Mobile Pathways Receives $1M in Funds for Data as Evidence

A historic fundraising series made possible by a unique alliance of foundation and technology companies.

BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile Pathways, a California-based nonprofit using mobile technology to improve the lives of vulnerable immigrants, has announced they have raised $1 million in new funding – thanks to organizations such as Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Twilio, Salesforce, and Tides Foundation.

Mobile Pathways is the first online platform that sends automated legal updates to immigrants via text or WhatsApp. A team of lawyers, coders, and immigrants created the service to inform marginalized populations unable to afford legal services. The organization, which partners with over 140 deeply embedded grassroots immigration nonprofits, reaches nearly 4 million immigrants and provides digital transformation services such as sending mass text updates

"The immigration crisis is one of our country's most pressing issues today. In order to solve it, we need to have a clear understanding of where the system is failing. That's why the data is so important," says Bartlomiej Skorupa, Co-Founder at Mobile Pathways.

Mobile Pathways has discovered alarming trends from the 100 million rows of immigration data they have collected from government agencies, nonprofit partners, and individual immigrants. For example, immigrants, particularly asylum seekers, wait 720 days to get their day in court. And as Mobile Pathways' trend analysis shows below, the situation is only worsening.

*Mobile Pathways is still collecting 2022 data. The final results for an increase in wait times could be higher than 65%.

The newly raised funding will allow Mobile Pathways to improve and expand digital transformation services offered to its immigration nonprofit partnerships. Thanks to a generous grant from The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Mobile Pathways will begin using data and machine learning to articulate immigration court outcomes while seeking ways to increase trust in the immigration process.

"We can only transform data and machine learning outcomes into evidence-based insights and more humane policies when we tie technology to the frontlines of vulnerability." - Vilas Dhar, President, and Trustee, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.

"Mobile Pathways is a critical asset to immigrants and the nonprofits who work alongside them to provide equal access to justice." - Dawn Kwan, Senior Advisor, Tides Foundation.

Mobile Pathways' growth as an impactful non-profit will blaze new trails at the intersection of justice, technology, and data —  a crucial step for millions of immigrants struggling with the current judicial system. If you want to learn more about their data or how you can help, please email them at [email protected].

About Mobile Pathways

Mobile Pathways was founded in 2018 by an award-winning immigration attorney, Jeffrey O'Brien, seasoned innovator Poesy Chen, and philanthropist Bartlomiej Jan Skorupa to further their vision of offering legal assistance to marginalized immigrants, in particular, asylum seekers. It is a bridge connecting immigrants to advocates, services, and reliable legal information about their pathways to immigration via mobile phone technology. Mobile Pathways partners with immigration-based nonprofits and attorneys to reach the vast and diverse population of immigrants.

SOURCE Mobile Pathways