IMMIGRANT ARC ANNOUNCES ITS HONOREES FOR ITS FALL FUNDRAISER: A NIGHT OF JUSTICE
Brooklyn, NY; October 6, 2022 - Immigrant ARC is proud to announce its three awardees, to be honored at Jane’s Carousel in downtown Brooklyn at the organization’s annual “Night of Justice” fundraiser on Thursday, October 6, 2022.
This year shines the spotlight on Emerson G. Argueta, winner of the Community Champion Award; Catholic Charities' Immigration Legal Services & Unaccompanied Minors Program Team, winner of the Immigrant Champion Award; and Desireé C. Hernández Sánchez, winner of the Immigrant Justice Award.
***
In addition to being an integral member of the I-ARC steering committee, I-ARC’s COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD winner Emerson G. Argueta is the Supervising Attorney for the Removal Defense Team at CARECEN, where he has led a team of young attorneys and paralegals to provide high quality legal representation to a historically underserved region.
“Winning the Community Champion Award is a huge honor,” explains Argueta, “because it is recognition from my peers, many of whom are mentors. I draw inspiration from the tenacity of this community of immigration advocates, and winning this award is affirmation that I am exactly where I should be: doing this work alongside this amazing community.”
He adds, “I fight for immigrant justice because I am an immigrant who’s life was changed thanks to quality legal representation. I see myself in our clients, all of whom deserve the dignity of having access to counsel in our byzantine immigration system.”
***
From working on the Dedicated Docket to responding to the influx of migrants being bussed to NYC from the Southern Border, Catholic Charities of New York’s Immigration Legal Services & Unaccompanied Minors Program Team has been at the forefront of many emerging immigration legal issues arising recently in New York City and I-ARC is excited to honor them with our IMMIGRANT CHAMPION AWARD.
Maryann Tharappel, who will accept this award on behalf of Catholic Charities says, “My family left central Africa fleeing the Hutu/Tutsi conflict and I will never forget those first years in America, facing language and cultural hurdles, watching my parents face discrimination, experiencing it myself firsthand, and the challenges we faced in our journey to lawful permanent status. I will also always remember those who helped us, who stood up for us, and those who encouraged me to never stop raising my voice. As an immigrant and a woman of color, the fight for justice is in my heart, and it is my privilege to lead this team of exemplary warriors.”
***
Desireé C. Hernández Sanchez is an experienced immigration attorney and Deputy Executive Director at Safe Passage Project. This past year, she became the key leader navigating internal shifts and tackling the many challenges facing migrant youth, and has showed enormous grace under pressure while enabling the organization and its pro bono network to deepen its support for vulnerable youth and expand access to justice, making her the perfect recipient of Immigrant ARC’s IMMIGRANT JUSTICE AWARD.
“I am extremely honored to win this award,” says Desireé. “I really appreciate the platform to raise awareness to immigrant children issues and the importance of high quality legal representation in our immigration courts. I feel privileged to work every day to seek protection for immigrant children with a fantastic team at Safe Passage Project. This award is a community coming together to encourage others to stand with immigrant children.
Hernandez Sanchez goes on to say, “I fight for immigrant justice because it should be a right for children to receive free legal services. Immigration law is complicated and unaccompanied immigrant children should not pay the price of our broken system. I work towards a future where we recognize immigrant children as children that deserve a fair and just legal process, as well as safety and compassion in the U.S.”
***
“It’s always an honor to be able to recognize the incredible work our members do day in and day out on behalf of New York’s immigrant communities,” says I-ARC’s Executive Director Camille Mackler. “This year’s awardees are true leaders in our community, and we can’t wait to celebrate them and their accomplishments and lift up our entire community of tireless advocates.”
###
Immigrant ARC is a collaborative of over 80 organizations and professional associations providing legal services to New York’s immigrant communities throughout the State. Born out of the legal effort at JFK Airport during the Muslim Travel Ban in 2017, our mission is clear: to mobilize New York State’s legal service providers by facilitating communication and information sharing to better support our immigrant communities; to organize and respond to issues as they arise by coordinating resources and fostering best practices among providers; and to resist and challenge anti-immigrant policies by shining a light on injustices and confronting inequalities faced by our communities in the legal system.
CONTACT: press@immigrantarc.org
