NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

The Immigrant Justice Corps (IJC) announced today that it has hired Rachel B. Tiven as its executive director, effective July 1, and chosen its first class of Justice Fellows. Ms. Tiven was formerly the executive director of Immigration Equality and Immigration Equality Action Fund, where she built successful advocacy and service programs that delivered results for tens of thousands of immigrant families. “We are delighted that Immigrant Justice Corps has recruited a proven leader of Rachel’s caliber,” said Second Circuit Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann, who originated the idea for the IJC and is a founding member of its board. “Rachel has a bold and energetic vision for The Immigrant Justice Corps, and the experience to realize the organization’s potential.”

The Immigrant Justice Corps is the country’s first fellowship program dedicated to meeting the need for high-quality legal assistance for immigrants seeking citizenship and fighting deportation. Twenty-five Justice Fellows will form the inaugural class, each of them fully funded to work for two years at New York City’s top immigration service organizations.

The Fellows were selected from more than 400 applicants, and are distinguished graduates of the country’s top law schools; nearly all are bilingual, with many speaking three or four languages including Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Creole, Hindi, Urdu, and others. Ten of the Justice Fellows are first or second-generation immigrants, including one whose first asylum application was his own. All of them have demonstrated serious professional commitment to immigration law and policy. Meet the Fellows at http://justicecorps.org/meet-fellows/.

“I am thrilled to launch The Immigrant Justice Corps with such a talented class,” said Ms. Tiven. “These Fellows are a game-changing infusion of talent for immigrant New Yorkers. By placing Fellows at the city’s best immigration service organizations, The Immigrant Justice Corps will prove that quality representation can bring more families into status and out of poverty.”

In welcoming Ms. Tiven, IJC board chair and a founding partner of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP William Zabel also saluted interim Executive Director Peter Markowitz, “for his steadfast dedication and leadership that has been vital to IJC’s successful beginning.”

Inspired by Judge Katzmann’s study group on immigrant representation and incubated by the Robin Hood Foundation, with crucial, generous support from the JPB Foundation, The Immigrant Justice Corps recruits the country’s most talented law school graduates, connects them to the best legal and community institutions, leverages the latest technologies, and fosters a culture of creative thinking that will produce new strategies to reduce the justice gap for immigrant families.

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