ATJ Update

Volunteering for the voiceless: Pro bono work for immigrants
By:  Andrew McLemore

The most rewarding pro bono work helps the most vulnerable members of society:  the poor, the elderly, victims of domestic violence, children. But the group with the least access to justice is also the most invisible: immigrants seeking refuge. Many of them enter the country seeking safety from abuse.  Unfortunately, many arrive here only to find it again at the hands of human traffickers and other opportunists only too willing to take advantage. And many others simply never receive the representation they need.

That’s why there are organizations in nearly every major Texas city that ask attorneys to volunteer their time and expertise to help. These include the Human Rights Initiative in Dallas, the St. Frances Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance in Houston, and RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), which has branches in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, and Corpus Christi. All of these groups rely on pro bono attorneys to help represent immigrants – usually women and children – as they seek asylum. “These are women and children who are escaping their abuser or gang threats and gang recruitment,” said Michelle Garza, managing attorney at the San Antonio branch of RAICES. “They’re running for their lives.”

RAICES offers two programs for attorneys looking to help. One is focused on unaccompanied minors who were abandoned or sent across the border alone. A flood of these children, many of them from Central America, have crossed the border in recent years, making for a large caseload and plenty of need for good attorneys willing to help represent them as they make their way through the justice system.

The second program is focused on mothers who immigrated with their children, a different situation treated very differently by the law. This program began in San Antonio just a year ago, when the Karnes County Detention Center first opened.

“Lawyers interested in this pro bono work should understand one thing,” Garza said. “The stakes are high.” “These people are already in immigration proceedings,” she said. “They fled their country for they fear for their lives. The government is actively trying to deport them back.”

The pro bono work at Human Rights Initiative in Dallas is similar. The organization provides legal services to refugees and immigrants who have suffered human rights abuses, which can include domestic violence and religious or political persecution. They handle asylum cases, cases involving the Violence Against Women Act (for immigrants who have been victims of domestic violence in the United States and are married to a U.S. citizen), and U visas (granted to immigrants who are the victims of a crime). They also assist law enforcement with their investigations into these matters.

“The work is only possible because of an extensive network of volunteer attorneys,” said Mary Durbin, the attorney for the organization’s Asylum Project. “Our clients do have pretty amazing stories,” Durbin said. “We’re helping people who, if they have successful cases, go on to have successful lives.”

“There are two main ways that volunteer attorneys benefit from this work,” Garza said. “The first is that it’s a specific niche of pro bono work that can be a novel experience for many lawyers,” she said. “The second thing is that a lot of these kids and their mothers look to the United States as a refuge,” Garza said. “They see it as a refuge. I think if you believe in that – that the U.S. is the land of the free and people can come here and live out their dreams – it’s very meaningful work.”

To volunteer your time and expertise, please click here for a listing of immigration-related legal services providers.