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The big picture: A lawyer from New York, Debbie volunteered with the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC) to help medically-vulnerable detained immigrants seek release after mismanagement at U.S. Customs and Enforcement (ICE) facilities led to preventable outbreaks of COVID-19.
- CREEC had recently helped win a case — Fraihat v. ICE — that opened the door for thousands of medically-vulnerable immigrants in detention to be potentially released.
- Debbie would eventually volunteer for CREEC and several allied organizations to help immigrants advocate for their release to safer living conditions.
A track record of advocacy: Debbie started volunteering to support detained immigrants fifteen years ago, working with a local nonprofit to visit with them for a few hours every other week.
- “I found the detention facilities so oppressive,” she says. “And I only had to be there for a few hours. The people I visited were stuck living there.”
- Debbie developed a particular bond with two people who had lost their cases, so she got to work finding them a law firm to provide pro bono representation.
- Both people were eventually released — and Debbie is still in contact with them to this day.
“Capturing their humanity:” A few years later, Debbie decided she wanted to continue supporting detained immigrants, but struggled to find any opportunities as a solo practitioner.
- Thankfully, Debbie found We The Action and signed up for a project with CREEC, where she started giving limited representation to detained immigrants seeking release.
- Detained immigrants don’t have a right to representation — and most can’t afford it — so the free legal support Debbie and other volunteer lawyers offer is often their best chance at release.
- “Debbie put together applications that captured the humanity of her clients,” says Elizabeth Jordan, the Director of CREEC’s Immigration Detention Accountability Project. “She took her clients’ humanity to heart, and that’s what sets her work apart.”
“Life or death:” CREEC says that the immigrants they serve would otherwise be alone in fighting their immigration cases, and a volunteer lawyer can be the difference that helps someone get released.
- Along with representing detained immigrants, volunteer lawyers also helped CREEC file a motion, which was granted last October, to hold ICE accountable for how badly they were processing requests for release.
- “Sometimes people say things are life or death, but it’s literally true for people in detention,” Elizabeth says. “Volunteer lawyers make the difference between deciding if someone could go home to their families.”
You can make a difference: Debbie says that since We The Action’s platform makes it easy for lawyers to find projects that fit their time restrictions and interests, every lawyer should consider volunteering.
- “I feel like I have this skill that I can use to help people,” Debbie says. “It is incredibly fulfilling to help make a difference in people’s lives.”
- Whatever your experience level, location, or availability, Debbie says We The Action has a project for you.
- “You really feel like you’re doing something good with your education and helping the world,” Debbie says. “The only thing bad about it is that I want to do every project!”
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