We support US immigrants in legal troubles free of charge – Director, Nigerian Center, Ogunjimi

The Executive Director, Nigerian Center, Gbenga Ogunjimi, speaks with BIODUN BUSARI on the operations of the organisation in the United States

How did your journey start in the United States?

I was born in Lagos, Nigeria. I’m from Ikorodu. I attended the Lagos State University. LASU was where my journey to change-making started. This was due to the culture on campus being militarised with the activities of fraternity groups. It was a very challenging environment at the time. However, I had the duty to lead some form of change. This made me start my work with a campus nonprofit organisation. It opened my eyes to several organisations, including the United Nations. Then, I stumbled upon the opportunity of a fellowship programme. It was a kind of opportunity for international nonprofit leaders who were supported by the US State Department. It allowed us to come to Washington DC. This was about 15 years ago. My coming to Washington DC allowed me to work on that programme and understand how to run a nonprofit organisation in Washington DC. It gave me an understanding of how to work with governments, communities, the private sector, and the media. I was just blessed that it was my entry point into the US.

What was the idea behind the Nigerian Center?

Before I started the Nigerian Center, I consulted for financial institutions in America. I was helping them with storytelling, marketing, communication campaigns and strategies. While doing this, I saw the connections between Community Development Financial Institutions and the immigrant community. In Nigeria, CDFIs are like microfinance. In the US, CDFIs, which are grassroots financial institutions, receive support from the immigrant community. There is also a usual connection with community centres. I started to look into this concept of immigrant community centres. I saw that the most established immigrant groups in the United States, whether they are Jewish, Italian, Irish, Chinese, Latino, or Indian, often have this concept called a welcoming centre. It is a community centre. And I didn’t see that in a Nigerian community or across the African community, except for Ethiopians. Then I just took on the responsibility of starting the Nigerian Center. The most recent first Jewish centre in the country was founded in the 1800s, like 1854 or something like that. We started the Nigerian Center in 2022. So, if you look at that community, and how they become an economic powerhouse in America, you can make a connection to the presence of a community centre that provides a soft landing. It provides a support infrastructure system for new immigrants when they migrate here. What I see is that the story of the next generation does not have to be our story. And community centres like ours help us rewrite that narrative.

What are the core values of the Nigerian Center?

The core overarching mission of the centre is to foster financial inclusion and social justice opportunities.

How have you been able to accomplish that?

When we did our research, it was apparent that it was not rocket science. Our community’s number one challenge is legal justice and immigration. The US is a land of opportunities. Once you have taken care of your paperwork, every other thing finds a way to fall in line. But our people struggle with that aspect. In America, we have this culture of ‘don’t ask and don’t tell your immigration status.’ People have been struggling for decades to even get driving licences, travel documents, social security, and work authorisations. People are living beneath their potential, like PhD holders driving Uber and things like that. So, we approached the government of Washington DC. I told them of our plans and I was told that they had a programme that provided grants to legal aid centres for services for immigrants. I didn’t know that all along. So, we got a small funding in 2022 to open a walk-in immigration legal aid clinic. I’m so thankful that this organisation will be a catalyst to rewrite our community story right now. Once you come to the US from any part of the world, you can walk into a physical location called the Nigerian Center to speak to an attorney at no cost. We’ve kept our doors open since 2022. We’ve never missed a day and we’ve done impressive things. We’ve handled cases from student visas to family green cards to employment authorisation to asylum, diplomatic visas, juvenile visas for minors, and all kinds of legal cases. We’ve been doing that. We also started to do funding.

Apart from immigration or legal support, what other areas have immigrants benefited from the centre?

We provide loans to people when they come in here to start their business. The average loan is from $5,000 to $10,000. We can even do more than that to get credit, and to start a business, to put down payment for basic services, and resources. They may need a house or car. So, that’s the second programme we have. We also have a cultural programme whereby the second generation or those who have an affinity to culture can learn. I would say Igbo and Yoruba, particularly for those whose children are married into the culture or those who go to Nigeria for international development. Or those who just want to learn our languages.

Apart from grants, how do you raise funds to sponsor the projects run by the centre?

We are predominantly supported by grant funding. I think one of the things that we do is that we make the entire team a volunteer team. That also significantly has reduced our operating expenses. We expanded our sources of funding from the government to private foundations, individuals, and local businesses. It has been helpful. Some of our programs are paid programs like our language classes. We earn some revenue from our language classes and people just give the little they have to keep the work running. Pro bono services are the height of our financial sustainability and we continue to expand that more and more. So, our revenue is the combination of government grants, private foundations, individual donations, sponsorships, and earned income. We are on a budget of about $300,000. We are aiming to be $500,000 by the end of this fiscal year. In the next two or three years, then we can cross the million-dollar threshold in revenue to continue the work that we do.

Does the Nigerian Center cater only to Nigerians?

Our programmes are open to Nigerian and non-Nigerians. We have attended to more than 100 people on immigration cases. Last year, we did 130 immigration cases and we had a little bit more with small businesses giving out about 35 loans, that were worth approximately $50,000 in investments. We had about 75 language classes. Those are direct services. We’re not counting our indirect services that go into the thousands. And it’s a mix of Nigerians and non-Nigerians.

How has the centre helped immigrants since the President Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants?

I want to start with the definition of illegal immigrant. We don’t hold that particular language or belief as a centre. Just because someone goes out of legal status doesn’t make them illegal. And I think there’s a criminalisation of legal status and conflicting people. We’ve been taking the lead in this actual programme. We’ve been leading campaigns like the Temporary Protected Status, the federal government advocacy campaign at the state level. And we continue to do so. We’ve stepped up with ‘Know Your Rights’ education. We’ve expanded our ‘Know Your Rights’ not just from a legal perspective, but with the involvement of government officials. The Nigerian Center has impacted people to come to tell their stories and educate folks, and policy experts are included. So, we started a campaign early this year called Washington Prosperity. The concept is that migrants or immigrants are economic prosperity agents. They contribute to the vitality and thriving communities. When you support organisations and programmes like immigrant justice in general, then you support your city’s prosperity. In terms of specific legal strategy, the center continues to get more cases. And it’s not just limited to those in Washington DC. You can call from any part of the country. And we’re also considering the title Immigration Defence Fund. We are bringing organisations like the Nigerian American Public Affairs Committee, and the Nigerian American Lawyers Association.

There was a time you called on the immediate US past president Joe Biden to protect the immigrants with some programmes. Did he grant that request before he left office?

The request was not granted, but it was successful in our yardstick. Keep in mind, that this campaign was the very first Nigerian community-led campaign in the United States that I know of in recent times. So, for the first time, we were able to mobilise over 50 congressional offices. We engaged these congressmen and senators to support our cause. We were able to mobilise over 100 human rights organisations, including the One Project. Several organisations including faith-based organisations such as the RCCG, the Catholic churches, and several groups came together. This was the very first time we saw that level of community and political capital at work. Also, we got feedback from the Biden administration. And while they were considering the request, they showed us how individually our community can get those benefits. One of them was Special Student Relief.