August at the International Institute of Akron

August has proven to be a dynamic month at IIA, with celebrating Pride, embracing new team members, and continuing our commitment to assisting refugees and immigrants establish Akron as their home. We’re excited to share all our updates and resources for the month below!

Welcome to IIA’s new Director of Job Development and Education 

We are thrilled to introduce Joli Magnus as the International Institute of Akron’s new Director of Job Development and Education! After graduating college, Joli’s journey with IIA began as an ESL teacher for newly arrived refugees, evolving into an employment case manager over the span of a decade. Having volunteered across various departments during a brief hiatus, Joli gained a holistic understanding of IIA’s operations. Her profound commitment led her to Jewish Family Services, where she spent twelve years aiding individuals with disabilities find employment before returning to IIA as the Director of Employment and Education Services.

Joli’s history with IIA and her deep connection to its mission make her an invaluable asset to our team. Her role involves overseeing the employment and education departments, offering guidance and solutions to the team. With her problem-solving ability and familiarity with the challenges faced by both clients and staff, she is well-equipped to lead her team effectively. Joli’s vision is to maximize the potential of IIA’s employment and education programs, helping them reach new heights and align with the team’s collective goals.

As Joli begins her work in our employment and education departments, we eagerly anticipate her guidance in our programs' growth and fostering a stronger, more empowered community.  Welcome back, Joli!

PRIDE in Akron 

On August 26, IIA participated in Akron’s annual Pride March and celebration. It was beautiful to see the Akron community and beyond coming together to celebrate the LGBT+ community. IIA in particular, received many positive comments on our signs hand-made by the IIA staff. Thanks to everyone who attended and for showing your pride!

The Asylum Fund 

Over recent months, the International Institute of Akron has seen an increase in individuals and families arriving in Akron as asylum seekers, asking for legal representation and help with basic needs such as housing and food assistance.    

IIA is asking for your help to raise $10,000 through our Asylum Fund campaign. Every dollar contributed to this cause will be directly channeled towards individuals seeking asylum, offering them critical aid with housing, utility payments, and culturally appropriate food.  

If you are interested in donating, please visit www.iiakron.org/take-action.

With deepest gratitude, we thank you for your support in this urgent matter.

Shining the Spotlight: Expressing Gratitude to Former Board Member, Tania Nemer 

We extend our sincerest appreciation to Tania Nemer for her exceptional service as a member of the International Institute of Akron’s board from 2022-2023. With her recent appointment as an immigration judge at the Cleveland Immigration Court in August 2023, Judge Nemer’s profound dedication to the field of immigration law shines brightly.

Judge Nemer’s academic journey, marked by a Bachelor of Arts from John Carroll University and a Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, has paved the way for her remarkable career. Her extensive experience spans various legal domains, including her role as a magistrate at the Summit County, Ohio Probate Court, where she oversaw crucial cases involving guardianships, civil commitments, and estates.

Noteworthy among her achievements include working as an immigration attorney at the International Institute of Akron and as a senior immigration attorney for Catholic Charities, Office of Migration and Refugee Services. Judge Nemer’s journey and contributions stand as an inspiring spotlight, reminding us all of the power of expertise, empathy, and dedication in shaping a more just legal landscape.

 
 

Join Our Team! 

IIA is currently seeking to fill several available positions on our team. If you want to apply or learn more, visit our website at www.iiakron.org/join-our-team.

 We encourage all qualified candidates to apply and look forward to hearing from you!

July at the International Institute of Akron

It’s been a busy month at IIA with celebrations, welcoming new staff, and helping refugees and immigrants call Akron home. We’re excited to share our updates for July with you below!

Welcome to the Team: Lah Shee, Susan, and Eva! 

Over the last couple of months, IIA has welcomed three new staff members, including Lah Shee Soe and Susan Mills-Martinez!

Lah Shee Soe began working at IIA as a refugee resettlement case manager in May of 2023. She is thrilled to begin helping people from other countries, because she understands first-hand the experience refugees go through upon arriving in their new communities.

