The City of Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) is excited to increase our current Legal Defense Network (LDN) program by $1.25 million a year reinforcing the City’s commitment to protecting immigrant and refugee communities.   

This funding comes in recognition of the increasing number of immigrant residents who have been detained in the last year and the rising legal needs. 

As part of this funding, OIRA is seeking proposals from nonprofit organizations to provide legal representation to low-income immigrants who are in detention, facing removal, or in danger of loss because of their immigration status and who live, work, or go to school in the City of Seattle, or have been detained or are subject to legal removal proceedings in Seattle. In 2025 alone, organizations and lawyers in the LDN program served 358 eligible immigrants by providing full direct representation in removal proceedings.  

Total funds available: $1,250,000 per calendar year subject to the continuing appropriation authority of the Seattle City Council. This year’s funding will be prorated to reflect the actual contract start and end dates, with the full annualized amount anticipated in subsequent years, starting in 2027.  

Contract Period: June 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026. Renewed yearly and subject to evaluation.  

Submission Deadline: 5:00 pm, April 24, 2026.   

Applications may be submitted by individual nonprofit organizations or by collaborative groups operating based on a Memorandum of Understanding.  

Minimum Qualifications  

Eligible applicants must meet the following minimum qualifications:   

• Be a nonprofit organization with a 501(c)3 status or have a fiscal sponsor with a 501(c)3 status.   

• Have an office(s) located within Seattle or King County.   

• Have at least one fully accredited Department of Justice representative or licensed attorney on staff who has at least two years of experience providing removal defense services in a broad variety of case types and who would be working on this program.   

• Be committed to offering removal defense services for at least the next 5 years.  

• Be able to commence full proposed services within six months of contract execution.  

Scope of Work   

Removal defense services shall be a core component of this program.  

Removal defense services shall include, but not be limited to, the following types of legal services:   

• Representation of (a) an individual in removal proceedings pursuant to § 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. § 1229a) before a federal immigration judge; (b) an individual who is arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and placed in expedited removal proceedings pursuant to § 235(b)(1) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1)); (c) an individual who is paroled into the United States at or near a port of entry for purposes of removal proceedings; or (d) an individual who is a party to an appeal made to the Board of Immigration Appeals or a federal Court of Appeals arising from any of those proceedings.   

• Representation of a detained individual in a bond hearing, petition for writ of habeas corpus, ICE detainer rescission request, parole request, or in any other forum to challenge continued detention or conditions of detention.   

• Representation of an individual subject to removal in asylum-only proceedings or withholding-only proceedings before a federal immigration judge, and/or in any appeal made to the Board of Immigration Appeals or a federal Court of Appeals arising from those proceedings.   

• Continued representation of an individual in affirmative immigration petitions or applications if removal proceedings have been terminated prior to adjudication.   

• Representation of an individual seeking relief from a final order of removal issued by an Immigration Judge, the Board of Immigration Appeals, or an officer in reinstatement proceedings including via motions to reopen or reconsider.   

• Representation of an individual in state court proceedings related to removal defense, such as proceedings regarding Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Post-Conviction Relief.   

• Representation of derivative family members in related immigration petitions or applications.   

RFP Evaluations   

OIRA will work with an Evaluation Committee to review applications and provide recommendations for funding. OIRA reserves the right to seek clarification on information in the proposal and reject incomplete applications. Based on the recommendations of the Evaluation Committee, OIRA will make decisions to make no award, partial or full awards, or negotiate.   

The Evaluation Committee will consider various factors when reviewing proposals including, but not limited to:  

• Overall strength and quality of the proposed project model, including adequate services and activities, realistic timelines, awareness of challenges and thriving for sustainability.     

• Existing and/or planned long-term capacity to provide legal representation in immigration matters, including:    

(a) program leadership and supervision;   

(b) program staffing;   

(c) effective administrative processes, including accounting and budgeting processes, data gathering and reporting systems, grant and/or case management systems, and quality control protocols;   

(d) program sustainability, including plans addressing staff turnover and ability to sustain and expand service capacity.   

• Experience serving detained and non-detained people facing removal proceedings in the Northwest ICE Processing Center and Seattle immigration court.   

• Established connections to eligible communities of low-income immigrants and refugees in Seattle.   

• Historical Performance (previous or current grantees only), such as past completion of Agreement deliverables, timely reporting and communication.   

Q&A Session for Potential Applicants   

A question and answer (Q&A) session will be offered Friday, April 3, 2026, at 2:00 pm.  

Microsoft Teams meeting  

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/24224382217231?p=UO1Z6tAUJCMDBKYlpm  

Meeting ID: 242 243 822 172 31  

Passcode: 5Q7iY6Ct  

Attendance is voluntary. Applicants are not required to attend a session to be eligible to submit an application. The Q&A sessions will provide information about guidelines and processes and to provide answers to application questions.   

A written summary of questions and answers will be provided following the session. Applicants additionally may submit questions by email to OIRARFP@seattle.gov until April 3, 2026. Answers will be shared with all applicants on this OIRA blog post at https://welcoming.seattle.gov/oira-expands-funding-for-legal-defense-network.

Submission Instructions   

Applications must be received by 5:00 pm, April 24, 2026. Applications received by other means or after the due date will not be accepted.   

Applications will be collected through the FLUXX Grant Management platform. To apply or create a FLUXX account please visit the City of Seattle FLUXX portal at seattle.fluxx.io. You will only be able to answer the application questions through the FLUXX platform.   

For additional information on navigating the FLUXX platform, please see instructions below.   

If you have any issues with the FLUXX platform, please contact OIRA at OIRARFP@seattle.gov.   

Appeal Process  

Applicants have the right to protest or appeal certain decisions in the award process based on the following grounds:  

• Regarding failure to submit a complete application or failure to meet the minimum eligibility requirements outlined in the funding opportunity.  

• A matter of bias, discrimination, or conflict of interest.  

• Failure to adhere to guidelines and/or procedures established in a funding opportunity.  

A written appeal that states the specific action or decision you are appealing must be submitted by the lead agency executive director as soon as possible after notification of funding decisions, with the deadline of May 13, 2026. Appeals will be reviewed by the OIRA Director and a written decision will be made within five (5) business days of the receipt of the appeal. Appeals should be emailed to OIRARFP@seattle.gov. 

Questions   

Please email OIRARFP@seattle.gov for any questions related to the application process.   

RFP process timeline  

March 2026	OIRA distributes RFP
April 3, 2026	OIRA provides one optional Q&A session for potential applicants
April 10, 2026	Applicants may submit written questions until 5:00 PM
April 24, 2026	Applications DUE by 5:00 PM
May 8, 2026	OIRA announces funding decisions
May 8 – 13, 2026	Appeal period
May 14, 2026	OIRA conducts contract negotiation process with successful applicants
June 1, 2026	Organizations begin contract period

Any changes to the proposed schedule or process will be posted on this OIRA blog post at https://welcoming.seattle.gov/oira-expands-funding-for-legal-defense-network. 

Application Questions   

You will apply for this RFP through the FLUXX platform, (see Submission Instructions section above). We are including the questions here for you to download for your reference.   

For More Information  and Frequently Asked Questions

All questions related to the RFP process can also be directed to OIRARFP@seattle.gov.

For information about another funding opportunity, see this blog post: OIRA announces innovative new funding opportunity for small community grants as part of new $4 million investment.