Dear Friend of PAIR,

Welcome to another edition of our monthly volunteer email! And we have some exciting news here at PAIR: yesterday, we launched our inaugural Asylum Cohort! Our Spring 2022 cohort consists of 45 pro bono attorneys who have committed to represent an asylum seeker by the end of the year. Our pro bono attorneys can take a case either individually or in a small team.

In addition to substantive legal and advocacy trainings throughout the spring/summer, all cohort members receive direct mentorship from a PAIR staff attorney—so there is support every step of the way. We are thrilled to welcome our first Asylum Cohort to our pro bono community!

If you are interested in joining the Fall 2022 cohort, please fill out this short form.

There are also other ways to join our team and make an enormous impact in an asylum seeker's life—please see below!

In solidarity,
Melanie
Pro Bono Involvement Coordinator at PAIR
Available Pro Bono Cases



To read the longer case abstract for each the cases below, please click here.

If you are an attorney and are interested in taking on one of the below cases, please email me at mgleason@pairproject.org.


  • Asylum (Defensive): NEGV (Guatemala) is a 36 year old woman who fled her home country due to death threats from gang members who killed her father. NEGV has an upcoming 1 year filing deadline on May 29.

  • Asylum (Defensive): LRC (Ecuador) is a 28 year old woman who fled her home country due to physical attacks and death threats made against her by her partner's uncle due to her sexual orientation. LRC has an upcoming 1 year filing deadline on June 1.

  • Asylum (Affirmative): LAMG (Guatemala) is a 29 year old woman who fears returning to her home country because she identifies as transgender.

  • Unaccompanied Child/Asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (Defensive): SDS (Honduras) is a 19 year old young woman who fled to the United States after struggling with abuse she suffered in her home country and her family receiving threats.

  • Unaccompanied Child/Asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (Defensive): LGG (El Salvador) is a 19 year old young woman who fled to the United States because of her fear of the MS-13 gang and because there was no one to care for her in El Salvador.

  • Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (Affirmative): JAHF (Colombia) is a 20 year old young woman who arrived in the United States alone as a 17 year old.

Legal Updates for Pro Bono Attorneys
Address for I-589 filings for NE residents has changed

USCIS has updated its filing address for residents of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont who are filing affirmative asylum applications (I-589). However, please note that the filing location for I-589s of unaccompanied children (“UACs”) has NOT changed. All other affirmative I-589 applications for NE residents should now be filed with the:
 
California Service Center
P.O. Box 10881
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-0881
 
If sending by FedEx, UPS, or DHL:
 
USCIS California Service Center
Attn: I-589
24000 Avila Road
2nd Floor, Room 2312
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
 
New procedures for consideration of prosecutorial discretion (PD)

For pro bono attorneys who have clients in removal proceedings, please be aware of new procedures for consideration of prosecutorial discretion in the form of dismissal, administrative closure, or other actions in your client's removal proceedings. We recommend that attorneys reach out to your PAIR mentor to discuss the impact of these procedures on your case, but especially if your client has a hearing coming up in the next six months.

You can find the PD memo on the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) website by clicking here.
#PAIRVolunteer

Whether you are a paralegal, interpreter, licensed attorney, or community volunteer—you can get involved to make an impact.

Click the button below to let us know how you'd like to help! (And thanks to those who already have done so; we will be in touch later this spring/summer with next steps!)
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