonprofit status.
CAIR Coalition sends representatives to Maryland and Virginia immigration detention centers to advise, instruct, and assist illegal immigrants in avoiding deportation, including connecting immigrants to pro bono lawyers. The group also files immigration-related lawsuits in appellate court.
CAIR Coalition is funded by grants from organizations including Immigrant Justice Corps and Vera Institute of Justice.
Founding
Capital Area Immigrant’s Rights Coalition (CAIR Coalition) was founded as a program of the Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. The group gained independent nonprofit status in 1999. 1
Activism
CAIR Coalition staff visit all Maryland and Virginia immigration detention centers and provide a series of services to detained adult immigrants. These include group information sessions on defenses against deportation, individual consultations on how immigration laws apply to their cases, connecting immigrants to pro bono lawyers to fight deportation, and providing training for immigrants to represent themselves in court. The group also volunteers to assist with asylum hearings. 2
The group’s services for children include “Know Your Rights” presentations, individual consultations, and accompanying children to their first immigration-court hearings in Arlington, Virginia, or Baltimore, Maryland. CAIR Coalition also provides direct representation in removal proceedings to children seeking repatriation or facing prolonged detention. 2
CAIR Coalition also runs an appellate litigation project, The Immigration Impact Lab. Through the project, the group participates in lawsuits aimed as decreasing immigration enforcement and providing increased benefits to illegal immigrants. 2
Funding
CAIR Coalition received grants from Immigrant Justice Corps, Allianz Foundation of North America, and Vera Institute of Justice in 2022. 3 The group also previously received a grant from the Virginia Law Foundation. 4
References
- “Who We Are.” Capital Area Immigrant’s Rights Coalition. Accessed February 22, 2024. https://www.caircoalition.org/who-we-are.
- “Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition.” GuideStar. Accessed February 22, 2024. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/52-2141497
- “Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition.” CauseIQ. Accessed February 22, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/capital-area-immigrants-rights-coalition,522141497/
- “Video: The Virginia Law Foundation Supports the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition.” Virginia Law Foundation. Accessed February 22, 2022. https://virginialawfoundation.org/story/video-the-virginia-law-foundation-supports-the-capital-area-immigrants-rights-coalition-cair/