At CILA, our mission is to empower Texas UC Champions–advocates guiding children through complex legal territory- to do so with courage, competency, compassion, and creativity. We fulfill our mission through training and education, case and issue specific technical assistance to advocates, and coordination of working groups. In the words of one Texas UC Champion,“CILA is an amazing resource for Texas practitioners. Having the organization’s support, resources, and legal analysis helps us provide quick and legally solid advice and action to benefit our clients in this often hostile climate.”
We hope that you have, and will continue to use our many resources available to Texas UC Champions (that’s you!):
- CILA is available to provide assistance to attorneys in Texas working on a child’s immigration case. Requests for technical assistance may relate to the theory of the case, legal strategy, procedural and evidentiary issues, and best practices on working with children and victims of trauma. Please make requests via our online portal: https://www.cilacademy.org/request-assistance/
- CILA offers several resources including practice advisories and legal summaries on our website. Several are available on our public resources page including:
- Quick Reference Guide – SIJ Status and EB-4 Immigrant Visa Availability
- Information on publications to Facilitate Service of Citation by Publication in Central America
- Helpful Resources in Representing Unaccompanied Children
- A New Legal Framework for Children Seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
- Social Media Tips flyer for child clients on the Texas Law Help website. The link to the Spanish flyer is here
- Special Immigrant Juvenile Status,American Bar Association Judge’s Journal, Summer 2017 available here
- CILA also offers several additional resources that are available behind a password protected login. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for the password. Those resources currently include:
- Practice Advisory: Ethical Considerations when Discussing Social Media with your Immigration Client
- Practice Alert: Pereira and Bermudez-Cota
- Legal Summary: Deepak Budhathoki, et al v. Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary, et al
- FAQ: Mandatory Reporting Considerations in Texas
- Ethics Advisory: Friend of Court
- 5th Circuit Asylum Law Study Guide
- Sample Arguments for Response to RFE, NOID- No factual basis
- Summary of Acknowledgment of Paternity in El Salvador
- Summary of Acknowledgment of Paternity in Honduras
- Legal Summary: Recognition of Foreign Law Establishing Paternity in Texas
- CILA also coordinates three subject matter working groups, two statewide and one local to Houston.To join our working group listservs, please fill out the form found our website: https://www.cilacademy.org/resources/working-groups/
- Texas SIJS Working Group meets via phone conference once a quarter to connect with attorneys on statewide trends in the adjudication of SIJS and related issues in immigration court
- Houston SIJS Working Group meets in person once a quarter to discuss local trends in state courts and the Houston Immigration Court
- Texas Children’s Asylum Working Group meets via phone conference once a quarter to connect with attorneys on trends in adjudications of asylum at the Houston Asylum Office and in Texas Immigration courts
- Our website also serves as a hub for recordings of all of our previous webinars. CLE is available for webinars watched within one year of the recording. As of today, we have the following webinars available for review:
- Children’s Immigration Law: 2018 Round Up (CLE Credit Expires: 9/24/2019)
- Overview of Immigration Litigation in Federal Court (CLE Credit Expires: 4/25/2019)
- Making Interpretation Seamless: Best Practices for Attorneys (CLE Credit Expires: 03/08/2019)
- Immigration Legal Research and AAO Appeals (CLE no longer available)
- Paternity Issues in Texas for SIJS cases (CLE no longer available)
- UC Sponsor Targeting by ICE (CLE no longer available)
- Immigration Protections for Child Victims of Crime (CLE no longer available)
- Post 18 Issues in Texas State Court and Before USCIS (CLE no longer available)
- Introduction to Unaccompanied Children Immigration Law and Working in a Law Office (CLE no longer available)
- RFEs, NOIDs, and Inadmissibility Issues in Texas SIJS Cases (CLE no longer available)
- Texas State Court Procedural Issues in SIJS Cases (CLE no longer available)
- Ethical Issues in Representing Unaccompanied Children in Immigration Matters (CLE no longer available)
- We also have many of our in-person presentations available on our website. They are available as a resource; no CLE credit is available for viewing on our website. As of today, we have the following recordings and PowerPoints available for review:
- Immigration Law Overview (recording and PowerPoint)
- Detention and Release of Undocumented Children (recording and PowerPoint)
- Nuts and Bolts of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (recording and PowerPoint)
- Asylum Law 101 (recording and PowerPoint)
- Best Practices in Working with Immigrant Youth (recording and PowerPoint)
- Ethical Considerations in Representing Child Clients (recording and PowerPoint)
- Texas State Court Tips for SIJS Cases (Recording and PowerPoint)
- Lessons from the Juvenile Justice System (Recording and PowerPoint)
- Procedural Protections Termination and Suppression Strategies for Child Clients (recording and PowerPoint)
- Mock Immigration Court Hearing and Tips (recording only)
- Crimmigration (recording only)
- Key Federal Statutes and Litigation (recording only)
- Crafting Your BIA Appeal (recording only)
- The Northern Triangle Today (recording only)
- Family Law 101 (recording only)
- Advanced Family Law for Immigration Practitioners (recording only)
- The Attorney-Expert Relationship in Immigration Matters (recording only)
- Child Development and Child-Interviewing Techniques (recording only)
- Non-Legal Community Resources for Your Clients and Incorporating a Social Services Program (recording only)