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Organizations and resources that assist pro bono representatives with legal research, asylum documentation and mentoring.

  • American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Immigration - The Commission directs Association efforts to ensure fair and unbiased treatment, and full due process rights, for immigrants and refugees within the United States. Acting in coordination with other Association entities, as well as governmental and non-governmental bodies, the Commission: 1) Advocates for appropriate statutory and regulatory modifications in law and governmental practice consistent with Association policy; 2) Provides continuing education and timely information about trends, court decisions and pertinent developments for members of the legal community, judges, affected individuals and the public; and, 3) Develops and assists the on-going operation of pro bono programs that encourage volunteer lawyers to provide high quality, effective legal representation for individuals in immigration courts, with special emphasis on the needs of the most vulnerable immigrant and refugee populations.
  • AILF- American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) - Established in 1987 as a non-profit educational and service organization, the Foundation's mission is to promote understanding among the general public of immigration law and policy, through education, policy analysis, and support to litigators. The foundation sponsors numerous awards programs, publishes policy reports, engages in impact litigation, and provides policy-makers and the public with complete and accurate information about the benefits of immigration.
  • American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) - AILA is the national bar association for over 7,200 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. AILA Member attorneys represent tens of thousands of U.S. families who have applied for permanent residence for their spouses, children, and other close relatives to lawfully enter and reside in the United States. AILA Members also represent asylum seekers, often on a pro bono basis. The website has some basic immigration information, a list of AILA Chapter Chairs, and updates on current immigration policy issues.
  • Amnesty International - Amnesty International is dedicated to freeing prisoners of conscience, gaining fair trials for political prisoners, ending torture, political killings, and abolishing the death penalty worldwide. Amnesty International is an important source for documentation on human rights conditions around the world.
  • Asylumlaw.org - A free website run by an international consortium of agencies that help asylum seekers. Over 95% of the content on this site is open to the public, including asylum seekers from any country and the lawyers or advocates who represent them.
  • Center for Gender and Refugee Studies - CGRS provides legal expertise and resources to attorneys representing women asylum-seekers fleeing gender related harm, at both the practice and policy levels, and seeks to track decisions in these cases. CGRS also works to coordinate legal and public policy advocacy efforts through domestic and international networking, and engages in public education efforts in order to educate decision makers and the public and contribute to the formulation of national and international policy and practice.
  • Doctors of the World - Doctors of the World is dedicated to improving the health and relieving the suffering of vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad. The organization is committed to exposing and bearing witness to human rights violations where health is at stake.
  • The Florence Project (Arizona) - The Florence Project is a nonprofit legal service organization that provides free legal services to men, women and children detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), formerly known as the INS. The Florence Project has also developed comprehensive self-help legal materials for detained individuals proceeding without legal representation.
  • Human Rights Watch - More than 150 dedicated professionals work for HRW around the world. They are lawyers, journalists, academics, and country experts of many nationalities and diverse backgrounds. They often join forces with human rights groups from other countries to further their common goals. HRW is supported by a growing number of volunteers. HRS is the largest human rights organization based in the US. HRW researchers conduct fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in all regions of the world.

  • Immigrant and Refugee Appellate Center - The Immigrant and Refugee Appellate Center, LLC ("IRAC") is a law practice devoted to immigration appellate work on behalf of aliens. IRAC represents aliens on appeal at the administrative and federal levels. It assists attorneys and accredited representatives with same-day filings at the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). It collects and makes available unpublished BIA decisions which provide insight into the constantly evolving world of immigration law. It also mentors law student interns and externs who wish to hone their appellate skills.
  • Immigrant Legal Resource Center - The ILRC provides legal expertise, technical assistance and training to thousands of service providers, non-profit agencies, pro-bono attorneys, and advocates who serve immigrants in our country.
  • Immigrants' Rights Project (IRP) of the American Civil Liberties Union - The IRP works to defend the civil and constitutional rights of immigrants through a comprehensive program of impact litigation and public education. The IRP files constitutional and class action lawsuits protecting the historic guarantee to judicial review, enforcing fair employment practices, and maintaining constitutional safeguards against detention practices and biased asylum adjudication.

  • The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service - (also under http://www.elca.org/dcs/lirs.html). LIRS is the national agency set up by Lutheran churches in the United States to carry out the churches'ministry with uprooted people. LIRS programs include: refugee resettlement, foster car for refugee minors, assistance for political asylum seekers, immigration training and consulting, legislative advocacy, and public education.
  • Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs and Language Services (New York City) - This site contains information for and about immigrants in New York City, and a listing of resources and city agencies that provide assistance to immigrants. Promotes the interest and needs of immigrants and provides language-related services to immigrants and others with limited English language skills. The Office also works with community-based organizations to improve city services to immigrants.
  • Migration Policy Institute (MPI) - MPI is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think-tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national, and international levels.
  • The National Council of La Raza - The NCLR is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan, tax-exempt organization established in 1968 to reduce poverty and discrimination, and improve life opportunities for Hispanic Americans. NCLR strengthens these efforts with public information and media activities and special international projects.
  • Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) - ORR’s mission is to assist refugees and other special populations in obtaining economic and social self-sufficiency in their new homes in the United States. To do this, ORR funds and facilitates a variety of programs that offer, among other benefits and services, cash and medical assistance, employment preparation and job placement, skills training, English language training, social adjustment and aid for victims of torture. Effective June 15, 2000, asylees are eligible for refugee assistance and services beginning on the date that they are granted asylum. The date that the individual is granted asylum is considered his or her "entry" date for the purpose of computing the ORR benefits eligibility period. Frequently asked questions regarding asylee eligibility for Refugee Assistance and Services can be found here: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/hotlines/asylee.htm
  • Pro Bono Net - Pro Bono Net is a national, nonprofit organization that works in close partnership with nonprofit legal organizations across the country to increase access to justice for poor and moderate-income people and other vulnerable populations. It seeks to do so through (i) supporting the innovative and effective use of technology by the nonprofit legal sector, (ii) increasing participation by volunteers, and (iii) facilitating collaborations among nonprofit legal organizations and advocates working on similar issues or in the same region.
  • Refugee Law Center - The Refugee Law Center is devoted to strengthening the human rights of refugees and immigrants through legal representation, research, educational initiatives, and policy development. The Center works in collaboration with other human rights and refugee policy and legal representation organizations in the United States and other countries, and provides position papers, amicus curie (friend of the court) briefs, legal support, human rights and country conditions documentation, and legal representation on issues relating to refugee protection.
  • United States Department of State - The State Department's site contains reports published by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, including the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
  • Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children - The Women's Commission is a resource and advocacy organization that monitors the care and protection of refugee women and children. The Women's Commission serves as a watchdog and an expert resource, offering solutions and providing technical assistance.

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