Emergency at the Border: 200+ Volunteers Needed in the Next Two Weeks

One Asylum Seeker’s Story

Mary and her two children, ages 10 and 5, walked 1,200 miles from Guatemala to Matamoros in 2019 to seek asylum. Mary’s husband abused her so badly that he was sent to jail in Guatemala, which is uncommon for domestic disputes in that country. In jail, her husband was targeted by gang members and a prison guard for extortion, which extended to Mary and her children. Fleeing for their lives, they set out north in search of safety. 

Mary and her children have been languishing in the refugee camp in Matamoros for over a year without a roof over their heads. They experienced hope for the first time when President-Elect Biden won the election, as he’s campaigned on ending the dangerous Remain in Mexico program they have been placed into. Unfortunately, that hope has now been dashed, thanks to the outgoing Trump administration’s attempts to do as much damage as possible for asylum seekers on their way out the door. 

Draconian New Asylum Regulations

Last week, the Trump administration finalized draconian new asylum regulations that will be enacted on January 11, 2021. The new regulations remove pathways to asylum based on domestic violence, gender-based violence, and more. They also allow Immigration Judges to dismiss cases without a hearing, based solely on evidence provided in paper applications. In a nutshell, the new regulations will make it almost impossible for the vast majority of our clients to secure safety with their families. 

Additionally, even if Biden’s new immigration team decides to undo this damaging rule, it will take many months for replacement policies to come into effect. Mary’s case is scheduled for mid-February 2021, before Biden would have a chance to undo these harsh regulations. 

How You Can Help

We currently have 2 staff members and 1 full time volunteer at the border. We also have approximately 600 asylum seekers who need help preparing key documents in support of their asylum applications. To have a real chance at asylum, these 600 migrants, including Mary and her two children, need to file before January 11. The stakes are high and our resources are limited. We’ve put together an online training program and resource materials for pro bono attorneys, but we’re going to need a lot more volunteer lawyers to get this work done.

1. If you are an attorney and have the capacity to volunteer to take on one of these cases before the end of the year, we need you. Spanish speaking attorneys are very much preferred, or, attorneys that come with their own volunteer translators. You can learn more about what is required and sign-up here. Note: this opportunity is 100% remote.
   

2. If you are fluent in Spanish and able to serve as a volunteer translator for these cases, please sign up here. Note: this opportunity is 100% remote.
   

3. If you can’t volunteer, you can still help. Can you support the out of pocket costs to prepare just one application, which is $75? Or, can you donate $300 to cover the costs associated with overseeing an entire filing?
   

4. You can also help by sending this blog post to lawyers and Spanish speakers in your network. 

We need as many volunteers as possible if we are going to have a shot at meeting this need. This is one of those times when the only way we can succeed is through the power of our community. Thank you so much for doing what you can.

UPDATE from January 2021: We successfully provided pro bono lawyers to assist approximately 100 families - 130 adults and 86 children - and now have temporarily paused this phase of our work. See more about the current status of Project Corazon Matamoros here.

5,000+ Lawyers Sign Open Letter Opposing Amy Coney Barrett SCOTUS Nomination

Today, in partnership with Alliance for Justice, Lawyers for Good Government submitted an open letter, signed by more than 5,000 attorneys representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, to the United States Senate objecting to the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett. It is the largest known lawyer opposition letter to a Supreme Court nominee. 

VIEW THE LETTER HERE: L4GG.org/Oppose-Barrett

The letter calls for the Senate not to confirm Judge Barrett, arguing that the next Supreme Court Justice will rule on issues concerning the health and well-being of every American for decades. It implores every Senator — 53 of whom have law degrees —  to honor their oath to defend the United States Constitution and preserve the core tenets of our democracy from an illegitimate and sham process. The letter also highlights Barrett’s concerning record of jurisprudence, which threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans.

The letter will be officially entered into the record of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing next week. Interested lawyers are invited to add their names to the letter here. 

“As lawyers, we've sworn an oath to ‘protect and defend’ the United States Constitution, and it is our duty to take a stand at this critical moment in our nation's history,” said Lawyers for Good Government’s president Traci Feit Love. “The fundamental rights of hundreds of millions of Americans are at stake. Rushing to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett will cause irreparable damage to the public’s faith in the Supreme Court, the rule of law, and our democracy.”

