2007 Year in Review

ILCM's work and commitment have grown in reach and breadth during 2007. Here are some highlights of this year's work:

Legal Representation
o increased representation in rural Minnesota by more than 20%,
o dedicated an attorney specifically to Worthington and Southwest Minnesota,
o represented victims of abuse or other crimes without losing a single case,
o expanded our pro bono project to include more than 50 private attorneys,
o represented 121 new refugees and asylees seeking greencards and citizenship,
o provided legal services specific to immigrants impacted by HIV/AIDS through a collaboration with Minnesota Aids Project,
o and collaborated with volunteer attorneys to advise nearly all detained immigrant in Minnesota facing deportation.

Community Education
o partnered with Minneapolis and St. Paul districts as part of our Youth Intervention Project,
o provided pro-immigration reform presentations to persons across the state,
o conducted "know your rights" trainings for immigrants across the state,
o and educated lawyers, judges, prosecutors, child protection and social workers about immigration laws and policy.

Advocacy
o collaborated with local and national organizations for immigration reform,
o successfully lead a delegation to Washington D.C. to secure ongoing legal status for Liberians,
o testified on nine occasions in favor of three pro-immigrant bills at Minnesota legislature.
o received the 2007 Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Award in the area of Advocacy,
o and Executive Director John Keller was appointed by the Minnesota Senate to the Working Group on Ethnic Heritage and New Americans and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights Steering Committee, and was also selected to be a 2007-2008 Humphrey Policy Fellow.

As ILCM gears up for another year of services, it is pleased to have made the following
organizational improvements during the past year that will assist ILCM in providing
expert legal representation, education, and advocacy in immigration matters:

o increased staff cultural capacity by adding both Hmong and Somali legal workers,
o increased all internal competencies by hiring an experienced operations director,
o received our 11th consecutive positive audit from LarsonAllen,
o participating in the accountability review process of the Charities Review Council,
o began strategic planning process for 2008,
o and ILCM was selected by the Minneapolis office of Webber Shandwick as their 2008 pro bono communications and policy client. Webber Shandwick will provide communications services for the Youth Intervention Project.