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Annual Report

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide free legal and social services to detained adults and unaccompanied children facing immigration removal proceedings in Arizona.

Our Vision

Our vision is to ensure that all immigrants facing removal have access to counsel, understand their rights, and be treated fairly and humanely.

“This is what we want most as a family –

to be safe in this country."

To hear Valeria* describe it, she and her husband Eduardo* grew up with nothing – “nada” – and not just in the material sense. They lacked hope that they could overcome extreme obstacles to a safe and sustainable life in their community in Guatemala. Then, after Valeria became pregnant with their first child, threats of violence displaced them entirely.

Eduardo migrated first. Valeria, who lived next door to him in Guatemala, fled to the U.S. with their baby after the child was born. The first time they lived together safely as a family was in Arizona in 2015. They were still teenagers.

Over the next nine years, Valeria and Eduardo built a life closely resembling the American dream. They now have three children with a fourth on the way.

But having lost their immigration case despite doing everything the government asked of them, the family now faces potential heartbreak if they are not successful in their appeal.

The Florence Project Children’s Program connected with the couple in 2015 and began providing full legal representation. Valeria and Eduardo’s immigration cases were connected through marriage, so if Valeria were to win asylum, Eduardo and their noncitizen son could remain safe from deportation as well.

Our social workers have provided vital assistance to help the family get on their feet, assisting with food insecurity, access to mental health counseling services, and most recently helping Valeria enroll in English language classes. She wants to earn her high school equivalency certificate.

Eduardo first settled in Phoenix because he heard from a cousin that there were plenty of roofing jobs available in the Valley of the Sun. Full exposure to scorching summer heat and the dangers of working on unfinished and damaged roofs frequently result in labor shortages in the industry¹.

Young migrants are known² to take on roofing jobs in the U.S., and the economy continues to rely on immigrant labor for essential jobs with arduous conditions that go unfilled by U.S. citizens³. In recent years, many shorthanded industries such as construction, manufacturing, warehousing, food services and hospitality, and healthcare have advocated for immigration reform while counting on immigrants with temporary work authorization to meet their labor needs⁴.

Eduardo has since moved on from roof work to doing home renovation and remodeling. Valeria provides secretarial work for his employer, but her dream is to get a real estate license and to purchase, flip and sell houses with her husband.

“A whole life has been made here,” Valeria says. “This is also where we got married, so we have these small things that little by little we have been building.”

Valeria is proud that their sons have excelled at a grade school that emphasizes math and science. The boys also enjoy playing soccer and the oldest is learning piano too. Their young daughter loves to run around in the park and will soon enter the federal Head Start program for school readiness. The whole family is active in its church, and Valeria and Eduardo also have siblings, nieces and nephews in the community.

Discussing her fear of deportation, Valeria says, “In Guatemala, we don’t have anything, and the education for the kids is not the same. There is a lot of danger for them.”

Valeria could have been deported after 30 days once her asylum case was denied. However, the Florence Project immediately filed paperwork with the Board of Immigration Appeals to argue that the decision should be reversed.

The people who come here seeking safety often spend years laying down roots while at the mercy of a system designed to detain and deport. They deserve meaningful accompaniment and legal counsel. Our message every step of the way is: “You, your spouse, and your children matter.”

We will continue to vigorously pursue legal relief for Valeria and her family for as long as there are options available.

And if not for your generous support, our multiyear advocacy to keep families together would not be possible.

“It would separate my family if the worst were to happen,” Valeria acknowledges. “I hope to have a positive response [in immigration court] one day and I won’t lose faith. This is what we want most as a family – to be safe in this country.”

If Valeria and her husband win relief, they will continue prioritizing their children’s education. Since the kids have already done well in school, she hopes they can achieve whatever careers they choose.

“They can perhaps help people like you all are doing as lawyers or social workers,” Valeria says. “We want to give back, and we already are contributing to this country because it has given to us.”

Often lost in the political debates about the border is the fact that the U.S. economy has benefited immensely from immigration, including by helping to stave off a recession by closing the labor gap5 and providing a financial boost. Research shows that immigrants paid $579.1 billion in taxes in 2022 and had a spending power of $1.6 trillion6.

Our priority is human life—safety, justice, freedom from detention, family unity, and respect for human dignity. Our staff are working hard every day to defend these values. Thank you for standing with us!

Valaria shares her gratitude as well. “Thank you so much for everything,” she says. “My family will always be grateful for everything that you have done for us.”

