RAICES AND THE TEXAS BAR FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE NEW FUNDING TO SUPPORT UNACCOMPANIED MINORS IN AUSTIN FACING DEPORTATION
Austin, TX - Through a generous $20,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation, Austin-area unaccompanied minors who are actively in deportation proceedings will have greater access to justice through pro bono representation by RAICES attorneys. In 2014, RAICES accepted four justice AmeriCorps fellows as part of an Equal Justice Works (EJW) program providing universal legal representation for unaccompanied children. By 2017, the Austin-area caseload of the two EJW fellows reached over 100 cases unaccompanied children primarily from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Children entering the United States immigration system do not automatically receive legal representation. Children of all ages, including infants and toddlers, may have to face immigration court without a legal advocate. Increased scrutiny of these particular cases from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (USCIS) has intensified, making representation even more crucial to the future of the...