Our Mission
New England Justice for Our Neighbors (NEJFON) is a faith-driven ministry, that:
- Provides high-quality, accessible, free immigration legal services to low-income immigrants
- Welcomes immigrants in a safe, hospitable, and confidential setting
- Gives volunteers the opportunity to express their faith through hospitality for immigrants
- Promotes justice within the U.S. system of immigration law, policy, and social practice
Our Vision
NEJFON is recognized as an effective justice-oriented resource for providing hospitable, compassionate and high-quality, legal services for immigrants. Through our work with immigrants, participating volunteers, and congregants, we also transform our culture’s understanding of sensitivity to immigrant issues.
Our Story
The Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) program was initiated by the General Board of Global Ministries in 1999 and has served thousands of immigrants throughout the United States. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) sponsors the program, with over 60 clinic sites operating nationwide. JFON was created as a response to the increasingly complex immigration regulations stemming from the Immigration Reform and Immigration Act of 1996. Subsequently, the Patriot Act exacerbated the situation, causing backlogs on new and existing applications and an increase in deportation orders.
NEJFON opened its first doors in the fall of 2012 in Portland, ME and Springfield, MA. In the fall of 2014, a third clinic opened in Woburn, MA. Although the Portland Clinic closed in 2017, new clinics opened in Lowell and Lawrence, MA the fall of 2018 and Worcester in 2019.