Send Attorneys to Detained Families

We are five women of color (4 attorneys and an interpreter), Angelenos, immigrants and/or children of immigrants, and dedicated advocates: Liz Gonzalez (Bet Tzedek), Liza Davis (Public Counsel), Raha Johartchi (Lionsgate), Edith Madrid (SJM Law Group) and Karla Calderon. We have dedicated our careers to serving the most vulnerable people in our communities, either full-time or through pro bono service. Although the work we do at our respective organizations already has a tremendous impact in our local communities, we are determined to get to the front line and provide representation to the children and women most affected by the most recent atrocities committed by our current administration. 

As has become apparent, the situation at our borders is as bleak and dire as ever.  Although this week's Executive Order seeks to keep families from being separated, it also seeks to detain children in prisons with their parents.

In December 2014, the federal government opened the largest immigrant family detention center in the United States: the South Texas Family Residential Center (STFRC) in Dilley, Texas, approximately 80 minutes southwest of San Antonio. Despite the Flores Settlement Agreement, which dictates that children cannot be held in a secure unlicensed facility, the government continues its inhumane detention of children and their mothers who have valid claims to asylum under our laws. The partners of the CARA Family Detention Project (CLINIC, AILA, RAICES, and AIC) joined forces in response to ICE’s significant expansion of family detention (more information here: http://caraprobono.org/partners/). Texas RioGrande Legal Aid joined the team to ensure asylum-seeking families have access to competent and effective legal services shortly thereafter, and currently manages the provision of legal services in Dilley in partnership with CLINIC, AIC and AILA.

To ensure asylum-seeking families have access to legal representation, CARA recruits and organizes teams of lawyers and advocates to travel to Dilley every week.   We have decided to volunteer at Dilley from July 15th to July 21st.  We each will be using our sick/vacation time to make this trip possible.  The work that we will be doing includes client intakes, preparing clients for credible fear and reasonable fear interviews with the asylum office, accompanying clients to their asylum office interviews, and providing representation before the Immigration Judge in negative credible fear reviews and bond hearings.  Ultimately, the goal is to get families out of detention and placed with a pro bono attorney or legal aid organization that will work on their asylum application.  Legal representation in these cases is vital since any person seeking immigration relief with the help of an attorney has a much larger chance of staying in the United States legally than one that doesn’t
(https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/access-counsel-immigration-court).

We seek your help to cover a portion of the costs for this trip.  The approximate cost of our trip is $3,150 - broken down as follows: roundtrip flight to San Antonio is approximately $404; with a discount from CARA, a double occupancy hotel room  is approximately $60/night; and a rental car for the week is approximately $300. 

All monies raised beyond the cost of our travel and lodging will be donated directly to the incredible organizations collectively known as the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project: http://caraprobono.org/