NORTHERN ILLINOIS JUSTICE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS
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Mission Statement
Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors provides free, high quality legal services, engages in education and advocacy and builds cross-cultural community.
About This Cause
NIJFON offers free, high quality immigration legal services to people who are under 200% of the federal poverty. These services originate at three clinic locations: Aurora (Kane County), Chicago (Cook County), and Rockford (Winnebago County). Clinics take place on a monthly basis and what sets NIJFON apart from other legal clinics is a commitment to hospitality by volunteers who warmly welcome immigrants with conversation, share food, play games, and provide childcare during meetings with our attorneys. These volunteers often begin their service without much understanding of immigration issues or contact with immigrants, and their own lives are transformed as they meet families and learn their stories, why they came here, and the impact of immigration laws on immigrant families’ ability to thrive. NIJFON handles all types of immigration legal cases except employment-based visas. There is a vast need for free/low-cost immigration services in the areas we serve, especially outside of the immediate Chicago metro area. In a sampling of eight counties served by the Aurora and Rockford clinics (DeKalb, McHenry, Kane, DuPage, Winnebago, Stephenson, Ogle and Boone) there are an estimated 126,332 undocumented immigrants (Rob Paral & Assoc.) and 60% make under 200% of the federal poverty level. In these same areas, there only five non-profit agencies that provide some sort of immigration legal aid. In the four-county Rockford area, the only other immigration legal aid provider has a three month waiting list and only accepts citizenship cases. In these areas, especially, NIJFON helps to fill a huge need by providing free, high-quality immigration legal services, and provides opportunities for native-born Americans to become involved and educated in immigration advocacy as they learn the stories and situations of the clients they serve.