What We Do
Full Legal representation of challenging cases
The viability of asylum claims is tenuous because unlike other areas of law, immigration proceedings do not provide court-appointed attorneys despite the complexity and inaccessibility of asylum law. Additionally, the past five years have seen a simultaneous increase in the number of women and children fleeing Central America to escape violent persecution, and an increase in the legal hurdles denying asylum-seekers in the U.S. access to justice, making the path to winning asylum steeper and narrower.
Mabel Center provides free and full legal representation for asylum-seekers with complex cases that existing legal services organizations are unable to accept due to the time commitment required. Many asylum-seekers in Boston are unable to find pro bono attorneys with the capacity to accept cases that involve unsettled precedent, or clients who have been detained, because these cases require immense time and resources. Mabel Center attorneys have developed systems to represent difficult cases successfully and efficiently, allowing us to take complex cases, and more of them.
FAmily Post-Detention PROject
Many asylum-seekers are unaware that they must file their asylum application within one-year of arrival, and one missed court date or filing deadline can trigger an automatic order of deportation, returning women and children to the persecution they fled. Through its Pro Se Clinic, Mabel Center attorneys and paralegals provide guidance for clients that represent themselves without an attorney. By educating asylum-seekers on the immigration court system — including critical deadlines and procedure — and helping asylum-seekers file their asylum application before the one-year deadline, the Pro Se Clinic prevents viable asylum cases from being lost due to missed filing deadlines.
The Pro Se Clinic allows Mabel Center attorneys and paralegals to draft detailed accounts of the persecution that asylum-seekers suffered for their application, and to help asylum-seekers understand the ways in which their past persecution maps onto the rigid legal frameworks of asylum law. Mabel Center assists pro se clients in filing their application on time, and with the correct immigration agencies, ensuring that their asylum claims are preserved.
Additionally, Mabel Center attorneys file work permit applications for their pro se clients, allowing asylum-seekers to work while they await their asylum hearing, and to hire an affordable attorney to represent them in immigration court. Former clients have reported that their private attorneys have lowered their fees by almost half due to the depth and quality of the asylum application prepared in the Pro Se Clinic.
Commitment to Border Issues
Mabel Center has established strong partnerships with several legal service organizations at the Texas/Mexico border. These organizations refer asylum-seekers relocating to Massachusetts to Mabel Center. Mabel Center attorneys and staff volunteer at the border once a year, helping asylum-seekers with complex cases there. Our partners and our border work keep us informed of the legal issues affecting our clients, as they evolve. Working with, and advocating for, asylum-seekers at the border gives us a window into their experiences at this stage, including their interactions with U.S. officials upon apprehension. An awareness of border issues contributes to our ability to craft winning arguments for asylum claims in the Boston Immigration Court. We strive to put access to justice issues, which may remain in the shadows – in tent courts at the border, or in detention centers in remote areas of Texas – on the radar of fellow advocates, here in New England.
Mabel Center attorneys responded to the pandemic by shifting to working with clients remotely and to submitting documents electronically. Our past experience working with clients at the US-Mexico border remotely, prepared us for situations in which we have to conduct in-depth client meetings by phone, in circumstances that make connecting meaningfully with clients more challenging. Additionally, we utilize phone apps that allow clients to submit crucial documents in the required format and to submit biographical details required for applications and filings. The ability to function quickly under extremely difficult conditions has been critical to our ability to provide uninterrupted legal services during the pandemic. In fact, the demand for our services grew higher than ever, as other legal service organizations shut down or severely limited their services and referred clients to Mabel Center.