HIAS 2019 Annual Report

HIAS LEGAL SERVICES IN
THE U.S. DEEPEN IMPACT
2019 was a year of significant growth in HIAS’ legal service arena,
with both our New York and Silver Spring offices more than doubling
in size. This growth allowed HIAS to take on more clients, serve
a broader population, expand our pro bono network, enhance
asylee outreach (services to those who have been legally granted
asylum in the U.S.), and more broadly share our expertise with other
organizations. This growing team reaped significant legal victories
with 115 immigration wins, including grants of asylum, work
authorization, and approvals of special immigrant juvenile visas.
These victories included several that benefited survivors of domestic
violence seeking asylum, a particularly difficult status for which to
pursue an asylum claim.
HIAS’ legal clients were
from 51 different countries
HIAS maintains an active
network of pro bono attorneys in
order to offer as much support as
possible to asylees seeking legal
services. In 2019, HIAS matched 96 cases with pro bono attorneys in
the U.S. The addition to our staff in 2019 of a new National Pro Bono
Technical Legal Advisor allowed us to extend our assistance to asylum
seekers beyond New York and Silver Spring. In 2019, HIAS organized
regular pro bono attorney delegations to travel to the U.S.-Mexico
border to help asylum seekers. Groups of attorneys worked with HIAS
partner organizations in California and Texas in offering direct client
support. Some attorneys joined the HIAS office in Juarez, Mexico to
assist in limited legal representation. (See Border discussion on pages
12-15 for further details.)
HIAS’ Wraparound Program connects legal clients and their
families with the broad support that they need as they navigate life in
HIAS Case Stories: Two Young Women
Win Safety and Security in the U.S.
A HIAS attorney represented Andrea,* a young single mother from
Guatemala, and her thirteen-year-old son in winning asylum at the
Baltimore Immigration Court. An older man took Andrea as a child
bride at the age of 14, and she endured years of physical and sexual
abuse, resulting in the birth of two children. Her husband’s family
took her older child away from her on multiple occasions; they also
physically and verbally abused her for years. Andrea fled to the U.S.
in 2016 with only her son, fearful that her young daughter would not
survive the journey. HIAS helped her apply for asylum immediately,
which she was granted in June 2019. Andrea’s HIAS attorney helped
her obtain full custody of her son and petitioned for legal status for her
daughter, so the family could be reunited. Next, HIAS will represent
them in applying for legal permanent residence. HIAS’ wraparound
services connected Andrea with an English tutor and necessary social
services, and she and her son are thriving in Baltimore.
A HIAS attorney represented Maribel,* an eighteen-year-old Honduran
woman, who came to the U.S. in 2016 when she was 14, fleeing from an
MS-13 gang member who kidnapped her on two separate occasions
and sexually abused her. When the gang member decided that Maribel
would be his girlfriend, her family went to the authorities, but they did
nothing to help her. The gang member threatened Maribel, telling her
that her mother had to pay him a large sum of money or he would take
her and kill her family. With HIAS’ help, the U.S. government approved
her application for special immigrant juvenile status, and we are now
helping her apply for legal permanent residence, with an asylum
application pending. HIAS’ wraparound services have connected
Maribel to a social worker to help her heal from the trauma and build
resilience. She looks forward to rebuilding her life in safety in the U.S.
*Andrea and Maribel are pseudonyms used to protect confidentiality.
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