2022 Grantees Participate in Case Update Telephone Conversations
The Barbara McDowell Foundation receives telephone updates from it grantees about the progress of their cases at the end of the one-year grant cycle to ensure that the funds granted by the Foundation are used as agreed upon by the social justice organization in their grant agreement with the Foundation and serve as an assurance to potential donors that their contributions to the Foundation are making an impact.
At the end of November, the five 2022 grantees provided case updates during their telephone calls.
Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project
In November 2022, ASAP submitted additional briefing in the CASA v. Mayorkas case, continuing to fight for asylum seekers’ ability to access work permits. ASAP is arguing that the case should continue because asylum seekers are still not receiving their initial work permits in 30 days. In addition, there is evidence that the government has not stopped following parts of the Trump work permit rules — even though those rules have now been formally struck down. ASAP is now waiting for a decision from the judge.
This class action case involves the seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment and due process by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of personal documents such as passports and birth certificates of 68 individuals who came to the United States seeking asylum which deprives them from applying for work authorization. The government filed a motion to dismiss asserting that the claims were barred by the statute of limitations and that the seizures were not unreasonable. CLC filed a response on September 29, 2022, and settlement discussions have ensued resulting in a settlement which CLC claims has not been abided to by the government causing it to file a motion to enforce the settlement.
National Center for Lesbian Rights
The NCLR prevailed in the federal court in the Western District of Washington to a challenge based upon grounds of violations of free speech, religious liberty, and due process to a state law that prohibits therapists from performing therapy to change a minor’s sexual identity. An appeal was taken by the plaintiff, an anti-LBGTQ+ organization, to the Ninth Circuit and the case was argued on May 17, 2022. NCLR received a favorable decision from the Ninth Circuit, which has resulted in a request for rehearing en banc and will most likely be followed by a petition for review in the Supreme Court. Numerous amicus (“friend of the court”) briefs have been filed on behalf of both sides.
The case was filed on behalf of three minor plaintiffs and an organizational plaintiff, Disability Rights Washington, on behalf of hundreds of youth in the state of Washington's foster care system. In the summer of 2022, the parties as part of a settlement agreement reached by the parties provided notice to class members and other interested parties in accordance with the Notice Plan approved by the Court. After a fairness hearing on September 15, 2022, the Court granted final approval of the Settlement Agreement. Since then, the parties have been engaged in the first steps of bringing the settlement to life, including contracting with stakeholder facilitators who will gather input from affected youth and other community members; identifying budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal year; and drafting a detailed implementation plan. In the two months since the settlement was approved, the number of nights children have spent in hotels and offices has dropped by nearly half.
NEP, the Legal Aid Society of New York, and pro bono counsel, Quinn Emmanuel, Urquhart, & Sullivan, filed a motion to appeal on August 19, 2022, with the Appellate Term for leave to appeal to the Appellate Division in a case brought to vacate a default judgment against the plaintiff, Sharon Banks, for lack of personal jurisdiction because she had waited for than one year to bring the action thereby missing the statute of limitations. The Court denied Banks’ claims that the defendant, Esgro Capital Management (a debt buyer), obtained the judgment by faulty service and that she did not know that she had the right to challenge the judgment in court. The case puts at issue the systemic practices of debt buyers by its debt collection practices obtaining default judgments against low-income individuals often lacking legal representation by failing to serve them with notice of the judgment. Such actions also often result in the garnishment of the wages of the individuals. NEP is seeking the support of organizations to file amicus briefs in its support of its appeal to the Appellate Division.