ABA project celebrates 10 years of supporting unaccompanied youths
In 2015, the ABA Commission on Immigration launched the Children’s Immigration Law Academy to support attorneys who were assisting the increasing number of unaccompanied children crossing the United States-Mexico border.
Since then, the Children’s Immigration Law Academy, which is based in Houston, has evolved into a national program that helps build the capacity of nonprofit organizations that represent children who face deportation. Among its initiatives is providing training, technical assistance and resources to legal and social services providers and pro bono attorneys.
The Children’s Immigration Law Academy also supports pro bono programs nationwide through its online platform, Pro Bono Matters for Children Facing Deportation. It was created in 2019 to help legal service providers connect interested pro bono attorneys with children’s cases. According to Dalia Castillo-Granados, the program’s director, at least 20 organizations post cases on the platform.
“We hope to be able to continue providing our core services to advocates for many more years to come,” says Castillo-Granados, who co-founded the Children’s Immigration Law Academy with Yasmin Yavar, who serves as the program’s deputy director. “The work was critical when we started CILA, and it is critical now.”
For more on Castillo-Granados and Yavar and their founding of the Children’s Immigration Law Academy, see this November 2022 ABA Journal article.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Children’s Immigration Law Academy is hosting “Ten Years Pursuing Justice for Unaccompanied Children,” a virtual roundtable discussion on Sept. 23 with experts who work with unaccompanied youths. It also will host an in-person celebration in Houston on Nov. 6.
“Yasmin and I are so thankful for the support of the ABA, our advisory committee, those who have partnered with us and our amazing staff, current and former,” Castillo-Granados says. “CILA is a dream come true.”
For more information or to support its work, visit the Children’s Immigration Law Academy website.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
