Our Partners
We specialize in immigration and labor law
The Long Island Justice Initiative (LIJI) is a non-profit organization founded and led by immigrant volunteers, who understand the struggles of those who strive to attain the American dream. The LIJI staff specializes in immigration and labor laws as well as community organizing. LIJI is a 501(c) (3) charitable organization registered in the state of New York.
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LIJI provides free or low-cost immigration services to indigent communities with an eye toward supporting the immigrant communities within the tri-state area.
We provide educational Know-Your-Rights workshops and other resources
We also provide educational Know-Your-Rights workshops and create resources for schools, churches, labor organizations, and community centers. We believe that knowledge that pertains to immigrant and constitutional rights and responsibilities should be readily accessible to all. Therefore, we travel and bring legal services and resources to you.
What We Do
Affordable Immigration Services
We believe that high-quality legal services should not only be available to those who can afford to pay hefty rates. This is why we offer immigration services at a low cost, taking into account your individual needs and circumstances. We also offer other civil services, such as assistance with labor or family law matters.
Know-Your-Rights Workshops
We offer Know-Your-Rights workshops at schools, libraries, churches, labor unions, and other agencies. We want to ensure that noncitizens are well-informed about their rights, and we believe that this information should be easily accessible to all. This is why we are happy to bring educational resources and presentations to your community.
Citizenship Classes
Citizenship classes and test preparation are available one-on-one as well as in a group setting. We specialize in assisting individuals who speak English as a second language, so we understand the challenges of taking the test in a foreign language. Just send us a message to book your class!
Trainings
We offer training to employers, union personnel, as well as other community centers who may be interested and work with noncitizens, to ensure compliance with immigration laws and inform your staff about current practices. Reach out for more information!
Our Story
When the LIJI volunteer team members met a few years ago, they realized that they had the same ideology and approach to legal services and community engagement.
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We wish to give the same level of care and attention to each community member when working on their case.
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We believe that we make a difference by working with one family at a time; and, together, we create a domino effect that leads to systemic and positive social change.
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We also understand the challenges and struggles immigrants go through because we too went through it and came out stronger.
After gaining experience and expertise in this field, we have now decided to pay it forward, and provide our community with the support that perhaps we did not have. We also strive to meet you where you are, so we try to be as mobile as possible and bring the services to you.
The Team
Dr. Glykeria Teji, Executive Director
Dr. Teji is an immigration attorney and academic with a background in removal defense, and particularly, the intersection of criminal and immigration law. Dr. Teji currently serves as Managing Attorney at Seton Hall Law in Newark, New Jersey, as part of the Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative. This state-funded project aims to provide legal representation to New Jerseans in immigration removal proceedings. Prior to her current role, Dr. Teji served as Legal Manager at Justice in Motion, where she designed and implemented a pilot project, aiming at facilitating the faster release of children from immigration detention and as Senior Staff Attorney at Make the Road New York (MRNY) on Long Island, where she represented noncitizens in removal proceedings and worked to advance Long Island residents’ rights. Dr. Teji worked in a public defense setting for approximately five years starting in 2012, first as a DOJ Accredited Representative, and then law graduate/attorney. Dr. Teji graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Law in 2010; she subsequently received a Master’s in Law from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and a Doctoral Degree at the Widener University, Delaware Law School thus being awarded the title of Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.). Dr. Teji speaks Spanish and Greek. Some of her published work can be found at SSRN and at ProQuest.
Javier Guzman, Director of Community Engagement
Javier currently works as a senior Immigration organizer with Make the Road NY at the Long Island office. Under the supervision of Dr. Glykeria Teji and other attorneys, Javier developed a program to help asylum seekers write their stories and how to fulfill a compelling asylum case, using investigative skills to gather information about the violence reports of their countries and localities, also he gives immigration workshops in schools, churches, and community centers, all over NY. His experience in organizing goes back to 2001 he was an organizer with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 10, and in 2006 Javier transitioned to work with the UFCW Local 348-s as an organizer and successfully organized 500 + FreshDirect drivers and helpers. At the same time, in his years with Local 348-s,
He took training with the National Immigration Law Center and using those skills Javier organized 179 undocumented workers from North Shore Linen Inc in Copiague NY. Then, from 2012 until 2015, in partnership with New Jersey AFL-CIO, Elizabeth, and Union City governments, Javier developed a free US Citizenship program for the local immigrant community. Javier taught citizenship classes and fill up citizenship applications helping hundreds of immigrants to pass their citizenship tests. Since 2015 until now, Javier has worked with immigrants and working-class communities around the country. Javier studied labor and organizing at George Meany Center (National Labor College) in Silver Spring MD, and Latino Labor Leadership Program at Cornell University (ILR) NYC.
