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FLORENCE IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS PROJECT INC

TUCSON, AZ · EIN 860658103 · Form 990 · FY2020 · NTEE I80Z · Crime & Legal-Related · Large ($10M-$50M) · firrp.org
revenue
$16.0M
expenses
$12.9M
net assets
$16.2M
employees
176
volunteers
100
program ratio
86%
mission · from form 990

THE FLORENCE PROJECT PROVIDES AND COORDINATES LEGAL SERVICES AND RELATED SOCIAL SERVICES TO INDIGENT MEN, WOMEN, AND UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN DETAINED IN ARIZONA FOR IMMIGRATION REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.

profile · synthesized from sources

The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project provides free legal services to men, women, and children detained in Arizona for immigration-related issues. They offer direct representation, social services, and engage in advocacy to promote a more just and humane immigration system. The organization also works at the U.S.-Mexico border to assist migrants seeking asylum.

named programs · 3 · from sources

what they call their work

Advocacy Program
Amplifies client voices, educates the public on immigration law and policy, appeals wrongly decided cases, builds partnerships, and engages in strategic advocacy efforts including appellate representation and strategic litigation to improve systems and laws impacting clients.
Border Action Team (BAT)
Provides legal services, orientations, and pro se assistance to migrants in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and coordinates logistics between legal services and humanitarian aid organizations at the Arizona Mexico border. Advocates for those in dangerous situations and works to reunite families.
Integrated Social Services
Provides holistic support to detained immigrants in Arizona, addressing needs beyond legal representation for survivors of torture, domestic violence, parents at risk of losing custody, and individuals with medical/mental health issues.
activities · 8 groups

