RAICES provides legal services to asylum-seekers who may be eligible for relief on humanitarian grounds. The primary asylum claim could be due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Individuals who have been persecuted or who have a credible fear of persecution and who are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of their country of origin can apply for asylum protection from the U.S. government.

The asylum cases that we handle are complex, fraught, and challenging. Asylum seekers are coming from countries where there is no stability, where violence against them or their families is common, and where they have no hope of building a peaceful life for themselves or their children.

Call 210-222-0964 to make an appointment.

Our Direct Services team consists of social workers and case managers devoted to meeting our client’s basic necessities.

We carry out these services by providing individualized needs assessments, emotional support, resource linkage, empowerment, and education.

Our services include, but are not limited to:

• ICE/ISAP/Court Accompaniment
• School Registration
• Access to:
  • Nutrition
  • Clothing Assistance
  • ESL Classes
  • Medical Care
  • Mental Health
  • Dental Care
  • Housing
  • Internet Connection/Wifi
  • Safety Planning
  • Transportation

For more information, contact us.

Each RAICES office handles DACA renewals, and our attorneys advise DACA recipients on all aspects of their immigration cases.

DACA and other federal programs are complex and are cost-prohibitive. RAICES helps beneficiaries of DACA and other programs with fee assistance, paperwork filings, and other legal advice for recipients of these programs.

Call 210-222-0964 to make an appointment.

The Karnes Pro Bono Project was launched in 2014 by a group of attorneys committed to serving the legal needs of women and children in the newly opened Karnes family detention center (“Karnes”). The project has since come under the direction of RAICES, providing free legal services to people in ICE custody at Karnes. The families are typically forced to pass a credible or reasonable fear interview before being released to pursue asylum. Failure to meet these requirements for asylum can lead to deportation, which can mean a return to persecution and death.

RAICES supports detained families by preparing them for their screening interviews, representing them in hearings before an immigration judge if they fail their interview, and submitting requests for reconsideration to the Asylum Office if the immigration judge affirms the negative interview decision. When the need arises, RAICES has helped persons detained at Karnes with parole requests, bond motions, asylum applications, representation in final asylum hearings in immigration court, and appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Our work also includes public advocacy campaigns and regular litigation and policy advocacy involvement.

For more information, contact us.

RAICES established the LEAF fund to ensure that children coming to this country can receive quality legal representation both in detention centers and once they are released. In 2018, our specially-trained team provided ongoing legal counsel to 400 children, and more than 4,500 children received training to help them understand their rights here in the United States.

The LEAF fund is a major source of support for the many RAICES programs benefiting unaccompanied children. Our children’s programs include:

• “Know Your Rights” presentations and legal screenings for thousands of children
• An advocate for children who have had their rights violated
• Legal representation for children both in detention and post-release
• Post-detention care, including ongoing access to counsel for children in their immigration cases
• Assistance with other fees associated with immigration documentation, forms, and applications

Call 210-222-0964 to make an appointment.

The RAICES Bond Program is a Texas-based bond fund that seeks to mitigate the harmful effects of and otherwise dismantle ICE detention.

The RAICES Bond Program started in 2014 to cover the release of mothers and children, then held in Family Detention Centers in Texas and Pennsylvania. In June 2018, the Program grew when a viral Facebook fundraiser inspired more than 500,000 individual donors who were furious at the government ripping families apart and the otherwise inhumane treatment of immigrants in the United States. Since then, we have responded to daily requests from people in detention, and our Bond Program covers people within the geographic scope of the state of Texas.

During workplace raids and the Zero Tolerance Family Separation of 2018, we have been on the ground. By building closer connections with participants, the Program gives people more resources and a greater degree of agency to navigate the complex immigration system and U.S. society more broadly. We believe that paying an individual’s bond is a short-term intervention to free someone from detention, while our long-term goal is ending the harmful practice of ICE detention.

We are proud members of the National Bail Fund Network, a bail and bond fund network seeking to end mass incarceration, including ICE detention.

Please fill out our form to apply for assistance through our bond fund

For questions, contact us.

RAICES serves community members in all of our Texas regions in defending themselves against deportation in Immigration Court. Because immigration proceedings are civil rather than criminal, immigrants have the right to counsel. Still, the immigrant bears the onus to pay for an attorney, and the “lack of appointed counsel may have a profound impact on immigrant’s ability to receive a fair hearing.”

RAICES attorneys represent people in detention seeking release through bond, and we handle a full range of defenses for people in custody and those who are fighting their court cases following release.

To request help defending a case in Immigration Court, you or your family can call the RAICES office nearest to you, or if your home is in San Antonio, please get in touch with our Immigration Detention Hotline at (800) 409-2893.

Know someone who is currently detained? Click here to get help.

The path to citizenship in the United States is a long and often torturous road. The list of eligibility requirements is long, and the process is complex. Even so, each year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services grants citizenship to roughly 700,000 – 750,000 people.

RAICES provides low-cost assistance with residency or citizenship applications.

Appointments are available at all RAICES offices, where, for a small fee, a lawyer will meet with clients. The consultation will also determine eligibility for RAICES services.

Please call 210-222-0964 to make an appointment.

The San Antonio Community and Donation Center serves RAICES clients as an inclusive and welcoming space for all newcomers.

Eligible clients may receive clothing, shoes, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, small housewares, and baby supplies.

Clients can attend community events such as medical clinics, toys, and school supply drives.

Must be a RAICES client.

We always seek donations of new items to meet our client’s basic daily living needs. The following contributions are only accepted in San Antonio, TX.

For more information, please get in touch with our SACDC staff at [email protected] and review the Community and Donation Centers pamphlet.

Accepted new donations include:

• Clothing (including professional work/court attire)
• Shoes
• Car seats
• Boxes of Diapers (all sizes)
• Baby wipes
• Household Cleaning supplies
• Hygiene Items
• Toys (infant – teen)
• Gift Cards (grocery stores, VISA, Mastercard)

The Refugee Wellness & Adjustment Counseling program is offered to all Refugee Resettlement clients.

This program offers free, confidential services with a licensed mental health provider to support clients during resettlement.

The program is generously supported by philanthropic funding.

Eligible populations: current or former refugee resettlement client of RAICES.

Free.

The RAICES Refugee Cash Assistance Program is state-funded, supporting newly arrived refugees in becoming self-sufficient.

Services include:

• cash assistance
• refugee medical assistance enrollment
• employment assistance referrals

Eligible Populations:

• Refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders
• Cuban/Haitian entrants
• Asylees
• Victims of Trafficking
• and Humanitarian Parolees

Free.

This program helps clients attain economic self-sufficiency by providing comprehensive case management and services leading to employment within 120-180 days after their eligibility for the program.

Services include:

• case management
• employment and job skills
• and cash assistance

To be eligible for this program, the applicant must be:

• a newly arrived refugee
• a Special Immigrant Visa holder from Iraq or Afghanistan
• an asylee
• a victim of trafficking
• a Cuban/Haitian entrant
• employable (or a family member of another applicant who is)

The R&P program is the initial and core program welcoming refugees to the United States.

RAICES provides refugees with furnished housing, transportation and interpretation services, and Cultural orientation classes while connecting clients to supportive services including healthcare, education, and English classes. Referrals for benefits and employment opportunities are offered as well.

Our trauma informed case management services are provided to all of our newcomers during the first 90 days from arrival. RAICES staff work in partnership with volunteers, social service providers, local faith-based groups and many community partners and employers to welcome and support refugees in their new home. RAICES is an affiliate of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).

Eligible populations: Refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders.

Free.