“It is virtually unprecedented for thousands of lawyers, from every state and a breadth of backgrounds, to unite in opposition to a Supreme Court nominee,” said Nan Aron, president, Alliance for Justice. “As people who have devoted their careers to the pursuit of justice and upholding our Constitution, they have made clear that a vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett is a vote to strip away health care protections from millions, eviscerate protections for those with preexisting conditions, overturn Roe, and dismantle civil rights. The legal community is speaking out, and they are no doubt the tip of the iceberg.”

L4GG Announces Nationwide COVID Small Business Legal Clinic Project

30+ Law Firms Sign Up for New Program to Provide Pro Bono Assistance to Help Small Businesses Survive Economic Impact of COVID-19 

34 Law Firms in 30 Cities Across U.S. Will Offer Remote Legal Clinics to Advise Small Business Owners on Stimulus Bill Benefits and Coronavirus-Related Legal Issues

Today, Lawyers for Good Government Foundation (L4GG), a non-profit network of more than 125,000 legal advocates with lawyers in all 50 states, announced the launch of its Small Business Remote Legal Clinic, offering pro bono legal consultations for small business owners to help them understand and act upon the options available under the COVID-19 stimulus package and other grant and loan programs that may be available to them.

L4GG has put together a growing coalition presently comprised of 34 law firms in 30 cities across the U.S. to help staff the remote legal clinics, including Kirkland & Ellis; Willkie, Farr & Gallagher; Goodwin Procter; Covington & Burling; Katten Muchin Rosenman; Miller Canfield; Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft; Kramer Levin; Steptoe; and Cohen & Siegel, among others. Participating firms plan to provide guidance to small business owners regarding funding available through the recently-enacted stimulus bill, assistance in filing for grants and loans available through various federal, state, and local programs, and answers to legal questions in various areas most likely to arise as a result of the circumstances surrounding the COVID pandemic. 

The pilot program will launch in New York City early next week in partnership with the City Bar Justice Center, and will expand to additional cities across the country in the weeks ahead.

L4GG will partner with local non-profit and legal service organizations, and provide law firms with the resources and tools required to manage the program in each city. Qualifying small businesses with 25 or fewer employees will be offered free 45-minute consultations with pro bono attorneys who can help answer legal questions in certain areas and help small business owners determine the best path forward for their businesses. 

Interested small business owners can sign up here to be notified when a clinic becomes available in their city.

According to reports, the COVID-19 stimulus package passed by Congress will include $350 billion in aid to small businesses. This includes up to eight weeks of cash-flow assistance to qualifying companies. 

“Almost out of the blue, small businesses are suddenly struggling for their very survival. It is the professional duty of the legal community to come together to offer advice and guidance to them so that they can continue to provide incomes for their employees, and goods and services to their communities. We are grateful for the opportunity to be able to give back to these hardworking people by providing high-quality free legal advice and assistance,” said Jacqueline Haberfeld, Pro Bono Counsel at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. 

“Hundreds of thousands of small business owners, many of whom already operate on very narrow margins, are struggling with questions about how their businesses will survive the COVID-19 pandemic. This small business legal clinic can help them navigate this unanticipated economic crisis, and provide them with guidance they desperately need at this time,” said Lawyers for Good Government’s executive director Traci Feit Love. “Not only do these businesses provide necessary services in communities all over the country, they provide employment, job training, and other benefits to so many hard-working Americans. Their survival is essential to the strength of our economy and vital to our communities, and it is critical that we do whatever we can to help sustain these businesses and their employees until this crisis subsides.”

To support this important work, click here to donate.

Video: How Project Corazon’s volunteer lawyers are making a difference at the border

In August 2019, Project Corazon (a Lawyers for Good Government Foundation program) launched a pilot program in Matamoros (Mexico), sending a group of 6 volunteer lawyers to the border to provide pro bono legal services to asylum-seekers stuck in the administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program.

The group was able to serve more than 130 asylum-seekers in a single weekend, providing legal guidance and workshops to families who would otherwise have no access to legal services.

Based on the success of the pilot, Project Corazon is expanding the program. Two weekend workshops will be held in September 2019, and beginning in October 2019, a full-time immigration lawyer with the Lawyers for Good Government Foundation will begin working full-time in Brownsville, Texas (just across the border from Matamoros), scaling the program to include preparation of asylum applications and connecting individual asylum-seekers with pro bono legal counsel.

Please support this important work - we can’t do it without your help. Click here to contribute now.