Supporters of Children has worked in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) since 2018. RMIAN provides essential pro bono legal representation to immigrant children in Colorado, many of whom who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected and are applying for permanent residency as Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJS). Every applicant is intent on gaining legal status and living their lives safe from harm and to their maximum potential. They are all dependent on RMIAN’s ability to represent them individually and to file the complicated, required documents on their behalf.
SOC is the only resource these young people have to assist them with paying for the document filing fees, when they don’t have sufficient financial resources. With your donation, you give immigrant children and young people in Colorado the chance to become productive, responsible, treasured members of our community.
Every dime of your contribution to SOC helps children and young adults achieve safe and legal status.
These are some of the young people Supporters of Children has recently assisted:
• N came to the US alone from Central Africa when she was barely a teenager. She ended up completely on her own and applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status to become a permanent resident. After receiving assistance N wrote to thank us for helping her “Thank you for your kindness and generosity in helping me with this challenging chapter of my life. The journey has certainly not been easy nor kind itself. I will forever cherish this. I appreciate the work being done. I know it has, will, and is helping more people other than me, in the same position as me. And for that I couldn’t thank you enough. Please continue to do what you’re doing, I know it will change more lives.”
• Two brothers from Honduras D and M, came to the US after suffering abuse from their father, who also abused their mother. They both needed our assistance to pay for the medical exams required to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and to become permanent residents.
• A brother and sister from El Salvador, P and L, escaped to the US six years ago after their family was targeted. They live with their mother in Colorado and received residency approval in the spring of 2021. They were both so excited when they were told the judges’ decision to approve their applications and are so appreciative for Supporters of Children’s payment of $495 each for the medical exams required to obtain their Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
• C was abandoned by his father and threatened at gun point by gangs trying to recruit him. He fled his country. He has been granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and has also applied for asylum. He works as a house painter and needed a work permit. He helps his aunt and cousins with whom he lives and also supports his siblings and an ailing grandmother back home.
• B is from Southeast Asia. He was severely abused by his mother and placed in foster care in Colorado where he is thriving. His foster family was unable to pay the $725 fee to apply for citizenship. When RMIAN contacted his foster mother to let her know a SOC volunteer would pay the fee, she was overcome with emotion and gratitude. He has now become a naturalized citizen and is in college.
• After being a victim of labor and sex trafficking as a minor, S, 21 years old, is currently fully independent, taking care of her two young kids, and working. She hopes to finish her RN degree.
• A is an asylum seeker who fled severe domestic violence. She needed an expert evaluation to show it will never be safe for her to return to Guatemala.
• J survived an armed robbery at the hands of gang members who shot at him and others in a car. Soon after, he began to receive death threats from these same gang members who wished to recruit him. With his work permit, he can be self-supporting while he waits for his asylum application to be processed.
• D’s mother and sister rely primarily on his financial support. The family struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic. With his work permit, D will continue to support his family. His Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) case was recently approved and his asylum case remains pending.
• L and G are brothers whose parents beat them and forced them to quit school and work in the fields. With their SIJS filed, they are on their way to permanent residency.
• RMIAN helped F renew her DACA in 2020. She is now working as a teacher assistant in Aurora, supports her daughter, and continues her education to become a teacher.