Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) is a left-of-center advocacy organization that focuses on issues related to immigration, such as the detention and deportation of immigrants. ¹ It is fiscally sponsored by local nonprofit Fund for the City of New York. ²

Immigrant Defense Project conducts activities related to litigation; legal advice and training; community defense from ICE raids; policy and advocacy; surveillance, tech, and immigration policing; and the Padilla Support Center and post-conviction relief. ³ The Padilla Support Center is an organization that offers legal support to attorneys representing immigrants in New York City. ⁴

Overview

Immigrant Defense Project is one of the anchor organizations for Comm/Unity, a national network of left-of-center organizations that work to support immigrant advocacy organizations and left-wing social policy organizations and provide information to journalists. Comm/Unity’s partners include the National Immigration Law Center, ⁵ a public interest law firm that advocates for expansionist immigration. ⁶ Another partner of Comm/Unity is the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, ⁵ a left-of-center nonprofit organization that advocates for legal and illegal immigrants in the United States and lobbies on behalf of expansionist immigration policies and against immigration enforcement. ⁷ It is fiscally sponsored by local nonprofit Fund for the City of New York. ²

IDP founded an initiative called Pardon: The Immigrant Clemency Project, that deals with issues related to immigration, specifically immigrants with criminal histories. The project launched in New York as PardonNY, a pilot campaign partnership with organizations such the Fortune Society, Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, Brooklyn Defender Services, and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. ⁸

People

Marie Mark is the executive director of IDP, as of July 2024. She has served in several positions with the organization since joining in 2016 including roles as a supervising attorney, the director of legal support and resources, and deputy director. Prior to working for IDP, she worked for community legal group Brooklyn Defenders as a staff attorney and later as a Team Leader. In addition, she briefly worked as an
Adjunct Professor with the Immigrant and Non-Citizen Rights Clinic at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law where she had previously graduated. ^{9 10}

1. “About Immigrant Defense Project.” Immigrant Defense Project. Last modified September 28, 2015. https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/about/.
2. “Donate to the Immigrant Defense Project.” Immigrant Defense Project, Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/donate/
3. “What We Do.” Immigrant Defense Project. Last modified February 22, 2011. https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/what-we-do/.
4. “Padilla Support Center.” Immigrant Defense Project – Fighting for Justice & Human Rights for ALL. Last modified October 19, 2015. https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/what-we-do/padilla-support-center/
5. “Comm/Unity.” Immigrant Defense Project. Last modified July 20, 2022. https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/what-we-do/comm-unity/.
6. “What We Do.” National Immigration Law Center. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.nilc.org/about-us/what_we_do/.
7. National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. “NIPNLG Mission and History.” National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.nationalimmigrationproject.org/mission.html.
8. “About Us.” Pardon: Immigrant Clemency Project. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://immigrantpardonproject.com/.
9. “Marie Mark.” LinkedIn, Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-mark-crim-imm-atty
10. “Marie Mark.” Immigrant Defense Project, Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/staff/marie-mark/