*pseudonyms used to protect privacy

1. “The roofing industry has been grappling with a labor shortage for several years. The work is hard on the body and dangerous.” “The Roofing Industry: Navigating Challenges in a Complex Business” DryTight Roofing blog. Sept. 4 2023

2. “Federal law bars anyone under 18 from roofing because it’s so dangerous. But across the U.S., migrant children do this work anyway.” “Children Risk Their Lives Building America’s Roofs” New York Times. Dec. 14 2023

3. A record 25% of construction workers were foreign-born in 2022 according to the National Association of Home Builders. “Immigrant Share in Construction Highest on Record”. National Assocation of Home Builders. Dec. 18, 2023.

4. With labor demand at all-time highs coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, paroled immigrants have made a sizable difference toward closing labor gaps,” FWD.us reports. “More houses were built, supply chains were reestablished, and the tourist industry was able to keep up with demand in 2023 largely because of the estimated 1.1 million individuals who have entered the U.S. with immigration parole.”: “Industries with critical labor shortages added 1.1 million workers through immigration parole”.

5. “More workers filling more jobs and spending more money has helped drive economic growth and create still-more job openings.” “How immigrant workers in US have helped boost job growth and stave off a recession”. Associated Press. April 12, 2024:

6. Tax data from “Map the Impact: Immigrants in the United States” American Immigration Council. July 2024

2023 Mission Moments

Alexey

Alexey* fled Russia after being persecuted by Russian police for having protested against the war in Ukraine. Alexey is a naturalized Russian citizen, but he grew up in Ukraine. He still has family there and his mother called him crying when missiles landed in her neighborhood. Many of his friends are either fighting on the frontline or have been displaced in Europe. Alexey says remaining silent in Russia was not an option. However, after his social media activity and protests led to threats to his life, he had to flee Russia, which meant temporarily saying goodbye to his family. Alexey fled to Mexico, then the U.S., where he was detained and placed in removal proceedings. We advocated for Alexey’s freedom, standing by his side in a detention center immigration court. After many months, he won asylum. He resettled in California but missed his family terribly. Fortunately, in April of this year, Alexey’s wife and daughter were able to leave Russia and acquire visas to move to the U.S. as derivative asylees. Alexey is overjoyed. “A huge thank you to the Florence Project and all of you who work there, especially [my attorney] John Mitchell,” he says. “If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what my fate would have been like.” Alexey has long dreamt of taking his wife and daughter camping in Montana. It was heartbreaking to be apart from them, he says. But now that they’re reunited, they look forward to cooking smores on a campout, safe and free together.

Alexey and his family in Russia before his persecution.

Camila

Mother's Day was different for Camila* last year. She couldn't be with her mother in Colombia, which made her sad, but the important thing was that Camila, her husband, and their children were safe. The family fled Colombia to escape persecution from a man who targeted Camila for years. They sought asylum at the U.S. border, where authorities detained Camila but released her children and husband. "Many people who arrive to this country with children have no other option," Camila says, reflecting on their experience.

"It is more than an American dream, as some say. It is to feel protected and safe not only for us, but for our loved ones."

Camila spent six months in immigration detention. "Being in captivity reminded me a lot of my past, so the experience was very difficult," she shared. The uncertainty and separation caused her family incredible stress as well. Her youngest child struggled to understand why their mother wasn't with them. The Florence Project worked vigorously to win Camila's asylum case. We succeeded and we are thrilled that the family is reunited and has a pathway to legal permanent residency.

"This time," Camila said before Mother's Day 2023, "there are no threats. This time there is nothing to fear. This time I am freer than ever. I hope to do something nice to celebrate the triumph. Being a mother on Mother's Day is marked by being with family." Camila expressed gratitude for the "unconditional support" offered to her and is thrilled to look out her window now and see a clear horizon—no more walls, razor wire fences and bars.

Jared

In Colombia, Jared* (right) and his partner repeatedly endured discrimination, harassment, abuse, and threats even at the hands of the police, due to their LGBTQIA+ identity and their desire to live openly as a couple. They saw no option but to leave Colombia in search of safety and the freedom to be themselves. When he arrived to the U.S., Jared was detained. He saw a Florence Project flyer in detention and called our Detention Action and Response Team (DART), who swiftly connected with Jared, providing empowering information, resources, and pre-hearing preparation to navigate his immigration case successfully. "The Florence Project helped me so much," says Jared. "It was like an angel, a blessing."

