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EXHIBIT A <br />1 <br /> <br />Program Operation Plan <br />1) Describe, generally, your organization’s qualifications as outlined in the Evaluation Criteria above. <br />In particular, please detail your organization’s experience representing immigrants in removal <br />proceedings for the last three years. List in the table below the number of Section 240 detained and non- <br />detained removal cases for which your organization undertook representation in each of , 2018, and 2019 <br />and 2020 years and the court locations where those cases were pending at the inception of representation. <br />Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends our <br />immigrant communities against injustices in the legal system. We envision a future where no immigrant <br />will be forced to face immigration court alone. Our programs are a first step toward the long-term goal of <br />providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. Our organization was founded in <br />2015 by a group of experienced public interest immigration lawyers and our rapid growth is a testament <br />to the need for our services in the communities we serve. Since our humble beginnings in our founders’ <br />living rooms, our team has grown from a handful of attorneys to more than 120 dedicated staff <br />members. We have expanded our office locations to respond to the needs of our clients and currently <br />have offices in Los Angeles, Adelanto, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego. ImmDef is the largest non‐ <br />profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense in California. With a 2020 annual budget of <br />approximately $7 million, our team provides full‐scale deportation defense and legal education classes to <br />approximately 2,600 adults and children in Southern California annually. <br />Our programs include the following: a Children’s Representation Project for unaccompanied children, <br />refugees, and foster youth; a Detained Youth Empowerment Project that provides classes, legal <br />screenings, and representation to children detained by the government in youth shelters; Family Unity <br />Project reuniting and providing comprehensive legal services to families who were separate d as a result <br />of the 2018 Zero Tolerance Policy or other ICE enforcement actions; Post-Conviction Relief Program <br />where we challenge unlawful criminal convictions for immigrants facing deportation; a Litigation & <br />Advocacy Team launched in 2019 to expand our appellate advocacy and participation in strategic litigation <br />to dismantle the system that seeks to deport our clients; targeted Local Justice Fund Programs in the Long <br />Beach, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, and Inland Empire areas that protect our communities and families against <br />aggressive ICE enforcement; our National Qualified Representatives Project that serves immigrants with <br />mental health disabilities to ensure due process and fairness in their immigration court proceedings; and <br />finally our Cross-Border Initiative where we advocate daily for the human rights of asylum-seekers who <br />have been forced back into Mexico as part of the cruel Migrant Protection Protocols program. <br />The numbers in the following table represent new cases accepted for each of the past three calendar <br />years. In 2019 we represented 234 Detained cases, and 237 Non-Detained cases. <br />2018 <br />Court Detained Non-Detained <br />Los Angeles Court 166 308 <br />Adelanto 76 0 <br />Otay Mesa 1 0