Rapid Response Initiative (RRI)⏱️
Launched in April 2025, NJCIC's Rapid Response Initiative (RRI) is a special project dedicated to addressing the federal administration's targeting of vital protections that impact New Jersey's young immigrants. Through on-the-ground lawyering, RRI allows our Legal Team increased flexibility in the types of immigration cases we provide legal representation for and across different areas of New Jersey.
Focused and direct legal representation or advice and counsel for New Jersey's young immigrants who are at high risk of removal from the U.S. or at high risk of aging out of eligibility for immigration relief.
Provision of language-specific Know-Your-Rights (KYR) trainings and mobile legal services focused on targeted Power of Attorney (POA) preparation. A POA is a legal document which designates a caregiver with decision-making authority if a parent or guardian cannot do so. Targeted preparation helps protect immigrant families and bolster their contingency plans in the event of forced separation due to immigration enforcement.
Strategic liaising with New Jersey's and national premier impact litigators to challenge the current federal administration's immigration policies and initiatives rippling out at the state level, upending the daily lives and futures of young immigrants.
Services include:
Who is eligible for direct legal representation or advice and counsel?
Generally, NJCIC will consider cases for the Rapid Response Initiative where the prospective client is:
1) Under 21 years of age and lacking legal status in the U.S.;
2) A resident of New Jersey; and
3) At high risk of removal from the U.S. or is at high risk of aging out of eligibility for immigration relief.
“At high risk of removal” may include but is not limited to:
A youth with a removal order
A youth who is has had multiple hearings in immigration court without a lawyer
A youth who is currently in ICE detention
A youth who is targeted for an ICE raid or wellness check
A youth separated from their parents due to immigration enforcement actions
A youth with an active criminal or juvenile delinquency matter
*Please note that factors such as homelessness, health conditions, tender age, and active involvement with local law enforcement will also be considered when deciding if NJCIC can take on a particular case and provide services under the Rapid Response Initiative.
*Please note that NJCIC generally does not represent children who are in consolidated removal proceedings with a parent. If a child is scheduled for a hearing on the same day and time as their parent, that child is likely in consolidated removal proceedings. However, NJCIC will consider cases of children who are in proceedings with a parent but whose case will be severed from their parent’s because the parent has been detained or deported by ICE, has left the United States, or because it is otherwise not appropriate for the child to remain in consolidated proceedings with their parent.
How can I get in touch with NJCIC about organizing a KYR Training or Power of Attorney Clinic, or Collaborating on Impact Litigation?
Please email NJCIC at Legal@njcic.org.