what they do

  • Immigration Legal Services for Asylum Seekers 18 activities
    • Border Action and Legal Services in Nogales, Sonora
      Maintains a seven-day-a-week presence in Nogales, Sonora, providing legal orientations, pro se assistance, and legal representation to migrants seeking asylum, and coordinates logistics between legal services and humanitarian aid organizations at the Arizona-Mexico border.
    • Border Legal Services and Coordination
      Provides legal orientations, pro se assistance, and legal representation to migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. at the Arizona-Mexico border, particularly in Nogales, Sonora, and coordinates logistics between legal services and humanitarian aid organizations to assist migrants.
    • Border Legal Services and Coordination
      Provides legal orientations, pro se assistance, and legal representation to migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. at the Arizona-Mexico border, maintaining a seven-day-a-week presence in Nogales, Sonora, and coordinating logistics between legal and humanitarian aid organizations.
    • Border Legal Services and Coordination
      Provides legal orientations, pro se assistance, and legal representation to migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. at the Arizona-Mexico border, including in Nogales, Sonora, and coordinates logistics between legal services and humanitarian aid organizations in the region.
    • Border Legal Services and Coordination
      Provides legal orientations, pro se assistance, and legal representation to migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. at the Arizona-Mexico border, including in Nogales, Sonora, and coordinates logistics between legal services and humanitarian aid organizations.
    • Children's Program and Rapid Response
      Operates a Children's Program to serve unaccompanied minors detained in Arizona, including a Rapid Response Team to assist children held in hotels and threatened with expulsion due to Title 42.
    • Children's Program and Rapid Response
      Operates a Children's Program to serve unaccompanied minors detained in Arizona, including a Rapid Response Team to assist children threatened with expulsion due to Title 42, and opened a Tucson office to expand services to Southern Arizona.
    • Children's Program and Rapid Response
      Operates a dedicated Children's Program to serve unaccompanied minors detained in Arizona, including a Rapid Response Team to assist children held in hotels and threatened with expulsion due to Title 42 orders.
    • Children's Program and Rapid Response Team
      Operates a Children's Program to serve unaccompanied minors detained in Arizona, including a Rapid Response Team to assist children held in hotels and threatened with expulsion due to Title 42, and works to reunite families separated at the border.
    • Free Legal and Social Services
      Provides free legal and social services to detained adults and unaccompanied children in immigration removal proceedings, including legal representation and case management.
    • Legal Representation for Detained Children
      Offers full legal representation to every detained child without family reunification options and to those released from detention living in Arizona.
    • Legal Representation for Detained Immigrants
      Provides free legal representation to detained adults and unaccompanied children in immigration removal proceedings in Arizona, including those with severe mental illnesses or disabilities, and handles a variety of immigration cases such as asylum, cancellation of removal, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
    • Legal Representation for Detained Immigrants
      Provides free legal representation to detained adults and unaccompanied children in immigration removal proceedings in Arizona, including those with severe mental illnesses or disabilities, and handles a variety of immigration cases such as asylum claims, cancellation of removal, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
    • Legal Representation for Detained Immigrants
      Provides free legal representation to detained adults and unaccompanied children in immigration removal proceedings in Arizona, including those with severe mental illnesses or disabilities, and handles a variety of immigration cases such as asylum, cancellation of removal, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
    • Legal Representation for Detained Immigrants
      Provides free legal representation to detained adults and unaccompanied children in immigration removal proceedings in Arizona, including those with severe mental illnesses or disabilities, and handles a variety of immigration cases such as asylum, cancellation of removal, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
    • Legal Services in Nogales, Sonora
      Provided legal services to migrants in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, in partnership with the Kino Border Initiative, expanding from one attorney to two attorneys and three legal assistants.
    • Pro Bono Attorney Placement
      Places cases with pro bono attorneys in Arizona and across the U.S. to support legal representation of children and other detained immigrants.
    • Pro Bono Attorney Placement
      Places cases with pro bono attorneys in Arizona and across the U.S. to support legal representation for children and other detained immigrants.
  • Immigrant Rights Advocacy & Legal Challenges 6 activities
    • Advocacy for Detained Children
      Engages in advocacy efforts, including compiling data and supporting large-scale complaints about family separation and abuse of children in Border Patrol custody.
    • Advocacy for Detained Immigrants and Systemic Change
      Engages in advocacy through appellate work, strategic media engagement, stakeholder conversations, and lawsuits to support large-scale complaints about family separation, abuse of children, medical neglect in detention, and to advocate for more humane policies and systemic change.
    • Advocacy for Immigrant Rights and Policy Change
      Engages in appellate work, strategic media engagement, and policy advocacy to support large-scale complaints about family separation, abuse of children, and medical neglect in detention, and pursues lawsuits to advocate for more humane policies and systemic change.
    • Advocacy for Immigrant Rights and Systemic Change
      Engages in appellate work, strategic media engagement, policy advocacy, and litigation to advocate for detained children, expose injustices, and promote more humane policies, including advocating for the release of unaccompanied children and reporting medical neglect in detention.
    • Advocacy for Systemic Change and Policy Reform
      Engages in appellate work, strategic media engagement, stakeholder conversations, and lawsuits to advocate for detained children, expose injustices, and promote more humane immigration policies, including advocating for the release of unaccompanied children and reporting medical neglect in detention.
    • Advocacy for Systemic Change and Policy Reform
      Engages in appellate work, strategic media engagement, stakeholder conversations, and litigation to advocate for detained children and more humane immigration policies, including exposing abuses in Border Patrol custody, challenging rules restricting citizenship, and securing release of high-risk individuals during public health crises.
  • Legislative & Systems Education Initiatives 6 activities
    • Community Education for Immigrant Parents
      Provides educational materials and guidance to immigrant parents in Arizona about the immigration and child welfare systems to help them maintain parental rights if apprehended by ICE.
    • Legal and Social Services for Immigrant Parents
      Provides educational materials and guidance to immigrant parents in Arizona on the immigration and child welfare systems, offering actionable steps to protect parental rights if detained by ICE or Border Patrol.
    • Parental Rights Protection for Immigrant Families
      Provides educational materials and guidance to immigrant parents in Arizona on the immigration and child welfare systems, offering actionable steps to protect their parental rights if detained by ICE or Border Patrol.
    • Parental Rights Protection for Immigrant Families
      Provides educational materials and guidance to immigrant parents in Arizona on the immigration and child welfare systems, offering actionable steps to protect their parental rights if apprehended or detained by ICE or Border Patrol.
    • Parental Rights Protection for Immigrant Families
      Provides educational materials and guidance to immigrant parents in Arizona on the immigration and child welfare systems, offering actionable steps to protect parental rights and prevent loss of custody if detained by ICE or Border Patrol.
    • Parental Rights Protection for Immigrant Families
      Provides educational materials and guidance to immigrant parents in Arizona on the immigration and child welfare systems, offering actionable steps to protect parental rights and prevent loss of custody if detained by ICE or Border Patrol.
  • Legal Resource Development and Pro Bono Coordination 5 activities
    • Capacity Building for Legal Professionals
      Co-authors and updates resources like the Quick Reference Chart for Determining Immigration Consequences of Selected Arizona Offenses for criminal defense attorneys, places cases with pro bono attorneys, and created the blueprint for the Legal Orientation Program.
    • Capacity Building for Legal Professionals
      Co-authors and updates resources like the Quick Reference Chart for Determining Immigration Consequences of Selected Arizona Offenses for criminal defense attorneys, and places cases with pro bono attorneys to support legal representation of children.
    • Legal Resource Development
      Co-authored and updated the Quick Reference Chart for Determining Immigration Consequences of Selected Arizona Offenses for criminal defense attorneys and created the blueprint for the Legal Orientation Program (LOP).
    • Legal Resources for Criminal Defense Attorneys
      Co-authored and updated the Quick Reference Chart for Determining Immigration Consequences of Selected Arizona Offenses, a resource for criminal defense attorneys.
    • Legal Resources for Criminal Defense Attorneys
      Co-authored and updated the Quick Reference Chart for Determining Immigration Consequences of Selected Arizona Offenses, a resource for criminal defense attorneys.
  • Transitional and Permanent Supportive Housing 5 activities
    • Integrated Social Services Program
      Launched an Integrated Social Services Program with a team of social workers to assist clients with challenges like finding housing or medical services upon release from detention.
    • Social Services and Case Management
      Provides ongoing case management and social services support to clients, addressing psychosocial needs such as medical and mental health care, family reunification, housing, food insecurity, and crisis intervention, especially for those transitioning out of detention.
    • Social Services and Case Management
      Provides social services support and ongoing case management to clients, addressing needs such as medical and mental health care, family reunification, housing, food insecurity, and transitioning out of detention, including crisis intervention and connections to local service providers.
    • Social Services and Case Management
      Provides social services support and ongoing case management to clients, addressing needs such as medical and mental health care, family reunification, housing, food insecurity, and transitioning out of detention, including crisis intervention and connections to local service providers.
    • Social Services and Case Management
      Provides social services support and ongoing case management to clients, addressing needs such as medical and mental health care, family reunification, housing, food insecurity, and transitioning out of detention, including crisis intervention and connections to local service providers.
  • Child Trafficking Survivor Support 1 activity
    • Support for Child Survivors of Human Trafficking
      Provides legal representation and community education specifically for child survivors of human trafficking.
  • Trauma-Informed Training and Professional Consultation 1 activity
    • Workshops and Training
      Conducts workshops for clients and staff on issues such as trauma, health, and education.
  • Uncategorized 12 activities
    • Border Action Team
      Established a Border Action Team to serve individuals on the border and respond to changing situations, particularly in response to the "Remain In Mexico" policy.
    • Consultation on Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions
      Ran the "Arizona Defending Immigrants" program, consulting public defenders on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.
    • Family Reunification Efforts
      Works to reunite families separated at the border due to violence.
    • Hotline for Detained Individuals
      Operates a free hotline to receive calls from individuals in ICE detention.
    • Hotline for Detained Individuals
      Operates a free hotline to receive calls from individuals in ICE detention.
    • Know Your Rights Presentations
      Conducts weekly group presentations to educate detained immigrants on their rights, court procedures, and immigration law, empowering them to represent themselves.
    • Legal Orientation Program
      Pioneered the Legal Orientation Program, which provides "Know Your Rights" presentations to people in ICE detention, helping them prepare their cases.
    • Legal Orientation and Education Programs
      Conducts weekly "Know Your Rights" presentations and individual legal screenings for detained children and adults in Arizona, and provides group workshops on legal topics such as bond preparation, asylum, and cancellation of removal. This includes pioneering the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) blueprint.
    • Legal Orientation and Education Programs
      Conducts weekly "Know Your Rights" presentations and individual legal screenings for detained children and adults in Arizona, and provides group workshops on legal topics such as bond preparation, asylum, and cancellation of removal. This includes pioneering the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) blueprint.
    • Legal Orientation and Education Programs
      Conducts weekly "Know Your Rights" presentations and individual legal screenings for detained children and adults in Arizona, and provides group workshops on legal topics such as bond preparation, asylum, and cancellation of removal, including for migrants in Nogales, Sonora.
    • Legal Orientation and Education for Detained Immigrants
      Conducts weekly "Know Your Rights" presentations and individual legal screenings for detained children and adults in Arizona, and provides group workshops on legal topics like bond preparation and asylum, including through a hotline for individuals in ICE detention.
    • Legal Orientations and "Know Your Rights" Presentations
      Conducts weekly "Know Your Rights" presentations and individual legal screenings for detained children in Arizona, and provides weekly group presentations and workshops on legal topics for detained immigrants to educate them on their rights and court procedures.
financials · form 990 · fy2020
revenue
Total revenue$16.00M
Contributions & grants$15.89M99%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$108K1%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$12.90M
Program expenses86%
Admin / overhead8%
Fundraising6%
Salaries & benefits$10.28M
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$16.96M
Cash$3.51M
Investments$10.79M
Liabilities$712K
Net assets$16.25M
Liquid reserves13.3 mo
1 years on record · 2020–2020
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2020

