The Eugene M. Lang Foundation is proud to provide seed funding for the new Center for Immigrant Representation (CIR), a not for profit law practice in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is the latest initiative of the Immigrant Justice Corps (IJC), the country’s first and only fellowship program wholly dedicated to increasing access to counsel to close the justice gap for immigrants. Conceived by Chief Judge Robert Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, IJC brings together the country’s most talented law school and college graduates to provide high quality representation to low income immigrants.
CIR offers high-quality, low cost legal services to immigrants who cannot access or are ineligible for free legal services and cannot afford to hire private counsel. CIR represents immigrants seeking lawful status, citizenship, defense from deportation and asylum, as well as other forms of humanitarian relief available to juveniles and victims of crime, domestic violence or severe human trafficking. CIR also serves as a training ground and a launching pad for young lawyers interested in eventually opening their own immigration law firm or starting an immigration-focused non-profit.