United States Department of Justice - Executive Office for Immigration Review - Pro Bono / Legal Access Program
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Programs in need of volunteer (pro bono) attorneys, law students,
law graduates and others who wish to give of their time
to assist indigent immigrants in removal proceedings


  • 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.
  • Asian Pacific American Legal Center - APALC is a nonprofit agency which has become the largest organization in southern California that provides Asian and Pacific Islander and other communities with multi-lingual, cultural sensitive services and legal education. The Immigration and Citizenship Unit provides immigration and citizenship assistance to individuals and their families, educates the public on important immigration issues, and advocates for fair and sensible immigration law and policies.
  • Archdiocese of Detroit - For more than 25 years, the Archdiocese has been committed to the immigrants and refugees of the Detroit metropolitan area by providing immigration legal services, as well as resettlement and acculturation assistance to those in need.
  • 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.
  • Capital Area Immigrants Rights (CAIR) COALITION - The CAIR Coalition provides administrative and legal support to community, social, and legal service organizations in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area and conducts joint immigration-related advocacy activities with its member organizations. CAIR is also a partnering agency with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in carrying out the BIA Pro Bono Project, which seeks to increase the level of pro bono representation for INS detainees who would otherwise appear pro se before the BIA.
  • Catholic Charities, USA - Catholic Charities encourages people to help themselves by learning to advocate for their rights. By providing leadership, technical assistance, training and other resources, this national agency enables local offices to better devote their own resources to serving their communities. The site contains a list of Catholic Charities offices throughout the country that offer refuge and immigration assistance.
  • Church World Service - The Immigration and Refugee Program of Church World Service (CWS/IRP) is an ecumenical family empowering churches to show hospitality to strangers, that is, to immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and other uprooted people in the United States and around the world. CWS/IRP resettles about 8,000 refugees and entrants in the United States each year, and also helps meet the needs of people in protracted refugee situations and refugees returning home.
  • CLINIC - Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. - CLINIC provides a full range of legal and non-legal support services to Catholic Charities' and diocesan legal immigration programs. These programs, in turn, represent tens of thousands of immigrants and their families each year. CLINIC is also one of the partnering agencies with the Board of Immigration Appeals in carrying out the BIA Pro Bono Project, which seeks to increase the level of pro bono representation for INS detainees who would otherwise appear pro se before the BIA.
  • 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.
  • Freedom House (Detroit, Michigan) - Freedom House is an interdenominational, nonprofit charity that provides food, clothing, shelter and legal services to people of all races and creeds. Freedom House works to legally resettle refugees into Canada or the United States, speak out against injustice and educate for systemic change. Freedom House is fully accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
  • Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) - The oldest international migration and refugee resettlement agency in the U.S., HIAS provides information and a broad program of services at all stages of the migration process for refugees and migrants, and advocates for fair and just policies on their behalf.
  • Human Rights First - The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has worked to protect and promote fundamental human rights. The Committee works to protect refugees through the representation of asylum seekers and by challenging legal restrictions on the rights of refugees in the United States and around the world.
  • Human Rights Initiative (HRI) - This organization is dedicated o the promotion of international human rights and services to immigrants and refugees who have suffered human rights abuses. Legal Services provides consultation and representation before the INS, the EOIR, and the BIA for those seeking asylum. HRI also provides other services to individuals once they are granted asylum.
  • Immigration and Refugee Services of America (IRSA) - IRSA develops and manages education and assistance programs that help refugees resettle in the U.S., and acts to defend human rights, build communities, foster education, promote self-sufficiency, and forge partnerships through an array of programs.
  • Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area - The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights is devoted to advancing the rights of people of color, poor people, and immigrants and refugees, while maintaining its historical commitment to provide legal advocacy for African-Americans. Since its inception in 1968, the Lawyers' Committee has supported the rights of minority and low-income individuals by offering free legal assistance in civil matters and by litigating cases that have the potential of improving the lives of people often ignored by the legal system.
  • 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.
  • Nation Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) - The NIJC assists impoverished immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. With offices in metropolitan Chicago and a staff that includes licensed attorneys, Board of Immigration Appeals-accredited representatives and paralegals, and with the support of hundreds of volunteer attorneys, NIJC provides comprehensive immigration assistance and an open intake and telephone inquiry service.
  • National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild - The National Immigration Project is a network of immigration lawyers, law students, jailhouse lawyers, and legal workers who work to end unlawful immigration practices, to recognize the contributions of immigrants in this country, to promote fair immigration practices, and to expand the civil and human rights of all immigrants, regardless of their status in the United States. NLG recruits attorneys and offers invaluable legal support and guidance to pro bono attorneys associated with the BIA Pro Bono Project, which seeks to increase the level of pro bono representation for INS detainees who would otherwise appear pro se before the BIA.
  • The New York Association for New Americans, Inc (NYANA) - NYANA works to help those new to this country, and those who have been here for some time, fashion a roadmap for accomplishing their goals and dreams. NYANA provides a comprehensive array of immigration-related legal assistance, including preparing and filing applications for asylum, permanent residency, work authorization, replacement of lost documents, and family reunification.
  • Pro Bono Net - 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 Center is a non-profit organization devoted to strengthening the human rights of refugees and immigrants through legal representation, research, educational initiatives, and policy development. The Center works with other human rights and refugee policy and legal representation organizations in the United States and other countries, provides position papers, briefs, legal support, human rights and country conditions documentation and legal representation on issues relating to refugee protection.
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - UNHCR helps the world's uprooted peoples by providing them with basic necessities such as shelter, food, water and medicine in emergencies and seeking long term solutions, including voluntary return to their homes or beginning afresh in new countries.

  • Vive La Casa - Vive La Casa assists asylum seekers making their way into Canada. VIVE provides food, shelter, medical, legal, and other services to refugees who would otherwise be homeless in the city of Buffalo.
  • Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs - The Committee represents both individuals and groups regarding their civil rights cases, employment, housing, public accommodations, claims based on discrimination, and assists immigrants seeking asylum and other help. The committee's litigation efforts have become nationally known for landmark court victories, record judgements and precedent-setting consent decrees.

 

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