Our firm is privileged to provide pro bono representation to brave and deserving immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. Many immigrants come from Honduras and other Central American countries because they face unimaginable dangers in their home countries and come to our shores for safety and a life free of violence. Refugees from these countries are eligible for asylum if they face or fear persecution in their home countries because of their race, religion, political opinions, or if they are targeted because of their gender, family memberships, or memberships in other groups protected under immigration law.
In 2015, when a large number of children and families came to the U.S. seeking asylum from Central America and other countries, there was a great need to provide legal representation to these children and their families. Children were taken away from their families and put in protective custody. Parents were put in jail. None of them were criminals. They were all seeking the protections they are entitled to under our laws. Our firm agreed to represent a number of these children and their families pro bono because they needed help.
Since 2015, several of our children and families were granted asylum and they can now safely live here in the U.S. In our most recent case, in November 2023, the San Francisco Immigration Court granted asylum to a young Honduran woman and her two children. Our client came to the U.S. in 2015 from Honduras after the government forced the family off their farm, taking their source of food and family income. Gang members killed several family members, assaulted and sexually abused other family members, and forced our client and the rest of the family to flee the country. The Honduran authorities were unable then, and continue to be unable now, to stop MS 13 from carrying out its program of terror against our client, her family, and many other Honduran citizens.
Over the last several years, our firm also successfully represented other clients who were granted asylum including:
- A young teenage boy who was pursued by gang members after he witnessed the murder of his uncle.
- A mother who was the victim of race discrimination and sexual assault where the government allows such practices to occur with impunity.
- A young pastor and his wife and baby son who were brutally attacked by gang members for practicing their religion and preaching against gangs.
- A 12-year-old girl who was brutally abused by her family in a country where the government does not intervene to protect children from abuse in their families.
- A young woman and her child who fled severe domestic violence, where her partner kept her virtually enslaved, in a country that does not intervene on behalf of women facing spousal abuse.
We look forward to continuing our pro bono immigration work. We are gratified to know that our clients are now living their lives here, safe from the dangers that forced them to leave their home countries.
We could not bring these cases alone. We are grateful to our partnering organizations, the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS), Centro Legal de La Raza, and Immigrant Legal Defense (ILD) for providing training and assistance to us, and to pro bono immigration lawyers here in the Bay Area and throughout the United States.