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WE IMAGINE SAFETY

IMMIGRATION JUSTICE

Our Approach to Immigration Justice

WIS Legal Clinic does not operate as a traditional legal office. Our immigration work is grounded in the belief that safety is built through knowledge, preparation, and community—not punishment or surveillance.

We focus on:

  • Prevention over reaction
  • Education as protection
  • Community leadership and self-determination
  • Reducing harm at every point of contact with the legal system

Our Values

  • Community-led solutions
  • Language access and cultural humility
  • Trauma-informed, people-first practices
  • Transparency, honesty, and trust
  • Liberation, not punishment

Our Vision

Immigration justice is community safety. We envision communities where:

  • Families are not separated by enforcement
  • Knowledge replaces fear
  • Immigration status does not determine safety
  • Impacted people lead the fight for justice

Core Areas Of Immigration Work

Community Legal Education & Know Your Rights

We provide ongoing Know Your Rights (KYR) education to individuals, families, workers, and businesses. This includes:

  • Rights during ICE encounters at home, work, and in public
  • Understanding judicial vs. administrative warrants
  • What to say—and not say—during stops, arrests, or raids
  • Preparing families before enforcement happens

 

KYR is a cornerstone of our immigration work because an organized community is a safe community.

Family Preparedness & Harm Reduction

We help families prepare for immigration emergencies by supporting:

  • Family emergency planning
  • Caregiver and child safety planning
  • Education on detention and deportation processes

 

This work is about reducing chaos, fear, and long-term harm, especially for children and elders.

DACA Education & Support

We engage in ongoing education and support for DACA-impacted communities, including:

  • DACA renewal assistance and screenings
  • Updates on shifting DACA policies and court decisions

 

Because DACA is unstable and politically contested, our work prioritizes accurate information and safety-based decision-making.

Citizenship & Long-Term Stability

Our immigration work includes supporting pathways to long-term stability and status, including:

  • Citizenship and naturalization education
  • Application support and interview preparation
  • Fee-waiver education

 

We view citizenship work as both a legal process and a tool for community protection.

Crimmigration: Interrupting the Arrest-to-Deportation Pipeline

A core focus of our work is addressing the intersection of immigration enforcement and the criminal legal system. We educate and advocate around:

  • How arrests and jail bookings trigger ICE involvement
  • ICE detainers and local law-enforcement collaboration
  • The risks of charges, pleas, and convictions for non-citizens
  • Strategies to reduce contact with police and jails

 

Our goal is to interrupt pathways to deportation before they begin.

Privacy

Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent information will not be shared with any third parties, provided that the foregoing does not apply to sharing (1) with vendors, consultants and other service providers who need access to such information to carry out work on our behalf (and who will not use such information for their own purposes); (2) if we believe disclosure is required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation or to comply with law enforcement or legal process.