Immigrant Defense Project

What Immigrant Defense Project does

Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) is a New York-based nonprofit advocacy organization operating at the intersection of the criminal legal and immigration systems. Founded around 1997 and reorganized into its current 501(c)(3) form circa 2010, IDP is fiscally sponsored by the Fund for the City of New York and runs programs in litigation, policy advocacy, community defense, a free legal hotline, a Padilla Support Center for post-conviction relief, and narrative change work. Its primary beneficiaries are noncitizens facing or at risk of deportation (including those with criminal convictions), with secondary audiences of criminal defense attorneys, family court practitioners, judges, and prosecutors.

IDP's core "products" are knowledge artifacts and platforms rather than commercial software. Flagship assets include the Know Your Rights with ICE training program, the ICE Raids Toolkit (a 57-page guide plus 209 pages of FOIA appendices, co-developed with the Center for Constitutional Rights), the Train-the-Trainer workshop curriculum, the ICEwatch map documenting 650+ ICE raids across New York State, and the newly launched NY ICE Collusion Watch interactive mapping platform. Underlying technology is conventional: FOIA litigation tracking, interactive web maps, and multilingual content distribution in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. There are no AI/ML components, APIs, or proprietary software disclosed.

The revenue model is donation-driven. IDP accepts individual donations (including monthly giving and employer matching), conducts event-based fundraising (including as an official charity of the TCS New York City Marathon), and has begun introducing paid CLE training and advisory services for private attorneys. All direct community services — hotline, Know Your Rights presentations, toolkits — are free. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. IDP is supported by a dense coalition of 70+ advocacy organizations and 12 major labor unions, with core standing partnerships with NYU School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic, Make the Road New York, Families for Freedom, Surveillance Resistance Lab, Vera Institute of Justice, and The Bronx Defenders.

Name

Immigrant Defense Project

Legal name

Immigrant Defense Project

Website

https://immigrantdefenseproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Immigrant Defense Project is a New York-based 501(c)(3) that provides free legal helpline services, litigation, policy advocacy, and community education at the intersection of the criminal and immigration systems, serving at-risk noncitizens, criminal defense attorneys, and New York courts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Immigrant Legal Advocacy Services

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Immigration Law (BPAHAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Immigration Law Literacy & Rights Education (EDAAADAB), Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services (BPADAHAE)

Keywords

• Immigrant legal advocacy
• Criminal immigration law
• Know your rights
• Policy advocacy
• Community legal education

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: IDP operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization fiscally sponsored by the Fund for the City of New York. Revenue comes from individual donations, monthly giving programs, and matching employer programs. Federal Tax ID: 13-2612524.
2. Event-based Fundraising: The organization conducts fundraising events including being an official charity partner of the TCS New York City Marathon. Community supporters have organized various fundraisers including football events and directed wedding gifts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) is a New York-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that protects and advances the rights of immigrants at the intersection of the criminal and immigration systems. It delivers a free multilingual legal helpline, Know Your Rights education, community defense organizing, impact litigation, and policy advocacy. It also trains and supports criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, and judges on immigration consequences through its Padilla Support Center.

