The ABA’s Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA) is located in Houston, Texas. As part of the Houston legal community, CILA wants to uplift the work of several local organizations looking to partner with pro bono attorneys.
On January 13, 2021, CILA along with speakers from KIND Houston, Houston Volunteer Lawyers, Tahirih Justice Center, and Catholic Charities’ Cabrini Center provided a virtual Pro Bono Legal Panel presentation to the Association of Women Attorneys in Houston, Texas. To learn more about CILA’s pro bono initiatives, CILA’s platform Pro Bono Matters for Children Facing Deportation, and opportunities for pro bono engagement with the other Houston organizations, check out the recording of the presentation.
There is a high need for pro bono assistance in children’s cases in Houston, Texas. According to TRAC, Houston is one of the top cities for pending juvenile cases, and there are over 127,000 pending cases for juveniles in Texas, with over half of the cases being unrepresented. Unaccompanied children are also released from Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters to live with sponsors in Texas and Harris County (Houston) in high numbers comparatively to the rest of the country, contributing to the demand for attorneys to represent children locally.
View available cases on CILA’s platform Pro Bono Matters for Children Facing Deportation. If you decide to volunteer, CILA offers several resources on our website such as the Pro Bono Guide and trainings. Additionally, for practitioners in Texas, CILA offers several working groups to help facilitate collaboration and technical assistance to answer specific questions.