Summary
We developed a unique emergency service application for a law firm to help them assist and support their customers to avail aid in time of legal action by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The iOS application allowed the users to alert their community members in case of an ICE raid. The application also provided them with legal resources regarding their immigration rights. The law firm was able to build trust with their customers.
Business Challenges
A law firm was facing challenges representing a specific undocumented community while they were being detained or in case of a legal emergency. The legal emergency pertains to the federal actions carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The community lacked resources and support for their legal fight against the US Federal System.
There were certain rights the community could evoke during their interaction with ICE while being detained. The lack of such information was creating compounding trouble for them and eventually the law firm. Generally, ICE detains numerous people from within the community. It was essentially a challenge to alert all the people. Due to a lack of legal representation during detention, various people get involved in a non-bailable situation.
As a result, the community requires legal assistance and support regarding immigration matters.
Solution Provided
To provide legal support to the community, we helped the law firm develop an emergency service application to assist people under duress from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officials.
The application allows the community members to help themselves and others during ICE raids besides getting information and various resources about their immigration rights.
Mentioned below are the multiple ways the service application helped the community.
- We developed a Help button that is used by any person detained by Immigration officials. The help mechanism comes with a geotagging functionality that records the user location with the required permission. Once the user has selected a list of trusted contacts, the application instantly notifies them by sending a message along with the location. The connections can then reach the team of attorneys at the law firm for legal assistance.
- The second important feature we developed in the application is the Alert button. The mechanism allows the user to alert all the trusted contacts regarding any ICE activity and raids in the neighborhood. The Alert button instantly notifies the community and the law firm with the details of the raids. This functionality is confidential and allows the user to remain anonymous.
- In case a person is detained by law enforcement, the application provides recorded messages to be played instead of making any statement to the authorities. Generally, statements made are used against the person for contempt. This makes the process for bail more difficult for the person and the law firm. The messages in the application help the person assert their legal rights to the officers.
- The application also assists the community to understand the US immigration laws. The app hosts various recorded and weekly live shows by law firms to discuss the latest immigration-related news and topics. This allowed the law firm to help the community members by answering their immigration-related queries. The videos and shows are updated weekly to break down the ever-evolving US Immigration system for the community.
- We also developed a document management module within the application for users to view, store and submit their immigration-related documents. This functionality only works for those members of the community who are clients of the law firm.
Impact on Business
This unique emergency service application helped the law firm to establish trust within the community. The application allowed the law firms to help the community during distress and connect with their customers at a deeper level.
Through the application, the law firm aimed to be a one-stop resource for the community and help them with immigration issues. The law firm was able to empower the community members with knowledge about the US Immigration policies. This eventually helped the people legally become US citizens.
