The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center provides pro bono legal services to both legal and illegal immigrants and advocates for left-of-center immigration policies at the state and national level. ^{1 2 3} It is a project of the Michigan Advocacy Program, a charitable organization created by legal-aid societies and bar associations in Michigan. ⁴

Background

The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center is an immigrant legal aid program of the Michigan Advocacy Program (MAP), a charitable nonprofit created by local legal aid societies in Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Jackson, Lansing and other south-central Michigan communities that work together collectively as Legal Services of South Central Michigan. ^{5 6}

MIRC is part of a suite of special-interest pro-bono projects administered by MAP’s Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services subsidiary, with others being the Crime Victims Legal Assistance Project, the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative, the Michigan Foreclosure Prevention Project, the Michigan Legal Help Program, and the Michigan Poverty Law Program, as well as ombudsman services for Michigan residents enrolled in state-funded health care programs. ⁷

Services

The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center provides pro bono legal assistance to both legal and illegal immigrants in Michigan, including representation for deportation or asylum hearings in immigration court, assistance with naturalization, and other services. ⁸ It operates a staffed help desk at Michigan’s only immigration court in Detroit. ⁹

MIRC is endorsed as a legal resource for immigrants by many government agencies in Michigan, including the Michigan Supreme Court and municipal governments in Detroit, ¹⁰ Canton, ¹¹ Holland, ¹² Washtenaw County, and elsewhere around the state. ^{13 14}

MIRC works closely with the ACLU of Michigan, and the two organizations co-produced and distributed legal education materials for immigrants in the state such as “Preparing Your Family for Immigration Enforcement.” ¹⁵

Policy Advocacy

In addition to providing legal services to immigrants, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center also advocates for public policies in Michigan related to immigrants. ¹⁶

MIRC supports allowing the Michigan Secretary of State to issue driver licenses and state identification cards to illegal immigrants, requiring state-funded businesses or nonprofits to translate important documents into foreign languages, giving illegal workers access to the state’s worker’s compensation system when injured at work, reducing Michigan’s “one year” sentences for certain misdemeanors to 364 days to avoid triggering federal deportation proceedings, and increasing state funding to programs for services such as rental assistance or legal services. ¹⁷

MIRC supported the Statewide Meaningful Language Access Coordination Act, a 2023 law that requires state agencies to coordinate “meaningful language access” to public services, including creating a formal complaint program and hearing process. ^{18 19}

In 2023, Mexican national Brandon Ortiz-Vite reportedly confessed to murdering his girlfriend, Grand Rapids resident Ruby Garcia. ²⁰ According to federal law enforcement officials, Ortiz-Vite had been brought to the United States illegally as a child, and had immigration actions against him deferred under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program until he was convicted of low-level crimes in 2020 and deported to Mexico. ^{21 22}

Opponents of illegal immigration, including former President Donald Trump, used the Garcia murder as an example of deficiencies in America’s immigration enforcement as Ortiz-Vite should not have been living in Michigan after having been deported four years earlier. ²³ In response, Michigan Immigrant Rights Center representatives including executive director and managing attorney Ruby Robinson contended that Garcia’s murder was an issue of domestic violence, not immigration enforcement. ^{24 25}

Funding and Pro-Bono Support

The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center receives significant support from the State Bar of Michigan and the Michigan State Bar Foundation, both in financial terms and through pro-bono legal services provided by Michigan State Bar members. ^{26 27 28} MIRC also receives pro bono legal support from students at the University of Michigan Law School. ²⁹

MIRC has received grants from foundations, corporations, and other funders including the American Council of Learned Societies, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Equal Justice America, the Ford Foundation, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the Michigan State Bar Foundation, the National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project, the Open Society Foundations, the Skadden Foundation, Spectrum Health, the Stryker Johnston Foundation, the Vera Institute of Justice, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Wege Foundation. ^{30 31 32 33}

MIRC has received grants from government agencies that include the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Victim Services, the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Victims of Crime, the University of Michigan, and the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. ^{34 35}

