HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Legal Clinic (TLC) is honoring immigrant rights champions at its annual benefit event this Thursday.
The nonprofit provides free, quality legal services, education and advocacy to ensure justice for low-income immigrants and migrants in Hawaii.
Among this year’s “Guardians of Immigrant Justice Award” honorees are the co-chairs of the Filipino Caucus of the State Legislature, state Sen. Henry Aquino and Rep. Greggor Ilagan. The lawmakers joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about their work.
Founded in 1998, the caucus has secured funding to support Hawaii’s Filipino community and other underserved groups, expanding language access and other services. This session, they worked on a number of bills to offset the negative impact of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, such as offering legal representation for those in immigration-related proceedings in immigration court, including deportation defense, asylum applications, and other migration relief processes.
Due to federal funding cuts and other state priorities, none of the caucus’ proposals passed this session. Yet, they said the need is great amid increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, mass deportations, and penalizing policies that separate families.
TLC Executive Director Bettina Mok said they have been working on a U Visa resolution for undocumented victims of crime to get police certification of cooperation with police, so they can eventually qualify for green card application.
TLC is also honoring the late immigration attorney Clare Hanusz in memoriam. Immigration attorney Danicole Ramos will receive the inaugural Clare Hanusz Award for Emerging Leaders in Immigrant Justice.
The pau hana benefit takes place on April 10 at Cafe Julia from 5-7 p.m
Ticket information can be found here.
Funds raised will help TLC provide free immigration legal services and advocate for fair immigration policies.
Past awardees include:
2024: UNITE HERE! Local 5, Dina Shek of Medical Legal Partnership, & Terrina Wong of Pacific Gateway Center.
2023: Amefil “Amy” Agbayani.
2022: John Robert Egan, The Honorable Mazie K. Hirono, & KNDI Radio 1270 AM.
2021: Esther Arinaga, William Hoshijo, & Patricia McManaman.
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