LIRS ANNOUNCES the release of First Steps: An LIRS Guide for Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrants
Released from Detention. Printed and electronic versions of First Steps and accompanying supplements are
available now. Spanish versions will be available December 2014. Books are available to download and order at
LIRS.org/firststeps.
FIRST STEPS provides refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants who have been released from detention with
information and resources critical to safely integrating into the United States. First Steps helps them navigate
the complex system of laws, agencies, and public and private systems they must master by providing important
information on legal rights, responsibilities, and eligibility for services and benefits such as healthcare and
education, according to immigration status.

AN UPDATED VERSION of LIRS’s 2006 “Pocket Knowledge” guide,
First Steps provides:
• An overview and in-depth explanation of the United States’ complex system
of laws, expansive network of agencies, public and private systems, civil
responsibilities, and eligibility for services and benefits.
• Detailed information and appendices on organizations that provide legal
and community support, as well as torture treatment.

FIRST STEPS IS RECOMMENDED FOR
• Lawyers, case managers, or other service providers to aid in understanding
the complex system of rights and benefits available to clients and to
empower clients to access their rights.
• Churches and service providers at partner organizations to inform their own
understanding of the complex systems, and to use as they walk alongside
refugee, asylum seeker, and migrant clients and congregation members.
• Refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers to learn the steps to take to
maintain or adjust their immigration status, access benefits, and comply with
U.S. law.

AUTHOR’S BIO
Angela Edman, Esq. is Staff Attorney for the Access to Justice unit of LIRS.
She manages the Detained Tor­ture Survivors’ Legal Support Network, which
provides critical legal services and ensures access to social, medical, spiritual,
and holistic services to survivors of torture impacted by immigration detention. Ms. Edman holds expertise in refugee/asylum law, immigration, and
international human rights law; and specializes in the provision of holistic legal
services for victims of torture and of sexual and gender-based violence. Prior to
joining LIRS, Ms. Edman was a staff attorney at the Hong Kong Refugee Advice
Centre, providing direct legal services to asylum seekers and torture survivors
from parts of Asia and Africa. In addition to working in Hong Kong, Ms. Edman
has lived and worked in the refugee and human rights fields in Europe, Africa,
and the United States. She received her law degree from American University’s
Washington College of Law, and her Bachelor’s degree in Political Studies with
a focus on Human Rights from Bard College.

TESTIMONIALS
“Navigating the legal and social
services systems as an immigrant are
hugely challenging tasks, which are
all too often compounded by the
misinformation circulating outside
our office doors. LIRS has created
an amazing resource that addresses
not only the resources available, but
how they vary and evolve dependent
upon status, location, and phase of
the immigration process. It’s going to
be a great asset for the populations
we serve and I cannot wait to start
getting this out there!”
—Casie-Lee Miller, Case Manager,
Ascentria Care Alliance

“Personally, from the immigrant
point of view, I found information
extremely helpful and I wish I had
this guidance at my fingertips when I
first moved to the United States.”
—Migrant and U.S. Citizen

LIRS.ORG/FIRSTSTEPS