October's Amicus Mundi winner has already reunited three detained immigrant children with their families/sponsors.

Every month, we give the Amicus Mundi Award to a We The Action lawyer who goes above and beyond to help build a more just and equitable nation.

With a crisis raging on the U.S.-Mexico border, we’re proud to give this month’s Amicus Mundi Award to a lawyer who has already helped reunite three detained children with their families or sponsors here in the U.S.


** Congratulations, Maggie Anderson-Murphy!
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The big picture: A lawyer from Connecticut, Maggie has helped three children, ages 13-17, who were detained at the U.S.-Mexico border reunite with their families or sponsors in America.
* After volunteering with We The Action to help protect the 2020 election, Maggie decided to explore opportunities in an area that’s interested her for years: immigration.
* “I always wished that I could do more than just sit back, read about [the border crisis], and shake my head,” she says. “I thought this project was a chance to have more of a hands-on impact.”

A trusted voice: She signed up with VECINA — an organization that mobilizes and educates pro bono attorneys to respond to immigration crises — who paired her with a volunteer project manager and translator, whom she’s been working with ever since.
* VECINA then started pairing the team with sponsors — usually a family member — trying to gain custody of a detained minor. In just a few months, Maggie’s team has already reunited three children with their sponsors.
* “Everyone loves working with Maggie,” says Molly Chew, Director of the ReUnite Project’s Children’s Unit, which VECINA runs. “There have been a number of times that we’ve received a particularly complicated case and we knew immediately that we needed to assign it to her.”

An ambassador for volunteerism: Maggie’s employer offers opportunities to work on pro bono projects on company time, and she’s used her work with VECINA to encourage her colleagues to take on pro bono projects themselves.
* “Even if you volunteer just a few hours, you’ll feel good about helping someone else,” she says. “And on a day when other things don’t go so well, you’ll still have the good work you've done. That’s very powerful.”

“All the difference in the world”: VECINA has already reunited nearly 200 unaccompanied minors with sponsors, and they say that none of their work would be possible without the help of volunteer lawyers like Maggie.
* “Regaining custody of a minor is a long, confusing, and daunting process for sponsors, especially if they are undocumented themselves,” Molly says. “To have someone like Maggie, who is not only knowledgeable but has compassion, makes all the difference in the world.”

You can make a difference too: VECINA says that they need lawyers — even if their background isn’t in immigration — because the alternative is often that the sponsor never gets legal representation at all. That’s why VECINA offers training and mentorship to new lawyers.
* “Just a little bit of advocacy can help a child get released and reunited with their family or sponsor,” Molly says. “Those few hours you donate amount to something beyond measure in the lives of these children.”


** On behalf of 41,000+ We The Action volunteer lawyers: Thank you, Maggie!
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Want to get involved in VECINA’s work to help immigrants in the United States solve their legal issues? Click here to sign up for their new project to help Afghan nationals apply for humanitarian parole to enter the U.S. ([link removed]) ! ([link removed])

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