By: Heidi Altman, Legal Director
There is no right to appointed counsel in immigration court. At CAIR Coalition we experience first hand the meaning behind those words, meeting with men, women and children facing deportation while held in remote immigration facilities, far from their friends and loved ones. Because we understand how scary it is to fight a deportation case alone, we celebrate each and every time we are able to match a detained immigrant with a pro bono attorney who can provide representation and, maybe more importantly, hope.
Only a few months into 2014, we are particularly grateful to two firms who between them have just this year taken on representation for seven men, women, and children. These firms are Arent Fox LLP and Wiley Rein LLP, and thanks to their commitment to pro bono work seven fewer immigrants will have to navigate the daunting detention and deportation processes on their own.
Wiley Rein and Arent Fox attorneys are representing three men, two teenage girls, and one teenage boy, all of whom CAIR Coalition staff members first encountered in immigration detention. They are from all corners of the earth – central America, the Caribbean, and east Africa. They have fled horrors ranging from domestic violence to forced child labor to hate crimes. Some of them fear return to their countries of origin because they will be targeted for violence because of their family affiliation or sexual orientation; others simply do not want to leave this country they know as home, where they have made families and lives for themselves. Each and every one of them is relieved and grateful to have a pro bono attorney by their side as they seek to remain in the United States.
Our thanks go out to Wiley Rein, Arent Fox, and our many dedicated pro bono partners!
Representing a detained man, woman, or child facing deportation is a uniquely rewarding experience. Please click here to read about current pro bono opportunities, and contact our legal director Heidi Altman at haltman@caircoalition.org with questions.
