Help Get This Lawyer To TX Border
Donation protected
I have volunteered as a Spanish-speaking lawyer for immigrant mothers and children who are detained at the 2,400-bed South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. I will be working through the Dilley Pro Bono Project (DPBP) for a week beginning September 23 (https://www.immigrationjustice.us/volunteeropportunities/dilley-pro-bono-project ) which deploys volunteer lawyers to represent immigrants who would otherwise have no legal counsel.
DPBP is in great need of Spanish speaking lawyers, and as a bilingual attorney my services are particularly needed. As I'm sure you know, the vast majority of families detained here are fleeing extreme violence in Central America and elsewhere and are seeking asylum in the United States. I have decided to set aside a week to assist in asylum claims for these mothers and children. However, I need your help to make this possible. I must cover my own travel, transportation, and lodging expenses, including all food and water (we have been told that there is no safe public drinking water and little in the way of groceries in remote Dilley, TX, so we must bring in our own water and food for the week). As a self-employed defense attorney working largely for the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the New England Innocence Program, I cannot afford to lose an entire week of income. I do not want these obstacles to stop me from representing detained mothers and children so desperately in need of legal assistance. For this reason, I am turning to you - my friends, family, and community - to help me offer legal support that could make a life-saving difference for at least some of the mothers and children I'll be assisting in their asylum claims.
Those of you who know me well know that it is out of character for me to ask for this kind of support. I'm pushing through that discomfort because those concerns seem senseless when considering what these individuals are suffering at the hands of our government. I cannot stand aside knowing that I have the tools to help these mothers and children potentially gain asylum. With a lawyer, an immigrant is ten times more likely to prevail.
Thank you so much for whatever you can give.
DPBP is in great need of Spanish speaking lawyers, and as a bilingual attorney my services are particularly needed. As I'm sure you know, the vast majority of families detained here are fleeing extreme violence in Central America and elsewhere and are seeking asylum in the United States. I have decided to set aside a week to assist in asylum claims for these mothers and children. However, I need your help to make this possible. I must cover my own travel, transportation, and lodging expenses, including all food and water (we have been told that there is no safe public drinking water and little in the way of groceries in remote Dilley, TX, so we must bring in our own water and food for the week). As a self-employed defense attorney working largely for the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the New England Innocence Program, I cannot afford to lose an entire week of income. I do not want these obstacles to stop me from representing detained mothers and children so desperately in need of legal assistance. For this reason, I am turning to you - my friends, family, and community - to help me offer legal support that could make a life-saving difference for at least some of the mothers and children I'll be assisting in their asylum claims.
Those of you who know me well know that it is out of character for me to ask for this kind of support. I'm pushing through that discomfort because those concerns seem senseless when considering what these individuals are suffering at the hands of our government. I cannot stand aside knowing that I have the tools to help these mothers and children potentially gain asylum. With a lawyer, an immigrant is ten times more likely to prevail.
Thank you so much for whatever you can give.
Organizer
Ira S. Alkalay
Organizer
Westport, MA