After enduring almost six months in ICE detention away from his partner, Jared won protection from deportation and was released! Afterward, Jared shared, "The moment I saw [my partner] again was so sweet. It was a hug that was a dream I had been fighting for. I never imagined being away from him for so long."

After reuniting, the couple could finally express their love freely. Today, Jared works for a roofing company and he and his partner are married! "It is so gratifying to be referred to as Jared and his husband’ and to be treated like two normal people," Jared shared. He recently sent us this photo of them vacationing at a lake in Georgia. "Here, we are included in society. We feel calm. We feel safe."

*pseudonyms used to protect privacy

In 2023, the Florence Project served over 25,000 people from 83 countries, and our clients spoke a combined 45 languages!

2023 Service Numbers

Click on any box to learn more about the services each program provides.

Children's
Program

17,514

unaccompanied children received “Know Your Rights” presentations – about 3,000 more than in 2022.

1,091

children received direct legal representation – more than doubling our 2022 figure.

270

children aged five or younger received legal aid – three times as many as 2022. Many were preverbal and unable to express what happened to them.

Adult
Program

2,071

adults received “Know Your Rights” presentations – over 400 more than in 2022.

7,545

legal educational packets were mailed to individuals in immigration detention.

216

adults received direct legal representation, including 106 people whom a judge deemed unable to represent themselves.

Social Services
Program

490

people, including 289 unaccompanied children, received lifesaving social services, providing or connecting them to critical psychosocial resources such as:

Mental health counseling
Healthcare support
Crisis planning
Basic needs assistance

Housing
Pregnancy or parenting
support
Education
Job training

120

cases of family separation, including 63 between a parent and a child, responded to by our social services and legal teams with advocacy to reunify the families.

Border Action
Team

6,930

people at the border in Nogales, Sonora, and Nogales, Arizona, received legal orientations, consultations, and other services.

118

people were exempted from the Title 42 border closure due to our Border Action Team’s guidance and advocacy, allowing these individuals to pursue their asylum claims safely in the U.S.

119

unaccompanied children were provided with a “Know Your Rights” presentation and then accompanied to the port of entry by our legal team.

These children enter the U.S. without a parent or legal guardian, making them especially vulnerable. Our Border Action Team provides specialized support to unaccompanied children, ensuring they understand their rights and the immigration process, and helping them enter the country safely. Our Children’s Program provides them with legal representation after they have entered the country.

Pro Bono
Program

53

new legal matters pursued by outside pro bono attorneys mentored by Florence Project staff.

ADVOCACY
Team

73

wrongful decisions appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Ninth Circuit Court.

7

amicus briefs signed or drafted by our team, raising additional legal arguments and/or helping educate the court about the real-world implications that different legal interpretations will have.

65

advocacy efforts joined with other national legal service providers or humanitarian organizations.

40

local and national news stories featured our work.

A Year in Review:

What You Made Possible in 2023

The Florence Project uses every tool at its disposal to push back against efforts to dismantle the asylum system and to create a fairer, more humane immigration system. Thank you for partnering with us!

Last year, our advocacy work focused on five key areas. First, we campaigned for fair and equitable access to legal defense. Second, we protected the right to asylum.

Third, serving as your eyes and ears on the ground at the border and in our visits to detention centers, we alerted the world to inhumane conditions, filing official comments and complaints, and publishing comprehensive reports, to raise awareness of injustice and lay the groundwork for systematic change. Fourth, we took bold measures to defend the right to access legal counsel in detention, going as far as to sue the government for impeding due process for detained immigrants.

Finally, we amplified our clients’ voices by pursuing empowering communications projects and events to reclaim the immigration narrative and uplift the principle that people seeking safety in the U.S. should be welcomed with dignity.

Remaining nimble and creative has been key to our success adapting to a rapidly changing policy environment. You can count on us to embody these traits, which have been engrained in our DNA since our founding 35 years ago. Read on to learn more about the impactful actions you made possible in our collective pursuit for justice and fairness!

Campaigning For Fairness

Detained immigrants with an attorney are over 10 times more likely to obtain legal relief.¹ But due to the lack of a public defender system in immigration proceedings, the inability of most people facing removal to afford an attorney, and barriers to find and communicate with an attorney while held in immigration detention, about 79% of detained immigrants navigate their removal proceedings without legal counsel.²

Understanding this disparity, the Florence Project advocates for a system in which all immigrants facing removal have access to counsel, understand their rights, and are treated fairly and humanely. One way we pursue that vision is by campaigning to pass the Fairness to Freedom Act, a proposed bill that would establish a universal right to federally funded legal counsel for anyone threatened with deportation.

