If you're curious about the photos on our website, please read the descriptions below.  All of the descriptions are listed in alphabetical order, by the title of the page that they are posted on.  The one exception to this rule is the description of the home page photo, which is listed first (see below).

Who's on Our Home Page?

Laura Luis Hernandez and Ann Benson.  This photo depicts two of the awardees of the National Immigration Project's 2004 Daniel Levy Award.  In August 24th 2004, Laura became the first immigrant survivor of domestic violence to have her petition for legal status approved by a federal court in Hernandez v. Ashcroft.  She was finally granted legal residence after a decade-long struggle to seek justice for the abuse she endured from her spouse.  The first judge that heard Laura’s case found her testimony “un-credible” because, among other things, she was unable to remember whether the window in the room where the abuse occurred opened inwards or outwards.  This problem was further compounded by the Board of Immigration Appeals which affirmed the judge’s original decision, rejecting Laura’s petition on credibility grounds. Laura's legal team overcame these obstacles in subsequent appeals and advanced an innovative interpretation of extreme cruelty (based on sociological research on the cycle of domestic violence) which promises to set an important precedent for future case law. 

Ann Benson is the directing attorney of the Washington Defenders Immigration Project and a Board Member of the Immigration Project member.  Ann is also the attorney who first took on Laura’s case in 1994.  Along with the Immigration Project's Associate Director, Gail Pendleton, Ann assembled the diverse team of attorneys and advocates who worked patiently to educate the federal courts and the immigration system about handling credibility issues for domestic violence cases involving undocumented women. Other members of Laura’s legal team (who are also 2004 Daniel Levy awardees) include Gail Pendleton, (Associate Director of the National Immigration Project and co-chair of the National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women), Katrin Frank (MacDonald Hoague and Bayless), Sara Ainsworth (Northwest Womens Law Center), Grace Huang (Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence), Signe Dortch (Gibbs Houston and Pauw), Donna Lewen (First Place School), Lori Rath (Rath Law and Mediation), Rima Alaily and Angela Nieman (Heller Ehrman), Valerie Hinko and Thomas Means (Crowell Moring) and Amy Kratz, Jonathan Moore, and Andrea Parra (Northwest Immigrant Rights Project).

Who's on the About Us Page?

Circa 1991; A photo of the National Immigration Project Board and senior legal staff (Dan Kesselbrenner, far left back row and Gail Pendleton, second from far right, back row). 

 

Who's on our Criminal & Deportation Defense Page?

Photo Finish!   Immigration Project member and attorney John Wheat Gibson, helped Sarbjit Singh to acquire derivative citizenship through is parents legal status just minutes before his eligibility expired.  This photo shows Sarbjit's parents (left) and the staff of their Sikh temple (right) celebrating his first moments as a U.S. citizen.  In case you're wondering which one is Sarbjit, he's  the person who took the picture!

Who's on our Immigrant Rights Resources Page?

Visiting Friends.  Immigration Project member, Richard Renner spends the evening at a parish church in a Guatemalan village and shares some information with the family and friends of the Guatelmalan immigrants that he works with in the U.S. 

Who's on the Join Us! Page?

Celebrating on the Courthouse Steps.  Immigration Project member and Director of the University of Arizona Law Clinic, Lynn Marcus, celebrates on the court house steps with several of her students and the family and children of a Mexican woman who has just had her deportation proceedings dismissed by an immigration judge.

Who's on the Keeping Hope Alive Page?

Kidnapped at Federal Plaza / Public Testimony.  This photo documents an event that was coordinated in downtown, New York by the immigrant rights organizing outfit, Families for Freedom  (the National Immigration Project currently serves as fiscal sponsor for Families for Freedom. Malik Ndaula, the lead organizer of Keeping Hope Alive is also a member of Families for Freedom).  The speakers are giving testimony about family and friends who were asked to meet federal immigration officers in Federal Plaza about the progress of their immigration case and, without warning or notification, were detained and deported before their families could respond.

Who's on the Looking for an Immigration Attorney Page?

Celebrating on the Courthouse Steps (again)  Immigration Project member, Lynn Marcus (center) celebrates on the court house steps with law student Erin Simpson (left) and with Javier Guevara (right) and his wife (far left) after an immigration judge dismissed deportation proceedings against him.

Who's on our Noncitizen Survivors of Domestic Violence Page?

Rosalina Lopez and her daughter.  Although there is growing support for the rights of immigrant survivors of domestic violence within the immigration and criminal system, there are still many barriers to overcome.  Some immigration judges still tend to see undocumented women as people who are trying to exploit the system instead of as legitimate victims of crimes. Rosa Lopez suffered a miscarriage, and many other injuries, because of the relentless physical abuse of her husband, a legal U.S. resident . The immigration judge at Rosa’s hearing dismissed the evidence of her abuse on the basis of his own unsupported assumption that she was lying.  The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld the judge’s decision, denying the credibility of the abuse she had suffered.

In 2004, the Immigration Project's Associate Director, Gail Pendleton, worked with attorneys, advocates, and domestic violence coalitions in Alaska on Rosa Lopez’s appeal to the 9^th Circuit Court.  The 9^th Circuit Court has scheduled a hearing for the case in January 2005. Gail is currently working with Rosa's primary legal counsel, Mara Kimmel (staff attorney at Catholic Social Services, Anchorage Alaska and a National Immigration Project member) and other members of Rosa's legal team, on the strategy for the case. 

 

Who's on the Seminars & Events Page?

Honoring Gail. Ed Asner, Gail Pendleton, and Linton Joaquin (Immigration Project board member and Director of the National Immigration Law Center), take the stage as part of a special honoring ceremony, recognizing Gail's pioneering work in defense of immigrant rights--including her participation in the legal team that successfully challenged the government's used of secret evidence against suspected "security threats".

Who's on the Who's on Our Website Page?

A candid shot (left to right) of National Immigration Project legal worker, Ellen Kemp, administrative assistant, Ana Manigat, and board member Susan Alva.