who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
LAUREN DASSE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $130K
board members · 22
  • ALAN GOLD — DIRECTOR
  • ALEXANDER ARPAD — DIRECTOR
  • ANDREW SILVERMAN — DIRECTOR
  • ANGELA BANKS — DIRECTOR
  • CINDY VILLANUEVA — BOARD VICE PRESIDENT
  • DAVID K ANDROFF — DIRECTOR
  • DEIRDRE MOKOS — DIRECTOR
  • EMILY WARD — DIRECTOR
  • HAYLEIGH CRAWFORD — DIRECTOR
  • IRA S FELDMAN — BOARD TREASURER
  • JOSE CARRILLO — DIRECTOR
  • JOSH BENDOR — DIRECTOR
  • LETICIA HERNANDEZ — DIRECTOR
  • MARGARET E KIRCH — DIRECTOR
  • MERCEDES RYDEN — BOARD VICE PRESIDENT
  • NATHAN FIDEL — SECRETARY
  • PHILIP R HIGDON — DIRECTOR
  • RACHAEL M CURLEY — DIRECTOR
  • SARAH ANAND — DIRECTOR
  • SONIA REIDY — DIRECTOR
  • TY FRANKEL — BOARD PRESIDENT
  • YALDA GODUSI — DIRECTOR
relationships · 26