Florence Project Legal Director Laura St. John spoke at a congressional briefing in November 2023 to galvanize support for the Fairness to Freedom Act, joining our partners the Vera Institute of Justice and the National Partnership for New Americans in this campaign.

“I know from my experience working with detained immigrants in Arizona that providing people advocates is foundational,” Laura told congresspeople and their staffers. “Bringing lawyers to every courtroom and to every person facing removal is an opportunity to take the immigration system out of the shadows and bring it into the light. It can empower people to speak out about abuses, and it helps keep communities together so they can build power and a movement for the broader changes our immigration system needs.”

The Fairness to Freedom Act honors our shared humanity and our values of equity and due process. Thank you for making this advocacy possible!

1. “Access to Counsel in Immigration Court” American Immigration Council. 2016

2. “No Fighting Chance: ICE’s Denial of Access to Counsel in U.S. Immigration Detention Centers”. ACLU. 2022

Protecting the Right to Seek Asylum

“All of my dreams have been shattered. I don’t even have the heart to tell my mother that I was deported. When we were loaded onto the buses, I was hopeful that they were taking us to be processed for asylum. When I started seeing the highway signs to Mexico, I couldn’t believe it. The officials didn’t warn us. We didn’t receive any notice or any documents saying we were being deported. And they didn’t listen to us. I can’t go back home. If I go back to Nicaragua, I will be thrown into jail.”
– Yandel*, a Nicaraguan asylum seeker expelled at the U.S. border.

Throughout 2023, the administration continued to bar people from seeking safety in the U.S. Title 42, the public health regulation used since 2020 to disregard international asylum law, remained in effect in the first half of the year. At U.S. ports of entry all along the southern border, people who requested legal refuge were turned away; families and individuals who crossed the border through the desert between ports of entry, meanwhile, were immediately expelled back to Mexico by Border Patrol, regardless of whether they expressed fear of violence or persecution.

When Title 42 was lifted in June 2023, it was replaced with new border closure tactics and asylum bar regulations. In short, the administration not only made it more difficult for migrants to win humanitarian relief in immigration court, simply accessing the process was extremely restricted. The result has been nothing short of a humanitarian crisis in Mexican border communities, where displaced people from all over the world have spent weeks, months, in some cases years stuck in place in their journeys to safety.

Families with children sometimes faced the impossible dilemma: Either self-separate—sending the children through the asylum-seeking process while the parents remained excluded due to stricter enforcement rules for adults—or risk remaining together in Mexican border towns where migrants are frequently attacked, extorted, and kidnapped by criminal groups.

Family being denied entry to the U.S. to seek asylum due to the Title 42 border closure.

In response, the Florence Project:

Spoke critically about the policies in local and national media, shining a spotlight on migrants’ humanity. We also engaged elected officials about the harms the policies bring and ways to protect those in urgent need of safety at the border.
Submitted an organizational comment to the Federal Register, the official journal of the federal government, outlining our opposition to the so-called “transit bar” that makes most people ineligible for asylum if they haven’t sought humanitarian relief first in another country on their way to the U.S.
Joined national partners in advocacy campaigns encouraging supporters to declare solidarity with immigrants and call on elected officials to create a robust, functional asylum system.

On the ground in Nogales, Sonora with our partner the Kino Border Initiative, the Florence Project Border Action Team:

Held regular town-hall meetings to educate the migrant families, adults, and unaccompanied children on the latest policy changes, followed by one-on-one consultations to help them understand their options.
Joined rallies, protest actions and press conferences to raise concern about the border closure’s impact and allow space to grieve the lives lost while trapped in dangerous circumstances.
Offered workshops on applying for exemptions from the border closure through the CBP One app, an online portal to make asylum seeking appointments that has been plagued with usability issues.

We continue to call on lawmakers to defend asylum. Legal services providers and humanitarian organizations at the border remain ready to assist with safe, efficient processing in a system that respects the inherent dignity of displaced people and affirms their basic human right to protection from violence and persecution.

Thank you for partnering with us to protect the right to seek asylum in the U.S.

To learn more about the laws and regulations impacting the right to asylum, visit out News and Reports page on firrp.org.

Sounding the Alarm on Inhumane Conditions

In Immigration Detention

“The conditions took such a toll on [one man] that after five months in isolation, his mental health deteriorated to a point that he required psychiatric hospitalization.”
– 2023 Florence Project Detention Conditions Report

When detained immigrants wish to file complaints about conditions in ICE facilities — including the unnecessary and extended use of solitary confinement — our Advocacy Team visits each person to help them submit formal complaints. The material is also used to publish detention conditions reports shedding light on these injustices.

