St. Paul and Ramsey County have officially joined the Vera Institute of Justice’s “Safety and Fairness for Everyone” Network, a group of 18 communities working with private partners to represent immigrants facing deportation.

The New York-based Vera Institute announced Tuesday that six new communities had joined the network. In addition to St. Paul and Ramsey County, the network now includes Philadelphia; Long Beach, Calif.; Dallas; San Francisco; and New Haven, Conn.

With the institute’s help, the local effort has raised $250,000 toward hiring a legal defense organization this summer that will assist those who have been detained by federal immigration authorities. Vera will contribute $100,000, Ramsey County will contribute $100,000 and St. Paul will contribute $50,000.

The goal is to mirror a public defender system, said Edmundo Lijo, an assistant city attorney in St. Paul overseeing the effort. “A community-based legal organization (will) represent people who have lived in Ramsey County who are being detained, so they’ll have access to an attorney during removal proceedings,” Lijo explained.

In a written statement, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said: “At a time when federal authorities are creating fear and apprehension amongst our residents, and discouraging the exercise of due process rights of immigrants, it is incumbent on local governments to address that fear and apprehension with support and resources to residents who are fighting to keep their families together and safe.”

Related Articles St. Paul district to wait on reopening schools, citing lack of staff

Sept. 30 is last day for public comment on Pigs Eye Lake makeover

Staffers at MPR’s music stations The Current and Classical MPR vote to unionize

St. Paul woman sentenced for manslaughter in man’s death; murder charge dismissed

Ford Foundation grants $2.5 million to St. Paul’s Penumbra Theatre, a record for the Black arts organization Ramsey County Board chair Jim McDonough added: “Ramsey is Minnesota’s most diverse county and throughout our history we have welcomed immigrants and refugees — indeed, this is one of our strengths. At heart, providing fair representation to immigrants in removal proceedings ensures that we uphold the constitutional guarantee of due process for all those who live here to maintain strong families and connected communities.”

According to Vera, 38 percent of people represented by the network’s attorneys in immigration court were allowed to remain in the United States. By comparison, only 3 percent of unrepresented and detained people nationwide are successful.