who they work with

  • ACLU Partner — Partnered in Cheneau v. Garland, overturning a rule restricting U.S. citizenship.
  • ACLU of Arizona Partner — Partnered in lawsuits during COVID outbreaks in Arizona detention centers.
  • American Immigration Lawyers Association Partner — Member donations supported the 2016 update of the Quick Reference Chart on immigration consequences of Arizona offenses.
  • Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice Partner — Provided support for the 2016 update of the Quick Reference Chart on immigration consequences of Arizona offenses.
  • Arizona Public Defender Association Partner — Provided support for the 2016 update of the Quick Reference Chart on immigration consequences of Arizona offenses.
  • Board of Directors Partner — Brings legal expertise and governance oversight to uphold the mission of the Florence Project.
  • Boston College Partner — Partnered in Cheneau v. Garland, overturning a rule restricting U.S. citizenship.
  • Carolina Partner — Client from Guatemala who created artwork for the organization
  • Community Foundation for Southern Arizona Funder — Supports the Advocacy Program.
  • Executive Office of Immigration Review Government — Supported the replication of the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) developed by the Florence Project
  • Florence Project Partner — Partners pro bono attorneys with a trained Florence Project legal team for training and mentorship.
  • ICE Government — Provides "Know Your Rights" presentations to people in ICE detention.
  • Immigrant Legal Resource Center Partner — Co-developed and co-authored the Quick Reference Chart for Determining Immigration Consequences of Selected Arizona Offenses.
  • Kino Border Initiative Partner — Partnership enabling legal orientations in Nogales, Sonora and representation of asylum seekers later detained in Eloy or Florence
  • Kino Border Initiative Partner — Partnership to offer services to asylum seekers in Nogales, Sonora, MX.
  • Kino Border Initiative (KBI) Partner — Partners to provide legal services to migrants in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and to preserve and restore access to asylum.
  • Lewis Roca Partner — Law firm that provided pro bono legal representation to Florence Project client Santiago in asylum case.
  • MacKenzie Scott Funder — Provided a transformative gift to launch a "representation-for-all" legal services model.
  • Office of Refugee Resettlement Government — Government agency overseeing children's detention facilities where the organization serves clients.
  • Orrick Law Firm Partner — Partnered in Cheneau v. Garland, overturning a rule restricting U.S. citizenship.
  • Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters Funder — Recipient of a generous gift from the Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters (Victory Noll Sisters) to strengthen the Integrated Social Services Program and Border Action Team.
  • Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters Funder — Recipient of a generous gift to strengthen the Integrated Social Services Program and Border Action Team.
  • Perkins Coie Partner — Law firm partner in lawsuits during COVID outbreaks in Arizona detention centers.
  • Proyecto Solidaridad Partner — Staff union that Florence Project leadership voluntarily recognized.
  • RightsWork Partner — Provided consultation through a family services consultant for the guide on immigrant family resources in Arizona.
  • Steptoe and Johnson, LLP Partner — Sponsored the development of a guide for immigrant parents on protecting parental rights if apprehended by ICE.