The Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights (NMCIR) is a non-profit organization founded in 1982 to educate, defend, and protect the rights of immigrants. Recognized by the Department of Justice (DOJ), NMCIR is committed to expanding access to legal immigration services, participating in policy making and community organizing. Most of the individuals who walk through the doors of the Coalition are low-income, non-citizen immigrants from the Caribbean, Latin America, and increasingly Africa and the Middle East. Some have lived in the U.S. for decades, others are recent immigrants. The Coalition is often their first entrée into accessing legal aid or basic social services.