Lah Shee was born in Myanmar before her family was forced to flee to Thailand and lived in a refugee camp for 14 years. At the age of 20, Lah Shee and her family were resettled in Minnesota, where he began working community support specialist and later as a benefits coordinator for refugees. Lah Shee moved to Akron in December of 2022 after getting married. Her previous work in Minnesota helped her transition into her new role at IIA where Lah Shee hopes to help others and meet new people in her community.

 
 

Susan Mills-Martinez began working at IIA in July of 2023 as a staff attorney. In her new role, she will represent clients in their immigration cases across all practice areas we handle: court, removal, affirmative petitions for adjustment of status and other family-based petitions, DACA renewals and applications, asylum, and naturalization. Before working at IIA, Susan worked as an attorney at a law firm in Chicago focusing on immigration.

Susan has dreamed of working at IIA since she learned about the organization nearly ten years ago, because there are few organizations in the area quite like it. She believes all Immigrants deserve good representation, good attorneys, and knowledgeable persons in the practice area, as immigration law is complicated and ever-changing.  

Joining IIA meant returning to Akron, where she previously graduated from law school; however, it was an opportunity for her husband that brought them here. Her husband owns El Meson, a delicious Mexican restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls.

Susan is bi-lingual, so she’s incredibly excited to work with Spanish-speaking clients and help them along in their legal journeys. She looks forward to helping our clients, going to court to represent clients, and showing them their legal options.

 
 

Annual Report 

We are thrilled to announce that our 2022 Annual Report is now available at www.iiakron.org/annual-reports! Be sure to check out all of the outstanding work the IIA staff completed in 2022.

 
 

Intern Appreciation Lunch! 

Friday, July 28, IIA staff celebrated our incredible Summer interns with lunch from Aladdin’s! We could not do our important work in the refugee and immigrant communities without the hard work of our interns and volunteers. We are so grateful, and they will be very missed!

Staff Training – Self Care 

Last month, IIA staff participated in our second trauma-informed care training. The presentation focused on how our staff can take better care of themselves so they don’t experience fatigue and burnout. This included tips on sleep, diet, mindfulness, and social connection.  

Thank you to Michelle Kriedler for sharing your expertise with IIA!

Donations 

We are currently seeking for donations to support our efforts in assisting refugees and immigrants in integrating into their new communities.

If you can donate anything on the list of needs below, please contact, donated.goods@iiakron.org

Current Needs:

  • Big pots

  • Pans

  • Lightbulbs

  • Twin-size blankets

  • Twin-size sheets

  • Toilet paper

  • Laundry detergent

  • Pillows

If you are interested in donating monetarily to support IIA’s work in the refugee and immigrant communities, please visit: https://iiakron.charityproud.org/Donate

 IIA is Hiring!  

IIA is excited to announce that we are currently seeking to fill multiple positions at our agency. If you are interested in applying for any of these opportunities or wish to learn more about them, visit our website at www.iiakron.org/join-our-team. 

We encourage all qualified candidates to apply and look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks for staying up to date on everything IIA, and we look forward to sharing more information soon!

June at the International Institute of Akron

June is a particularly special month to IIA, because of the many celebrations honoring Immigrant Heritage Month and World Refugee Day! Check out how we celebrated, as well as some incredible stories from IIA and the community below.  

Immigration Legal Team Highlight! 

Human trafficking is a form of violence in which abusers profit from forcing, tricking, or pressuring people into some form of work or commercial sexual exploitation. There are an estimated 27.6 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. Traffickers and their cohorts often target refugees and undocumented, displaced adults and children from outside the U.S. Their controllers often subject them to various forms of manipulation, exploitation, involuntary servitude, violence, or discrimination. Because migrants often experience hardships meeting basic needs such as shelter and food, they are particularly susceptible to being trafficked around the world and in the United States.

 The IIA legal team recently worked on a pro-bono case that has the ingredients of human trafficking and involuntary servitude. A woman was arrested and charged with felonies after inflicting wounds on one of her controllers in self-defense against sexual exploitation and domestic violence. If convicted, she would be deported back to her home country.

