Amica Center for Immigrant Rights
The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (formerly known as CAIR Coalition) confronts the impact that the unjust immigration system has on their clients and communities through direct legal representation, impact litigation, education, and client-centered advocacy. Founded in 1999 and renamed in 2024, they are the only nonprofit in the Capital region primarily focused on assisting immigrants in detention.
While rooted in the DMV, their reach is national. They serve adults and unaccompanied children who are detained across the U.S. and lead high-impact litigation to challenge systemic injustices in immigration law. Their three core programs are: the Adult Program, the Children’s Program, and the Immigration Impact Lab, which advances precedent-setting litigation in multiple federal circuits. They also train pro bono attorneys and advocate for greater due process protections for immigrants in coalition with local and national partners. Their client-centered model ensures they stand alongside immigrants at every step, because everyone deserves to be free, safe, and supported.
THE CASE
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CLSEPA v. HHS - Access to Legal Representation for Unaccompanied Children: Amica Center is challenging the government’s termination of a nationwide program that provides legal representation and services to unaccompanied children.
When the government ended its legal representation program for unaccompanied immigrant children, over 26,000 children in the U.S. became at risk of immediately losing their attorneys. These children, alone in the U.S. without parents and facing deportation, rely on legal counsel as their only defense and advocate. Many have strong claims for protection due to trafficking, abuse, and violence. Without attorneys, they are effectively unable to navigate the immigration system or fight their cases.
The case is co-counseled by Amica Center, Justice Action Center, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Gibson Dunn, filed on behalf of 11 co-plaintiff legal services organizations in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (N.D. Cal.).
