Immigrant Law Center merges with Legal Aid Hawaii

Pointing to financial difficulties caused by the current recession, the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center, formerly Na Loio, announced it has become a new division of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. The organization will now be known as the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center at the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii.

The merger came about after the center lost major funding from the state of Hawaii and a federal grant, said Nalani Fujimori Kaina, executive director of the combined organization. The merger took effect on Jan. 1. Hawaii has the sixth largest immigrant population in the U.S., Kaina said. “We are proud of our diversity and heritage and immigration legal services are critical to this legacy.”

The center focuses on international human trafficking, family reunification, citizenship, domestic violence, sexual assault, asylum and child protection. Founded in 1983, it joins the state’s oldest nonprofit public interest law firm.

Four of the center’s 10 employees – two attorneys and two paralegals – will continue to work for the new division. They will continue providing critical immigration legal services, keeping the same telephone hotline numbers – (808) 536-8826 and (877) 208-8828 for the outer islands – and remaining at the center’s current offices at the Kukui Children’s Center in downtown Honolulu, although in less space.

“This partnership will enable our organization to continue to provide pro bono immigration legal services and advocacy in a time of statewide financial hardship,” said Susan Chong Wong, president of the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center’s board of directors. “Our mission remains to ensure that vulnerable immigrants who are isolated by language, culture, or victimization will have equal access to justice,” she said.

“By uniting Legal Aid’s statewide resources and longstanding commitment to improving the lives of those in poverty and need with our unique legal expertise and community ties, we hope to better serve both our immigrant population and all of Hawaii’s disadvantaged people,” Wong said.

The Hawaii Community Foundation, through its Strategic Partnership Grant program, facilitated the merger process, Kaina said. Two of the Justice Center’s board members joined the Legal Aid board and an advisory committee was created with community members and other former board members.

So far, the merger is going “really well,” Kaina said, noting that the two organizations shared a common mission area. “But we never did immigration before,” she said. “The merger adds to our services. … It’s not the easiest process to go through, but it’s worth it in the end. The merger resulted in a stronger partnership and stronger organization that is better able to sustain itself.”