ECO is a collaborative of community-based organizations, nonprofits, and attorneys working to provide Universal Legal Representation to all eligible immigrants in Oregon.
Eligibility for Services
- An individual must:
- Be an Oregon resident;
- Make less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Guideline as a household; and,
- Be in danger of removal or experiencing a civic exclusion on account of immigration status.
- A civic exclusion means you cannot do something others can do such as work, travel, vote, visit family merely on account of immigration status.
Enrolling
- Enrolling is easy. Community navigators provide one on one assistance with navigating enrollment and initial services.
- To start the enrollment process, individuals can contact the ECO hotline at 1-888-274-7292, Monday – Friday, 9:00am-6:00pm or speak with a community navigator.
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Background
- Equity Corps officially launched in the fall of 2018, with support from the City of Portland and Multnomah County. The program is the culmination of a years-long effort by members of the Oregon Ready coalition to create an innovative universal representation model to defend immigrant Oregonians from unjust and unlawful deportations.
- Legal representation is often the difference between an immigrant exercising their rights and accepting an unfair outcome, between an asylum seeker finding refuge or returning to a life-threatening situation, and between a family with mixed status staying together and being split apart. Immigrants who are represented in removal proceedings are fifteen times more likely to apply for relief and five-and-a-half times more likely to win their cases and prevail against unjust deportations when compared to their non-represented counterparts.
- Universal Representation (SB1543) successfully passed the Oregon legislature in 2022 to create a permanent statewide Universal Navigation and Representation program which embeds access to justice in community. Now part of Oregon Worker Relief, ECO is a collaborative of community-based organizations, nonprofits, and attorneys working to provide Universal Legal Representation to all immigrants in Oregon.
Administration
- Universal Representation is jointly administered by Oregon Worker Relief, a community-based organization, and the Oregon State Bar.
Requests for Proposals and Opportunities
- Link to available RFPs and opportunities for funding