This is part of a new strategy to seek accountability for rampant human rights violations and due process infringement in ICE detention. Individual complaints are rarely addressed, unfortunately, but we are also documenting the fact that existing oversight mechanisms are insufficient to bring real accountability, since complaints do not result in reforms.

Before filing a complaint, we explain to each client that even though the problem may not get resolved, reporting these issues will still contribute to the broader goals we share, including to:

1. Alert the public about inhumane conditions in ICE detention.
2. Seek to close individual detention centers for repeat violations.
3. End detention entirely.

We file the complaints to the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO) and the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL). The complaints range from medical neglect to discrimination and intimidation by guards, violations of religious rights, failure to accommodate disabilities, and a lack of access to counsel.

One man reported experiencing chronic pain in his back, neck, shoulders, and arms for over two years after a serious fall inside the detention center. He made multiple sick calls and filed complaints for medical neglect, but he did not receive any specialty care for his lack of mobility and chronic pain.

A woman told us that she notified medical staff that she struggled with her mental health. She was informed that if she requested to be placed on suicide watch, she would be moved to a quiet, comfortable room to recuperate. She agreed and was then placed in handcuffs, stripped, and given only a thin smock to wear while placed on suicide watch for three days. The complaint noted that she was traumatized by the experience and later felt more uncomfortable and afraid to acknowledge mental health conditions to medical staff.

We published our first-ever detention conditions report amplifying these complaints in 2023.

By monitoring both the pervasiveness of these issues and the ineffectiveness of existing oversight offices, the Florence Project is creating a record of wrongdoing to prove that systematic change is necessary.

At the Border

“I’m afraid for my girls. You can’t sleep because you don’t know if they’ll be snatched. You start to become psychologically traumatized. Because I’m a woman, I can’t defend myself. There’s no security [here].”

These harrowing words were shared by a single mother sleeping on the streets of Nogales, Sonora with her three daughters, aged four, six, and eleven, in June 2023. They migrated from another part of Mexico to seek safety in the U.S. but were forced to wait outside the port of entry for 18 nights before being allowed to present for asylum.

With thousands of migrants stranded along the U.S. Mexico border in 2023 due to extreme restrictions on presenting for asylum, we joined a national monitoring effort to interview the displaced families and individuals, documenting their experiences for in-depth reports.

We believe it’s important to amplify migrants’ voices to the American public to raise awareness of the dangerous consequences of halting access to asylum.

Before filing a complaint, we explain to each client that even though the problem may not get resolved, reporting these issues will still contribute to the broader goals we share, including to:

1. Alert the public about inhumane conditions in ICE detention.
2. Seek to close individual detention centers for repeat violations.
3. End detention entirely.

Working with a researcher from Human Rights First and our local partner the Kino Border Initiative, we contributed to the report, A Line that Barely Budges:U.S. Limiting Access to Asylum, which critically exposed the grim reality at the border.

We also pressed the government in ongoing stakeholder meetings to devote more resources to processing asylum seekers and recommended that Customs and Border Protection strengthen its humanitarian efforts to allow in people with urgent medical or security needs.

The Florence Project and our partners are serving as the eyes and ears on the ground at the border, holding the government accountable for its actions.

Your support lays the groundwork for change. Thank you for standing with us to expose inhumane conditions in detention and at the U.S. Mexico border.

Ensuring Meaningful Access to Counsel

To pursue our vision of a world in which all immigrants are provided meaningful access to counsel, first we must defend the right to counsel itself when it is violated, including by filing lawsuits against detention centers when they hinder our ability to speak with our clients. Second, we must campaign, as we did for the Fairness to Freedom Act, to build a national system in which all immigrants facing removal are provided legal counsel so they may understand their rights and have a fair chance of winning relief.

Playing both offense and defense in the advocacy realm, we took both of these approaches in 2023.

The Florence Project vs. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

With your support, we sued ICE for preventing attorneys from communicating with clients detained inside Florence Correctional Center (FCC), alongside four other national legal services providers. The violations were staggering:

Attorneys had no way to call clients detained at FCC.
There was little to no access to private phones to discuss sensitive case facts.
Video teleconference calls were unavailable.
In-person meetings were only held in overcrowded visitation rooms.
Fax and email were not provided to exchange documents.
Mail correspondence was delayed.
Interpretation services were lacking.

