by Julie Yates | May 27, 2020 | Education and outreach
We are thrilled to announce that Allegra Upton has joined CREEC’s Summer Intern Program! A Colorado native, graduate of CU Boulder, and second-year student at the University of San Francisco School of Law, Allegra will be working closely with CREEC’s Immigration Detention Accountability Program (IDAP) during her internship. Allegra holds a lifelong passion for disability rights and her interest in immigration rights developed while at the University of Colorado, culminating in an English Honors Thesis titled, “The Othering of Muslim Women by Western & Eastern Societies.” It’s hardly surprising that Allegra found herself drawn to IDAP where she will be on the forefront of disability law, immigration law, and their intersection. “I was inspired to pursue these areas of law by both my personal background and a consistent dedication to helping others. CREEC offers the extraordinary opportunity to work on large scale impact and systemic change, which is exactly the type of work I envision for my legal career,” states Allegra. “I am also incredibly grateful to USF Law School for underwriting my internship experience with a Public Interest Law Foundation grant, which makes it possible to pursue such a deeply meaningful experience.” Prior to her CREEC internship, Allegra contributed to several advocacy organizations related to her professional interests. Allegra’s previous work ranges from serving as a congressional intern for Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet where she was involved with immigration casework, to three years as writer and editor at The Borgen Project, a nonprofit advocating bipartisan legislation to combat global poverty. IDAP Director Liz Jordan remarks, “We’re so excited to welcome Allegra to the IDAP team for the...
by CREEC | May 8, 2020 | Accessibility, Education and outreach
As COVID-19 outbreaks continue to climb in Colorado prisons, CREEC joined others calling on Governor Polis to assert his executive authority and clemency powers to protect the most vulnerable people in prisons before it’s too late. The letter cited new data proving that his actions to date are insufficient to protect the lives of elderly and medically compromised people in prisons, correctional staff, and the community at large. While Colorado’s COVID-19 curve may be flattening for those who are free, the public health crisis is reaching a fever pitch for people who are incarcerated. A recent article revealed that testing at the Sterling Correctional Facility, now the site of the state’s 2nd largest COVID-19 outbreak, has confirmed that at least 278 people there — 266 incarcerated people and 12 staff members — have tested positive for the virus, many of whom are asymptomatic. At four other U.S. state prisons, 96% of the nearly 3,300 people who tested positive also showed no symptoms for the virus, further illustrating that simply isolating those who seem sick from those who appear well is not enough to halt the spread. At least one man died from contracting COVID-19 at Sterling — he was 86-years-old. ACLU-Colorado and eight criminal justice and indigent defense organizations sent a letter to the Governor on March 17 urging him to take decisive action to depopulate prisons and jails. The Governor later issued an Executive Order, which granted Colorado Department of Corrections Director Dean Williams the broad authority to consider releasing more than 7,000 people. But that order has been ineffective. More than a month after the Governor’s executive...
by Julie Yates | May 6, 2020 | News
CREEC is pleased to announce that Megha Patel is joining us as a summer intern with the Accessibility Project. Entering her third year at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, Tennessee, Megha brings with her prior internship experience in criminal justice and legal volunteer work supporting the arts. Megha has a long-held passion for civil rights and is especially interested in the nonprofit sector. “My interest in civil rights and nonprofit work drew me to CREEC,” Megha states, “but I also wanted my internship to introduce me to new things. I haven’t had much experience with disability law yet and I want to know more. This internship will give me the opportunity to learn more about both disability law and the impact a nonprofit can make in the community. I’m especially interested to see how federal disability rights laws can help people during the current global crisis, when such laws at the time of creation did not anticipate this kind of situation.” Megha’s internship with CREEC’s Accessibility Project will provide her with opportunities to work on multiple critical and timely issues including discriminatory healthcare rationing and barriers to effective communication. Outside of school and work, Megha is an avid reader, enjoys painting and scrapbooking and, during the corona virus pandemic, is exploring cooking and gardening,...
