Our Government Broke Its Promise to Kids
Fundraiser for Mid-South Immigration Advocates
Mid-South Immigration Advocates is being forced to close its doors because the federal government has withheld money it already owes for work already done. We're raising money to help MIA serve its existing clients (nearly 800 people, half of them children) for as long as possible.
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ABOUT MIA
Since 2013, Mid-South Immigration Advocates has been the first — and often only — nonprofit law firm in the tri-state area providing free and affordable immigration representation to low-income families across Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
Their attorneys and legal workers have represented over 1,400 clients from 42 countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Nearly 90% receive their services pro bono. Over the past 11 years, that free and reduced-cost legal work amounts to more than $9.3 million in donated time and expertise — a direct investment in stronger families and a stronger community.
MIA's clients aren't who the headlines suggest. Most undocumented immigrants are not criminals — they're more likely to be victims of one. MIA represents hundreds of survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, disproportionately women and girls, along with asylum seekers and children facing immigration court alone.
Fast facts:
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Clients come from 42 countries around the world
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87% of clients receive pro bono services
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60% of clients are from Honduras, El Salvador, or Guatemala
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Beyond Spanish, clients speak indigenous Mayan languages including Akateko, Mam, Q'anjob'al, and Ki'che'
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Based in Memphis and Nashville, serving clients from the Appalachians to the Ozarks and across the Mississippi Delta
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW & WHY IT'S AN INJUSTICE
MIA recently shared devastating news: they are closing both their Memphis and Nashville offices over the coming months.
This isn't happening because the need went away, or because MIA mismanaged its funds. It's happening because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has indefinitely delayed reimbursement for work MIA already performed representing unaccompanied immigrant children (work the government contracted them to do). That's over half a million dollars the government owes for over 7 months of completed work. MIA drained its reserves and sought foundation funding to bridge the gap. They've run out of runway waiting on a payment the government has simply chosen not to send.
This comes on top of the current administration cutting federal funding entirely for MIA's Survivors' Project, Asylum Initiative, and Know Your Rights programming. These programs served survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking, and helped children understand their rights in a system that treats them like they have none.
MIA will keep serving clients for as long as they can. Every dollar raised allows them to continue their work for our most vulnerable neighbors a little while longer.
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WAYS TO HELP
1. Donate directly to MIA
Every dollar extends the time MIA can keep representing families with nowhere else to turn.
$50: 50 minutes of language interpretation. The immigration process is already complex, opaque, and terrifying enough. Kids and families should get to hear what is happening in their own language.
$100: Retrieves a family's file, updates it, and mails it back securely. This is how we ensure continuity for kids and families.
$250: Keeps a child's paper file moving between the attorneys and advocates who need it.
$500: Keeps the phones ringing and the case software running. This is the infrastructure that lets one legal director keep showing up for families who have nowhere else to turn.
Donate to Mid-South Immigration Advocates →
2. Join a Cyanotype for Good workshop
Learn a new skill, meet fellow Memphians who care about immigrant rights, and help fund MIA at the same time. In this 90-minute, all-ages workshop, you'll use sunlight and fresh botanicals to make your own protest sign or tote bag using the cyanotype process. No experience needed and all materials included.
Saturday, August 1st at 2pm, Midtown Memphis (exact address shared with registered attendees; rain date Sunday, August 2nd)
For every ticket sold, we'll donate $25 to MIA.
3. Can't make the workshop? Get a DIY kit
Make your own 18x24" cyanotype protest sign or tote bag at home. The kit includes pre-treated paper or a tote, stencils, letters, dried botanicals, and full instructions. Pick up in Midtown Memphis or have it shipped.
For every kit sold, we'll donate $25 to MIA.
4. Can't contribute financially? Share this fundraiser, talk about it and get out to vote.