From the initial inquiry into this woman’s circumstances, IIA lawyers recognized that she may have been a victim of some form of coercion, trafficking, and/or involuntary servitude. She was transported from another state to Ohio to work in a factory. She was presented with a fake ID, worked for unlivable wages, and was provided with inadequate housing. They not only drove her back and forth from the residence to work each day, but they also closely managed every aspect of her whereabouts.

After hearing her story, the IIA legal team collaborated with the criminal defense attorney, advising on the immigration consequences that may arise from this case. After a week of trial, she was acquitted of all charges and immediately released from jail.

Because she cooperated fully with law enforcement in the investigation of this case, IIA can now pursue the immigration issue with a view of convincing USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) of her eligibility for a U-Visa. For now, IIA will work tirelessly to dispel the threat of deportation, with the further goal of obtaining permanent immigration benefits for her.

We are incredibly proud of the life-saving work the IIA team does on a daily basis. We’re honored to share this incredible and harrowing story in which an individual in the immigrant community stood up for herself, and, with some help from our legal team, can now look forward, with some measure of hope, to her future in the U.S.

 RubberDucks Game 

In honor of World Refugee Day and Immigrant Heritage Month, IIA staff, family, friends, and supporters came together to enjoy a fun night of baseball and fireworks at the Akron RubberDucks Game on Saturday, June 24. Thank you to the RubberDucks team for giving IIA the space for celebration and advocacy!

National March for Jayland 

On Wednesday, June 28th, at 1:30 pm in Washington D.C., a group of more than 100 individuals from Northeast Ohio marched in Washington to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to demand justice for Jayland Walker. Demonstrators included members of the Walker family, as well as other families affected by police violence across the country.

Two IIA immigration legal interns went to D.C. with the group to support their efforts. One of the interns, Purva, stated that “working at [IIA] has taught me that we have to fight for everybody, and that includes the people around us in the community.” When we asked the interns why the experience was meaningful to them, they said it was witnessing how people came together in the face of tragedy to fight for their rights. They felt a sense of empowerment and were inspired by the community they were a part of.

At the Department of Justice, Jayland’s mother hand-delivered a letter to a DOJ representative demanding a federal investigation into civil rights violations by the Akron Police Department. The letter was signed by everybody who took part in the march. It is our hope at IIA that representatives from the state and federal government do their part to bring justice to Jayland Walker, and ensure that no other family has to experience the loss that the Walker family went through only one year ago.

Citizenship Workshop

On Saturday, June 17th, the IIA legal team held a Citizenship Workshop to complete and submit citizenship applications for immigrants in the community. IIA attorneys, legal aids, and interns assisted eleven people in applying for citizenship, and we could not be more proud of our team for their hard work and for the community members in taking the next step to becoming U.S. citizens!

World Refugee Day 

In partnership with Immigration Network – Akron, IIA celebrated World Refugee Day on Tuesday, June 20th at People’s Park in North Hill. It was a lovely evening filled with performances, games, and food, and most importantly, we had the opportunity to honor and celebrate our Akron refugee community!

Donations Needed 

We are currently seeking for donations to support our efforts in assisting refugees and immigrants in integrating into their new communities.

If you can donate anything on the list of needs below, please contact IIA’s Housing and Donation Specialist, Dan Hennon, at dan.hennon@iiakron.org. 

Current Needs:

  • Big pots

  • Pans

  • Lightbulbs

  • Twin-size blankets

  • Twin-size sheets

  • Toilet paper

  • Laundry detergent

  • Pillows

If you are interested in donating monetarily to support IIA’s work in the refugee and immigrant communities, please visit: https://iiakron.charityproud.org/Donate

IIA is Hiring!  

IIA is excited to announce that we are currently seeking to fill the positions of Staff Attorney, Bookkeeper, and

Interpreters. If you are interested in applying for any of these opportunities or wish to learn more about them, visit our website at www.iiakron.org/join-our-team.

We encourage all qualified candidates to apply and look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks for staying up to date on everything IIA, and we look forward to sharing more information soon!