Product overview

The Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) is a national nonprofit advocacy organization that offers a portfolio of programs and resources focused on defending immigrant rights at the intersection of immigration and criminal law. The organization operates multiple integrated programs including a Hotline for free legal assistance, Litigation services, Policy & Advocacy, Community Defense organizing, and a Padilla Support Center. Key products include the Know Your Rights with ICE training program and Train-the-Trainer Workshops that equip advocates to deliver rights education. The ICE Raids Toolkit provides comprehensive guides for community defense, while the NY ICE Collusion Watch is an interactive mapping platform tracking ICE and law enforcement collusion patterns. IDP also produces targeted legal resources such as the ICE Detainer FAQ, Criminal Court Documents Guide, and U.S. v. Minter resources addressing specific immigration consequences of criminal convictions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• ICE Out campaign resulted in ICE leaving Rikers Island in 2015 after decades of presence
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Surveillance Resistance LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024Collaboration on December 2024 Train-the-Trainer webinar about ICE surveillance, policing, and rights during ICE encounters. Jointly led training on how ICE operates and collects information.
• Make the Road New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024Joint collaboration on December 2024 Know Your Rights Train-the-Trainer webinar. Partner in developing resources including 'What Type of Immigration Case' guide.
• Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development of the ICE Raids Toolkit - the first comprehensive guide and organizing resource to fight back against ICE arrests. CCR and IDP collaborated under Bush and Obama administrations to create this resource, updated through 2019.
• Families for FreedomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partner in ICE Out campaigns and community defense organizing. Co-developed resources and advocacy around ICE-police collaboration issues.
• Black Alliance for Just ImmigrationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on exposing collusion between Department of Corrections and ICE through email releases. Joint advocacy on intersection of racial justice and immigration.
• New York for All CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of immigrant rights organizations advocating for the New York for All Act to prohibit local law enforcement collusion with ICE and CBP.
• ICE Out! NYC CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition dedicated to keeping ICE out of New York City and Rikers Island. Led campaigns to pass Safer Sanctuary Act and block ICE return to Rikers.
• NYU School of Law Immigrant Rights CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing legal collaboration including joint reports on detention and deportation practices in NYC, and Padilla judicial obligations report.
• Defending Immigrants PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational collaboration of immigration advocacy and defense organizations working on post-conviction relief and Padilla advisals across the country.
• Center for Urban PedagogyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Spanish-language community guide 'El Poder de Prepararse' about preparing for potential ICE arrest, detention, and immigration court proceedings.
• Fund for the City of New YorkcoreOthersIDP's fiscal sponsor - a 501(c)(3) organization that provides administrative and financial infrastructure. Federal Tax ID: 13-2612524.
• 12 Major Labor Unions (including DC 37, 32BJ SEIU, 1199SEIU, NYSNA, CWA, UAW)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCoalition of labor unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers supporting NY for All Act advocacy. Unites organized labor with immigrant rights movement.
• Vera Institute of JusticeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on universal representation initiative and policy advocacy around immigration enforcement and state resources.
• The Bronx DefendersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in advocacy coalition supporting immigrant defense and due process protections in New York.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network): National network providing immigration legal services, training, and capacity building for Catholic Charities and affiliates; comparable to IDP's training and resource development for immigration practitioners.
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): National civil liberties organization with active immigrants' rights project that engages in impact litigation and advocacy on issues closely aligned with IDP's criminal-immigration and due process work.
• National Immigration Law Center (NILC): National immigrant rights legal organization conducting impact litigation and policy advocacy; broader portfolio and budget than IDP but directly comparable on immigration law and policy work.
• Vera Institute of Justice: National criminal justice reform organization collaborating with IDP on universal representation; overlapping focus on immigrant detention and criminal-immigration policy but with much broader scope.

Direct peers

• The Bronx Defenders: Holistic public defense provider in New York that integrates immigration defense into criminal representation; overlapping client base and similar criminal-immigration intersection focus as IDP.
• Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI): National racial justice and immigrant rights organization that partners with IDP on exposing DOC-ICE collusion; comparable in combining movement advocacy with policy and narrative work.
• Make the Road New York: New York-based immigrant and workers' rights organization co-leading Know Your Rights Train-the-Trainer work with IDP; serves overlapping immigrant community base with combined legal services and organizing.
• Families for Freedom: NYC-based immigrant-led organizing group with long-standing ICE Out partnership with IDP; comparable in serving directly affected families and running anti-detention campaigns.
• Center for Constitutional Rights: National human rights and immigration litigation organization that co-developed IDP's flagship ICE Raids Toolkit; closely aligned in advocacy, litigation, and movement-lawyering model.

Emerging players

• Surveillance Resistance Lab: Smaller organization focused on surveillance and policing issues that co-led IDP's December 2024 Train-the-Trainer webinar; adjacent niche that increasingly overlaps with IDP's ICE enforcement work.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ImmDefense
• Facebookfacebook.com/105037822869692
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/immigrant-defense-project
• Instagraminstagram.com/immdefense

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Immigrant Defense Project