It was unacceptable. Without access to counsel, detained immigrants do not have a fair chance to win their cases and avoid deportation. Our lawsuit included documented complaints and data on the facility’s due process violations.

The court dismissed the other organizations’ claims, however it responded to the Florence Project’s legal action by ordering ICE to take serious corrective measures. The judge instructed ICE to install six private attorney-client visitation rooms with access to translation services and the ability to physically pass documents or install or modify telephones at a ratio of 25 detained individuals to one phone that block all others from listening to legal calls while in progress.

To ensure that ICE complied with the court’s orders, we had to continue applying pressure. Only then did FCC finally install 24 private video teleconferencing rooms for detained people to meet virtually with their attorneys.

Our claim succeeded largely thanks to our Adult Services Team’s strong data tracking and evidence gathering over the past several years, which showed a clear record of FCC’s longstanding violations of the right to counsel. We won this big victory for our clients thanks to your support!

“Detained” panel discussion at ASU

Reclaiming the Immigration Narrative

Recognizing the power of hearing directly from people who survived harrowing immigration journeys and overcame hardship and injustice in the immigration system, we organized panel discussions in 2023 for people with lived experience to share their stories with the public in an effort to reclaim the immigration narrative.

Amplifying Immigrant Voices

In spring 2023, we launched the online oral-history archive “DETAINED: Voices from the Migrant Incarceration System” with events in Tucson and Tempe, Arizona. The archive is now online and includes interviews with former Florence Project clients regarding their immigration narratives and the challenges of detention.

The launch event in Tempe, at Arizona State University, included two contributors:

Diego, a man who grew up in Phoenix as an undocumented immigrant and was arrested as a young adult and detained by ICE for nearly two years, during which he was separated from his family and coped with the fear of removal.
Miguel, from Guatemala, who migrated to the U.S. at age 17, lived in government custody for several months, then was freed to reunify with his brother in Phoenix, where he went on to graduate from high school as a “super senior.”

Each man won his case and shared poignant reflections in DETAINED. Created in partnership with faculty from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, and with artwork made in detention and donated by Salvavision, the project responds to the need for a holistic record of the impact of immigration detention.

As the first of its kind nationwide, the archive centers detained immigrants’ voices as a historical resource. We hope it will become a destination to understand what people often endure in ICE facilities. The pain of family separation, the mental and physical struggles caused by detention conditions, and the joyous relief of winning freedom to resume their immigration journeys inside the U.S. is all incredibly moving to hear firsthand.

Uplifting Solito

We hosted a conversation with Javier Zamora, author of the best-selling memoir Solito, in November 2023. Javier reflected on the deep, complicated trauma he has lived with since he traveled from his home in El Salvador to the United States as a nineyear-old unaccompanied child. It was a deep and moving discussion, followed by his calls for action regarding the injustices facing migrants today.

“We are more than our trauma,” Javier said. “Sadly, we have to remind everybody that we’re just human beings, and as an immigrant of color, I think that’s the hardest thing we have to overcome.”

Javier also spoke about the role the Florence Project plays not just as a service provider, but in accompaniment as well, sharing: “It does something to me, a survivor, to know that somebody cares deeply and can say ‘Hey, I can be a holder of that [trauma].”

We are honored that Javier acknowledges the Florence Project as a preferred organization to support in the paperback version of Solito. Thank you for supporting these efforts to reclaim the immigration narrative and uplift the humanity of the people we serve!

Isabel Allende Publishes The Wind Knows My Name

Legendary author Isabel Allende — known for her award-winning historical fiction — took inspiration from the Florence Project for her novel The Wind Knows My Name, which explores injustice, resilience, and compassion for displaced people.

Weaving together multiple immigration timelines, the novel features a boy who escapes Nazi Germany and a family fleeing El Salvador during the 2018 family separation crisis at the U.S. Mexico border — including characters inspired by Florence Project clients.

The Isabel Allende Foundation is a longtime supporter of our work, and we were humbled to learn that the immigrant rights organization at the center of the plot, The Magnolia Project, is largely based on the Florence Project. In 2020, when Isabel began researching the book, she interviewed our staff about their responses to the historic family separation crisis. One of the characters inspired by a Florence Project client is a bold and precocious blind girl who is placed in a government-run children’s shelter after being separated from her mother.

“In my recent novel The Wind Knows My Name I wanted to focus not only on the suffering of migrants and refugees at the border but mainly on the people who are dedicated to help,” Isabel says.

