Our broken immigration system separates and disenfranchises families every day. The mass detention and deportation efforts currently underway are having a horrific impact on innocent families whose emotional and mental wellbeing, along with their very lives, are under constant and immediate threat. We are committed to stand strong on behalf of our immigrant community. Just as we fought to keep families together during  the first Trump Administration’s “Zero Tolerance” era, when children were forcibly removed from their caregivers and sent to separate detention centers, and images of children in cages dominated the news. However, we know now what we knew then, that family separation also occurs every time an immigrant is arrested in a raid, or when a visa application is denied. Deportation and lack of immigration status almost always result in individuals being separated by their loved ones, whether it’s by the border or by the walls of a detention center.

Contigo provides accessible low bono and pro bono legal services to mixed status families in a wide variety of legal services that support employment authorization, family-based immigration, permanent residency, citizenship, and advance parole. Through these forms of immigration protections and benefits, families are able to enjoy increased security, stability, and freedom of movement, helping them stay and thrive together.

Contigo Humanitarian Visa Program provides pro bono representation for refugees and asylees, individuals and families impacted by domestic abuse, violent crime, and abused, abandoned or neglected children. This program helps survivors of violence get on to a path toward improved access to healthcare, employment, and financial security, thereby empowering them to gain independence from their abusers. 

The U.S. Congress has created immigration protections specifically for immigrant victims of crime through programs like the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the U Visa, T Visa, and Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program. These visa programs serve a dual function - to increase community safety by encouraging immigrant victims of crime to cooperate with law enforcement, while at the same time providing immigrants with the legal protections they need for their individual health, safety, and stability. These visa programs enable immigrant victims of crime to access both criminal justice and needed healthcare services in the wake of traumatic events. However, these programs have many detailed statutory and evidentiary requirements, so it is almost impossible for immigrants to be able to actually access these visa programs without legal representation. 

Contigo has 10 years of experience in these complex legal matters and we have represented hundreds of individuals and families. We have built strong relationships with law enforcement, courts, and the local USCIS field office to better serve our clients. We are able to connect our clients with other needed community resources such as bilingual counseling, court victim advocates, and public benefits specialists who can help our clients get the additional supportive services they need.

In 2017, the country’s only dedicated detention unit for transgender women was opened in the Cibola County Detention Center outside of Grants, New Mexico. Contigo began services at that time to serve the individuals detained at Cibola with asylum services and advocacy for release from detention, asylum representation, and post-release services for transwomen coming out of detention. Through this project, we partnered with hundreds of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers coming through Cibola. 

In 2020, due to the tireless advocacy of our community, we celebrated the closure of the trans detention pod at Cibola, but Contigo’s LGLGBTQ+ Asylum Project continues. Shortly after the closure of the trans pod at Cibola, the Covid-19 pandemic began, and then-President Trump took advantage of the public health crisis to further his own hateful migration policies. Using Title 42, Trump ordered the closure of the border to asylum-seekers, effectively slamming the door and shirking our international responsibility to welcome those seeking protection from persecution and violence.

During the Title 42 era, we represented scores of LGBTQ+ individuals in applications for exceptions to Title 42, effectively allowing them to enter the US to seek asylum despite the border closure. Contigo was one of only a handful of organizations in the country authorized to advocate for individuals with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to request Title 42 exceptions.

In May 2023, the border closure under Title 42 ended when the public health emergency was determined to be over, but the situation at the border has hardly improved. Now, using CBPOne, the government has created a new way to keep asylum-seekers stuck at the border, sometimes waiting for months for an appointment to present themselves to request asylum. 

Today, we incorporate our experience and expertise in serving the LGBTQ+ immigrant community into all of our programming including our Humanitarian Visa and Family Unity Programs, ensuring that LGBTQ+ immigrants in New Mexico have access to top quality immigration legal advice and representation.