Volunteer services are vital to our St. Frances Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance’s ability to provide high-quality immigration legal services to the Houston community. Last year, the Cabrini Center utilized more than 4,500 hours of pro bono services.
Cabrini Center seeks the assistance of pro bono attorneys for both litigation and administrative cases. For attorneys who are interested in taking on a case, we typically seek assistance with:
Asylum cases, both affirmatively through the Houston Asylum Office and defensively with the Immigration Court
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status cases, for juveniles who have been abandoned or abused by their parents in their home countries
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)* cases, for domestic violence survivors to self-petition for immigration benefits
T Visa cases, for victims of human trafficking
U Visa cases, for victims of serious crimes.
*We currently have a great need for pro bono representation of VAWA cases.
If you are interested in volunteering as a pro bono attorney, please contact Pro Bono Coordinator and Staff Attorney Maria Mitchell at mamitchell@catholiccharities.org, and complete the steps to become a volunteer.
Cabrini Center also relies on volunteers who are law students. Law students are exposed to the full spectrum of Cabrini Center’s immigration caseload. Cabrini Center accepts law student volunteers during the summer and during the school year.
If you are interested in volunteering as a law student, please contact Outreach Coordinator Alyssa Firkus at afirkus@catholiccharities.org, and complete the Pro Bono Attorney application.
Cabrini Center also seeks assistance from non-attorney volunteers. Other volunteer services that we typically require include assistance in translating documents and assistance with administrative office tasks.
If you are interested in volunteering at the Cabrini Center in this non-attorney capacity, please contact Christy Salinas at csalinas@catholiccharities.org and specify that you would like to work for Cabrini Center. You will need to complete the steps to become a volunteer.
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