“The characters of Frank and Selena represent the thousands of lawyers, social workers, therapists, volunteers and others who work tirelessly for the children. Theirs is a mission of the heart. Through my foundation I was able to meet some of them, to hear their stories and the stories of the kids they represent. I am forever grateful to the members of the Florence Project who shared those stories with me. My book is an homage to all of them.”

We are profoundly grateful to Isabel for amplifying experiences that must never be forgotten. In 2023, we hosted our first virtual book club to discuss the novel and the issues that inspired it. We look forward to hosting more book and author events in the future to raise awareness to the urgent need to keep families together and defend immigrants’ rights.

Thank you, Isabel Allende Foundation for your long-term support, which has allowed us to make a profound impact for migrants and detained immigrants seeking safety and freedom!

2023 Board of Directors

Peggy Kirch, M.S.W
Leticia Hernandez
JP Morgan Chase Bank
Deirdre Mokos, Esq.
Andrew Silverman, J.D.
University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
Ira Feldman
Felco Business Services
Ty Frankel, Esq.
Frankel Syverson PLLC
David K. Androff, M.S.W., Ph.D.
Arizona State University

*As of 12/31/2023

Thank you

to our board of directors and our supporting foundations and law firm partners. We could not do this work without you.

Florence Project Legacy Society

Thank you to our donors for supporting the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project Legacy Society. Your legacy gifts ensure that immigrants facing detention and deportation have access to critical services now and for years to come.

BJ Alderman

Mary Jo Forman Miller & Kenneth Miller

Samuel M. Keller & Zeke Miller

John & Sara Long

Betty Miller

Kimmie Ross

Mary Ann Zoeller

Jeff B. Topping

Peggy Kirch

If you have made a gift to the Florence Project in your will and would like to notify us, please contact David Gardner, Mission Engagement Manager, at dgardner@firrp.org | Tel. 520.934.8657. Thank you!

Congratulations to Our 2023 Pro Bono Award Winners!

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In October, we hosted our 22nd annual Pro Bono Appreciation Event to honor our pro bono attorneys’ and volunteers’ impact on our clients and our communities.

2023 Pro Bono Award Winners

Marki Stewart, Esq.,
Children’s Program Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

Bradley Pew, Esq.,
Adult Program Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

Kino Border Initiative,
Special Partnership

Veronika Karimova,
Interpreter and Translator, Volunteer of the Year

It is always our honor to celebrate and recognize the generous pro bono attorneys, law firms, volunteers, and organizations that increase our capacity to provide free legal assistance to adults and children at the border, in detention centers, and in court. They are key to helping us fight injustice.

“Together, we look forward to the day when every person that is seeking safety and opportunity in the United States is welcomed with dignity,” Lillian Aponte Miranda shared during her opening remarks to kick off the evening.

“Your work makes an incredible impact and an immeasurable difference in the lives of so many. Without your support we wouldn’t be able to provide assistance to those who we have the privilege to serve every day in what is truly an unjust immigration system,”

While accepting her award for Children’s Program Attorney of the Year, Marki Stewart said, “It is my privilege to represent children in immigration proceedings who have their own stories and difficult circumstances that have led them to come to this country unaccompanied by a parent.”

Thank you to the incredible attorneys, volunteers, organizations, law firms, and all supporters of our work who made a world of difference for our clients in 2023!

A thank you card addressed to Marki Stewart,
Children’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year,
from her Florence Project client.

Thank you to all our2023 Pro Bono Attorneys →

2023 Foundations, Granting Orgs,
Law Firm Par tners, and Event Sponsors

Alchemy Foundation
Alexander | Carrillo Consulting, LLC
AmazonSmile Foundation
America’s Voice Education Fund
Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education
Arizona Humanities
ASU - Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Ayala Law Office, PC
Benavidez Law Firm
Butkiewicz Family Foundation
Byrd-Borland Foundation
Carmel Pasadena Foundation
Carylon, Julius and Marcie Hemmelstein Foundation Child Welfare Fund
Casey Family Programs
Child Welfare Fund
Colby Olsen Foundation
Coppersmith Brockelman PLC
David M. & Hope G. Solinger Foundation Inc.
Desert Diamond Casinos & Entertainment
Dunn Family Charitable Foundation
Equal Justice America, Inc.