1. “Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services – History and Mission.” Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://michigansas.org/#mission.
2. “Immigration Legal Services.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://michiganimmigrant.org/immigration-legal-services.
3. Jordan, Elinor, Christine Sauvé, and Jenika Scott. “MIRC’s Legislative & Policy Platform.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, 2023. https://michiganimmigrant.org/mircs-legislative-policy-platform-plataforma-legislativa-y-politica-de-mirc.
4. “Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services – History and Mission.” Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://michigansas.org/#mission.
5. “Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services – History and Mission.” Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://michigansas.org/#mission.
6. “Supporters.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, 2021. https://michiganimmigrant.org/supporters.
7. “Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services – History and Mission.” Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://michigansas.org/#mission.
8. “Immigration Legal Services.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://michiganimmigrant.org/immigration-legal-services.
9. Cwiek, Sarah. “New Help Desk Offers Services at Detroit Immigration Court.” Michigan Public Radio, December 13, 2021. https://www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-justice-legal-system/2021-12-13/new-help-desk-offers-services-at-detroit-immigration-court.
10. “Legal Help.” City of Detroit. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://detroitmi.gov/government/mayors-office/office-immigrant-affairs/legal-help.
11. “Know Your Org: Michigan Immigration Rights Center.” Canton Public Library, 2023. https://www.cantonpl.org/blogs/post/know-your-org-michigan-immigration-rights-center/.
12. “Immigration Resources.” Holland, MI. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.cityofholland.com/871/Immigration-Resources.
13. “Immigrant Resources.” Immigrant Resources | Washtenaw County, MI. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.washtenaw.org/3165/Immigrant-Resources.
14. “Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.” Michigan Legal Help. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://michiganlegalhelp.org/find-lawyer/michigan-immigrant-rights-center.
15. “Know Your Rights: Before, during and after Immigration Raids.” ACLU of Michigan, July 29, 2019. https://www.aclumich.org/en/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-during-and-after-immigration-raids.
16. Jordan, Elinor, Christine Sauvé, and Jenika Scott. “MIRC’s Legislative & Policy Platform.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, 2023. https://michiganimmigrant.org/mircs-legislative-policy-platform-plataforma-legislativa-y-politica-de-mirc.
17. Jordan, Elinor, Christine Sauvé, and Jenika Scott. “MIRC’s Legislative & Policy Platform.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, 2023. https://michiganimmigrant.org/mircs-legislative-policy-platform-plataforma-legislativa-y-politica-de-mirc
18. ^[1] Jeltema, Ryan. “Michigan Government Required to Help Non-English Speakers.” ABC 12 WJRT-TV, December 27, 2023. https://www.abc12.com/news/state/michigan-government-required-to-help-non-english-speakers/article_4679ec44-904d-11ee-8229-530bc7e57e06.html.
19. Slootmaker, Estelle. “New State Law Will Help Ensure Health Care Access for Non-English-Speaking Michiganders.” Second Wave Michigan, March 21, 2024. https://www.secondwavemedia.com/features/languageaccess03212024.aspx.
20. Hunter, George. “Grand Rapids Man Charged with Killing Girlfriend Was Deported in 2020, Feds Say.” The Detroit News, March 27, 2024. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/03/27/grand-rapids-man-charged-with-killing-girlfriend-was-deported-in-2020-federal-officials-say/73118841007/.
21. Hunter, George. “Grand Rapids Man Charged with Killing Girlfriend Was Deported in 2020, Feds Say.” The Detroit News, March 27, 2024. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/03/27/grand-rapids-man-charged-with-killing-girlfriend-was-deported-in-2020-federal-officials-say/73118841007/.
22. “Ice: Man Accused of Killing Ruby Garcia Entered Us as a Child.” FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI), April 1, 2024. https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/ice-man-accused-of-killing-ruby-garcia-entered-us-as-a-child.
23. Pitchure, Autumn. “‘They Aren’t All Bad’: Michigan Rights Center Defends Immigrants against Trump’s Rhetoric.” Up North Live – News Channel 3, April 3, 2024. https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/donald-trump-president-immigrant-rights-center-ruby-garcia-illegal-undocumented-michigan-brandon-ortiz-vite-shooting-grand-rapids.
24. Nichols, Anna Liz. “How the Ruby Garcia Case Generates Conversation around Domestic Violence and Immigration.” Michigan Advance, April 11, 2024. https://michiganadvance.com/2024/04/11/how-the-ruby-garcia-case-generates-conversation-around-domestic-violence-and-immigration/.
25. Pitchure, Autumn. “‘They Aren’t All Bad’: Michigan Rights Center Defends Immigrants against Trump’s Rhetoric.” Up North Live – News Channel 3, April 3, 2024. https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/donald-trump-president-immigrant-rights-center-ruby-garcia-illegal-undocumented-michigan-brandon-ortiz-vite-shooting-grand-rapids.
26. ^[1] “Pro Bono Projects & Resources.” State Bar of Michigan. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.michbar.org/alawyerhelps/projectsresources.
27. “Civil Legal Aid in Michigan – 2022 Report of Services.” Michigan State Bar Foundation, 2022. https://www.msbf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2022-Grantee-Services-Report.pdf.
28. “Grants Awarded.” Michigan State Bar Foundation, 2024. https://www.msbf.org/grants-awarded/.
29. “Immigrant Justice Lab.” University of Michigan Law School. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://michigan.law.umich.edu/courses/immigrant-justice-lab.
30. “Michigan Immigrant Rights Center Receives $50,000 Grant from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://michiganimmigrant.org/news/michigan-immigrant-rights-center-receives-50000-grant-community-foundation-southeast-michigan.
31. “113642 – Michigan Advocacy Program.” Ford Foundation, 2010. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/michigan-advocacy-program-113642/.
32. “Supporters.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, 2021. https://michiganimmigrant.org/supporters.
33. “Supporters — Page as of May 19, 2020 Accessed via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, May 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200519055709/https://michiganimmigrant.org/supporters#funder-2019.
34. “Supporters.” Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, 2021. https://michiganimmigrant.org/supporters.
35. “2020 Recipients of Grants to Support Research and Scholarship for Change: U-M LSA National Center for Institutional Diversity.” University of Michigan, June 3, 2020. https://lsa.umich.edu/ncid/news-events/all-news/change-grants/2020-recipients-change-grants.html.