News
Judge Suspends Trump’s Rule Imposing Higher Immigration Fees
Judge Says Rule Likely Unlawful Because 'Arbitrary and Capricious,' Wolf Not Validly Serving as Acting DHS Secretary WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia late Thursday night granted a preliminary injunction suspending a...
Important Public Update on TPS
Updated 12/8/2020 TPS status and documents have been automatically extended for individuals with currently valid Temporary Protected Status from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal through Oct 4, 2021,...
Black Lives Matter
Washington, DC (June 1, 2020) - As thousands of protesters take to the streets for the third day in DC, seeking justice and accountability, in a movement echoed in hundreds of cities across the US and the world, Ayuda stands against racism, as allies with our...
Ayuda Client Shares Her Story for Sexual Assault Awareness Month
*Tali is a Middle Eastern woman who came to Ayuda seeking legal representation in obtaining a civil protection order (“CPO”) against her ex-husband and father of her child. When Tali and Amir started dating, Amir was charming, caring, and kind. However, once they...
New Public Charge Ruling Targeting Low-Income Immigrants Takes Effect
Washington, D.C. (February 26, 2020) – On Monday, the Trump Administration’s inhumane public charge rule took effect, creating new barriers to immigration relief for the low-income immigrant community Ayuda serves. The Trump Administration’s amendments to the...
Language Access Program Vital to Area Nonprofits
Ayuda provides language access services to 100 area nonprofits. One of those nonprofits recently described the importance of Ayuda’s Community Legal Interpreter Bank in helping a client: "Janelle* is an 18 year-old client from El Salvador. She had been working with...
Ayuda Interpreter Shares the Importance and Uniqueness of Ayuda’s Language Access Program
Lynn Dey, a Certified Deaf Interpreter*, has been working with Ayuda’s Language Access Program for more than 2 years. In May 2018, Lynn completed Ayuda’s 4-day “Breaking Silence” interpreter training, which covered interpreting for victim services via the provision of...
Ayuda social services program supporting survivors to rebuild their lives
Alejandro*, a victim of trafficking in both his home country and in the United States, was referred to Ayuda’s social services program by US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). Alejandro was living in an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) shelter for...
Erlinda’s Story: “I was trafficked by my diplomat”
Erlinda* came from the Philippines to work as a domestic worker for a diplomat in Washington D.C. She traveled on a visa for domestic workers of foreign dignitaries. However, upon her arrival in Washington D.C., Erlinda’s employer confiscated her identity...
Human Trafficking: Immigrant Victims Afraid to Report Traffickers
This post was originally written for Immigrant Food's Think Table By: Katherine Flannery and Katherine Soltis The Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area is one of the largest hubs of human trafficking in the United States, a result of a mix of...
Refugee, mother and survivor, becomes U.S. citizen after 8 years
It is because of supporters like you, that Ayuda was able to help save me and my family and put us on the path to recovery. In 2004, my family and I were separated. I was 19 years old and civil war had plagued my home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)....
Giving thanks to domestic violence & family law community volunteer, Ruth Tickin
As one of Ayuda's Volunteers, Ruth's job is to digitize files from closed domestic violence family law cases. She has been a great part of our team and this ongoing project since the fall of 2018. Often times, in an organization like Ayuda, a significant amount of...
“We support Ayuda because they provide important humanitarian assistance to our most-marginalized neighbors.”
"At Ayuda events, I’m sometimes asked how I first became associated with the organization. I started to pay more attention to immigration after traveling abroad to Mexico and South America.I stayed with host families, which gave me the additional in-depth experience...
From Victim to Survivor: Sabah’s Path to Recovery
Sabah is a young Middle Eastern woman who came to Ayuda seeking legal representation for a civil protection order against her ex-boyfriend, Tim. Sabah and Tim had been a relationship for two years. During their entire relationship, Tim was verbally, physically, and...
Congress Must Act Now to Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was originally established in 1994 by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act to aid in preventing violent crime. VAWA created the first U.S. federal legislation acknowledging domestic violence and sexual assault as...