Equal Justice Works
Feldman Family Foundation
Fennemore
Fragomen, Del Ray, Bernsen, and Loewy, LLP
Frankel Family Foundation (Arizona)
Frankel Family Foundation (California)
Freidberg Family Foundation
Gerson Family Foundation
Goff Family Foundation
Holder Family Foundation
Immigrant Justice Corps
Isabel Allende Foundation
Julie Ray Creative LLC
Kirkland & Ellis Foundation
Lakeshore Foundation
Leaves of Grass Fund
Lewis Roca
LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
Lubin & Enoch
Morton K. & Jane Blaustein Foundation
National Dignity for Families Fund, FWD.us

Education Fund
Once Upon a Time Foundation
Osborn Maledon, P.A.
Pajwell Foundation
Papetti Samuels Weiss McKirgan LLP
Perkins Coie Foundation
Perkins Coie, LLP
Samuel & Grace Gorlitz Foundation
Save the Children Federation, Inc.
Silva & Fontes
South Mountain Company Foundation
The Gumbo Foundation
The Herb Block Foundation
The Longhill Charitable Foundation, Inc.
The Morningstar Foundation
The Norman E. Alexander Family M Foundation, Inc.
The Philip J. and Carol J. Lyons Foundation
The Smith Family Foundation Inc
Van Der LLP
Winky Foundation
WYR Foundation

We hosted our first “Asylum Summer Camp” in 2023!

Our Children’s Team hosted the comprehensive training series for attorneys interested in representing unaccompanied children in their asylum proceedings. The five-part seminar covered topics like trauma-informed lawyering, evidentiary practical tips for asylum, and gender-based violence asylum claims.

The series connected Florence Project attorneys with lawyers who want to take on immigration cases but have limited experience with immigration law. We prepared them to litigate these cases in the future. Many say it’s the most rewarding work they’ve ever done!

2023 Financials

Thanks to your partnership, the Florence Project was able to maintain a strategic reserve to fund our ongoing growth and address the increased need for immigration advocacy and defense in Arizona. Your support allows us to advocate against unjust policies at the border and rapidly respond to global events. We will continue to strategically secure our future, and, as always, we will put every dollar toward meeting the needs of detained immigrants. Thank you for standing with us!

2023 Financials

Revenue

Contracted Legal Services:
Individual Contributions:
In-Kind Donations:
Foundations:
Other:
Total:

$11,944,830
$1,922,475
$19,250
$2,967,262
$21,885
$16,875,702

70.8%
11.4%
0.1%
17.6%
0.1%

Expenses

Program Services:
Operating Costs:
Fundraising:
Total:

$15,383,537
$2,914,821
$2,740,883
$19,402,067

79.3%
14.1%
6.6%

Assets

Restricted by Donor Year End 2022:
Restricted by Board Year End 2022:
Innovation Fund Year End 2022:
Undesignated Net Assets for 2022:
Total Net Assets for 2022:

$9,218,387
$9,511,006
$10,000,000
$5,694,397
$34,423,790

Please note that these are unaudited financial numbers. The digital copy of this Annual Report will be updated this fall at firrp.org/news-events/annualreports and will include our audited 2023 financial data once the final figures are available. The entire audit will also be posted at firrp.org/financial-info.

Valeria with her children and niece at our 2023 client appreciation event.

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Annual Report

Our Mission

Our Vision

“This is what we want most as a family –

to be safe in this country."

2023 Mission Moments

In 2023, the Florence Project served over 25,000 people from 83 countries, and our clients spoke a combined 45 languages!

2023 Service Numbers

Children's Program

17,514

1,091

270

Adult Program

2,071

7,545

216

490

120

Border Action Team

6,930

118

119

Pro Bono Program

53

ADVOCACY Team

73

7

65

40

A Year in Review:

What You Made Possible in 2023

Campaigning For Fairness

Protecting the Right to Seek Asylum

Sounding the Alarm on Inhumane Conditions

Ensuring Meaningful Access to Counsel

Reclaiming the Immigration Narrative

2023 Board of Directors

Thank you

Florence Project Legacy Society

Congratulations to Our 2023 Pro Bono Award Winners!

2023 Pro Bono Award Winners

Thank you to all our2023 Pro Bono Attorneys →

2023 Foundations, Granting Orgs, Law Firm Par tners, and Event Sponsors

We hosted our first “Asylum Summer Camp” in 2023!

2023 Financials

Revenue

Expenses

Assets

Follow us for more!

Join Our Email List

Meet Our 2023 Pro Bono Attorneys

Children's
Program

Adult
Program

Border Action
Team

Pro Bono
Program

ADVOCACY
Team

2023 Foundations, Granting Orgs,
Law Firm Par tners, and Event Sponsors