Nigerian Center Testimony at DC Council Performance Oversight Hearings

January 31, 2024

Today, the Nigerian Center testified during the Council of the District of Columbia’s Performance Oversight hearings to demonstrate the importance of the city Immigrant Justice Legal Services Grant (IJLS) funding the center’s core services. A full copy of the written testimony by Gbenga Ogunjimi, Nigerian Center Executive Director is available below:

TESTIMONY OF GBENGA OGUNJIMI, NIGERIAN CENTER, BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON RECREATION, LIBRARIES, AND YOUTH AFFAIRS – OFFICE OF LATINO AFFAIRS PERFORMANCE OVERSIGHT HEARING, JANUARY 31, 2024

My name is Gbenga Ogunjimi, the Executive Director of the Nigerian Center.

Councilmember Trayon White, I appreciate the opportunity to submit a written testimony at this performance oversight hearing before the Committee on Recreation, Libraries, and Youth Affairs concerning the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs (MOLA).

The Nigerian Center is a Washington DC based community organization dedicated to serving the largest Black immigrant group in the United States. We provide financial inclusion and social justice opportunities for members of the African immigrant community. We offer education, empowerment, upliftment, and assistance to all immigrant families in acclimating to life in the United States through policy advocacy, cultural initiatives, immigration legal aid services, entrepreneurship, and homeownership opportunities. While we are called the Nigerian Center, our services are open to all district residents including those of the Latino community.

Today, I write to express support for the continued and increased funding of the city’s Immigrant Justice Legal Services Grant (IJLS) grant managed by MOLA. As a second-year recipient of the grant, I testify that the funding has played a crucial role in our ability and capacity to support the immigrant community in the district. Washington DC's approach to immigrant justice is unparalleled, with few resources like the IJLS grant existing in any other part of the country. In fact, it was this grant that allowed us to establish our immigration justice access program.

We are requesting continued and increased funding for IJLS given its alignment to our core services. Our immigration justice access program is systematically designed to assist newly arrived immigrants in the D.C. region in navigating the overwhelmed U.S. legal immigration system. These individuals often face prolonged and agonizing waiting periods and often slip through its cracks. They face legal difficulties in engaging with financial systems, which hinders their ability to contribute towards personal and community economic stability. The Nigerian Center addresses these challenges by providing policy advocacy and direct services.

In 2022, we began serving DC residents thanks to the seed funding from the IJLS grant provided by MOLA. Through this funding, we established a year-round walk-in immigration clinic in Anacostia, Southeast DC—the first of its kind in our community. We have conducted over 20 Know Your Rights workshops, provided legal education, screenings, limited and full legal representations for 1000+ clients. In addition to direct legal services, we have facilitated access to social services such as driver's licenses and health insurance options for DC residents. IJLS has also allowed us to initiate our annual State of the Union on Immigration, a series of public symposiums with the goal of elevating the African immigrant community as a policy priority at the federal level. Starting February of this year, we are expanding services to include free walk-in tax preparation and financial counselling services for DC residents. MOLA as well as the Mayor’s Office on African Affairs (MOAA) continue to support and fund these life-changing programs.

We are advocating for continued and increased funding for IJLS, as well as increased support from MOLA. As we approach our third year as a grantee, multi-year funding will help ensure the continuity of our mission and our capacity to serve our community. The Nigerian Center is currently the only organization catering to our community in the way we do. At present, we are actively involved in TPS/DED campaigns for several African countries, including Nigeria, Congo (DRC), Mauritania, Mali, and South Sudan. We also support similar campaigns for South America countries. In the District of Columbia, the Nigerian Center remains one of the few centers with year-round walk-in services dedicated to serving the immigrant communities that turn to us for assistance in a culturally sensitive manner. As a result, the Nigerian Center looks forward to the continued support of MOLA to help us further the realization of our mission of fostering financial inclusion and social justice opportunities through the IJLS grant.

Once again, thank you for your leadership and commitment to immigrant justice for the nation’s capital.

Sincerely,

Gbenga Ogunjimi
Executive Director
Nigerian Center