Maria Gabriela Andrade-Ball, Director of Finance & Development
Gabriela works at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) as a Region 1 Organizing Manager. Before her current role, Gabriela worked as a Policy and Organizing Strategist with the Human Services Council (HSC). Prior to that role, Gabriela was a Community Organizer at the Make the Road New York at the Long Island office. As a community organizer, she worked on critical campaigns such as the Fight for $15, and the Dream Act Campaign that granted TAP or NYS financial aid to DACA and undocumented high school graduates as well as, the Driver’s License Campaign, also known as the Green Light Driving Together Campaign, grants licenses to undocumented immigrants in New York state.
Additionally, Gabriela has experience in removal proceeding campaigns. She worked with Brooklyn Defenders on two successful removal proceeding cases because of the excellent collaboration between lawyers and organizers. Gabriela has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a Global concentration from the University of Albany and a Master's in Public Administration at Baruch College.
The Board
Dr. Vasudev Das, Board Chair
Dr. Vasudev Das is a consummate scholar of international repute. He has authored over 35 publications in international peer-reviewed journals and integrates applied management/decision sciences in proffering solutions to leadership and management issues. Dr. Das is invited to present at major international conferences across the globe on a regular basis. He frequently travels to educate diverse audiences on the values of love, peace, unity in diversity, social justice and positive change, community development, conflict resolution, and organizational leadership. Some of his publications in academic and peer-reviewed journals include a Comparative Study of Kotter’s and Hiatt’s (ADKAR) change models; De-escalation strategies for COVID-19-related fraud (forthcoming); De-escalation strategies for kleptocracy in Nigeria’s oil sector; Synergic Thinking Approach to Spirituality Oriented Organizational Leadership; Succession planning strategies in faith-based-nonprofits: A comparative case study. Dr. Das holds a Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences (AMDS), Leadership, and Organizational Change (LOC), from Walden University, USA. He also holds a Masters in Critical and Creative Thinking (CACT), AICCACCOI, Enugu, Nigeria; Affiliated with the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC), Montclair State University, USA.
Susana I. Aguas, Secretary
Born and raised in Guayaquil Ecuador, Ms. Susana Aguas studied Economics at Vicente Rocafuerte Roman Catholic University. Shortly after her graduation, she moved to New York City, where she has lived since. Ms. Aguas learned early in her life to cast jewelry in her native Ecuador when her school embarked students on a 3-month trip to the indigenous reservation deep in the Andes mountains. In exchange for literacy classes, the indigenous people taught her how to cast jewelry with clay. Shortly after she arrived in New York City, Ms. Aguas started working with a jeweler who designed unique pieces at a small shop in NYC. At the same time, she served as assistant manager for a startup corporation that franchised car wash companies in the northeast of the US. As an immigrant, Ms. Aguas has become a passionate advocate for the immigration movement in the U.S. She volunteers with organizations like the New Sanctuary Coalition, Safe Passage, We are One NJ, Labor Religion Coalition of New York State, and others. Ms. Aguas joins the immigration movement in all steps of the fight, from the streets of NYC to the halls of Congress in Washington DC, and is honored to serve as Secretary of the LIJI Board.
Patricia D. Solano Villamar, Treasurer
Ms. Patricia Solano has been an active immigrant rights advocate for years. For example, she has been an advocate in grassroots organizations, such as Make the Road New York since 2015. As an active community member, Ms. Solano has joined several actions and events, supporting the Green Light legislation that allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license. Ms. Solano attended Leadership Training, to learn how to be a leader in her community with the Parent Leadership Training Institute. She is a graduate odontologist who practiced in her native country, Ecuador, for 15 years before she moved with her family to the US.
Contact Us
Call us at 1(877) 993-5454 or email us at javier@lijinitiative.org for assistance. You may also use the form below to send us a message.