Get Involved

According to 2024 information provided by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), an alarming 40+% of unaccompanied children go to immigration court without legal representation. Legal representation makes a difference! Many children have legal relief available that could offer them protection and more security in the United States. The only thing missing is knowledge and guidance to navigate the system. Until unaccompanied children have appointed attorneys representing them, there is a need for pro bono attorneys to fill the gap.

With the increased media attention on the United States’ Southern border, CILA wanted to provide some information regarding the systems involved and context to what is happening. Read CILA's Fact Sheet: Unaccompanied Children at the Border to gain insight about the advocacy needs for unaccompanied children. Below, we include some key resources to understand CILA's stance on the issues that we hope will encourage you to get involved with this important work.

Read the ABA’s Commission on Immigration explainer, “Unaccompanied Minors in Immigration Court: The Critical Role of Legal Representation” describing why legal representation is crucial for unaccompanied children in immigration court proceedings.

From a policy perspective:

Read the ABA's top policy recommendations for the immigration system, including issues affecting unaccompanied children in Achieving America’s Immigration Promise. The ABA also drafted the Standards for the Custody, Placement and Care; Legal Representation; and Adjudication of Unaccompanied Alien Children in the United States to provide guiding principles for children’s immigration law.

From the pro bono perspective:

CILA is a project of the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration (COI). Follow COI’s blog, titled Generating Justice: Immigration Reflections from the Border and Beyond. Take a look at a July 2023 blog post, “How the ABA Helped Me Do Pro Bono Border Work.” The author visited the ProBAR office and learned about their work providing legal services to those at risk of deportation. She also met with migrants, observed court proceedings, and witnessed the challenges and inspiring work of ProBAR staff.

From the advocates' perspective:

Learn from advocates working with unaccompanied children and youth. Watch a video co-created by CILA and South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), entitled Standing with Children: Unaccompanied Children and the Need for Pro Bono Representation, to hear from legal staff providers and a pro bono attorney regarding what it is like to work with children in their immigration cases.

In CILA’s art project initiative, CILA invited advocates to share a word that represents why they are engaged and working with immigrant children. Get inspired by watching this short video compiling the advocates’ submissions.

The unaccompanied child and youth experience:

We encourage you to take a moment and a look at CILA’s video, Listen to My Voice/Escuche Mi Voz. Listen to My Voice/Escuche Mi Voz tells the story of three young adults—Anabel, Vicente, and Nancy—who entered the United States as unaccompanied children. Anabel, Vicente, and Nancy describe their experiences as unaccompanied children who had to navigate the U.S. legal system with the assistance of legal service providers. Anabel, Vicente, and Nancy share their experiences to provide guidance and advice to youth, as well as advocates.

Watch a video created by the ABA’s Commission on Immigration (COI) entitled Tu Futuro, Tu Voz (Your Future, Your Voice) to hear from four young adults, Jiveli, Nancy, Adolfo, and René, from Central America who came to the United States as unaccompanied children. They share what it was like to work with legal service providers as children and provide advice about the legal immigration process for youth.

We encourage you to share these videos with other advocates and youth who might want to listen to the powerful, valuable voices of these youth. Both videos are posted on CILA’s youth webpages where you can find more information directed towards immigrant youth as well as relevant resources.

There are other ways to contribute and/or stay connected to CILA's work:

• Sign up to receive CILA’s quarterly newsletter, Pro Bono Matters, geared towards pro bono attorneys plus those who want to learn more about and support immigrant children facing deportation.

• Follow CILA on LinkedIn and Facebook where we announce new resources for pro bono attorneys, highlight opportunities from our network, and promote CILA events and MCLE training webinars.

• Advocate with local leaders for policy and legislative change. Visit the ABA Commission on Immigration's Legislation & Policy page to get ideas.

• Browse cases from CILA's Pro Bono Matters for Children Facing Deportation platform. Sign up to receive updates, an opportunity matching your skills may be posted in the near future!

• Request legal or social services technical assistance if you are working with children and youth in their immigration case. Create a CILA Account to access our resources.

Ready to work with immigrant children and youth?

Check out our Pro Bono 101 webpage.

Legal service providers often serve a high volume of immigrant children and youth with limited time and resources. CILA was founded with the mission of ensuring more immigrant youth are represented by providing the resources and expertise needed to support those who endeavor to assist them. By donating to CILA, you are helping us continue to build capacity for those working to advance the rights of children seeking protection in the United States.

CILA is the only expert legal resource center focused entirely on children’s immigration matters nationwide. Learn more about CILA's history, staff, advisory committee, read testimonials about us from advocates, and check out our Annual Reports.