Legal Support
The SWG is not a legal services organization, but we do our best to connect the people we work with to quality legal support to help them navigate the American immigration legal system.
What we’re up to now:
Documents
Now that DHS has agents in immigration court, immigrants are more scared than ever to attend their mandatory court dates. Even people trying to do everything according to the law are being detained and taken away from their families.
At the SWG, we may not have lawyers, but we have an abundance of community support. Currently, we are facilitating an Accompaniment Program where volunteers from our communities can be trained by experienced SWG members who have been accompanying people to court and ICE check-ins for years. We are able to then match up volunteers with folks who have submitted requests for accompaniment so no one has to go to court or an ICE check-in alone. The Accompaniment Program is not legal support, but a vital lifeline for many people at during these scary times. Learn more below.
What we’ve done in the past:
In January of 2024, thanks to funding from the MacArthur Foundation, we were able to hire a part-time Legal Services Coordinator. Ngozi worked with the SWG to help get our program participants connected to low- or pro-bono legal aid while also helping them get their documents in order on a pro se basis. She was able to receive requests from member orgs and program participants and guide them in the right direction while answering the questions they had about navigating the application process.
In June of 2024, the SWG held a legal clinic that was able to help 17 families file for asylum. Prior to the actual clinic, we held a screening workshop where anyone was able to come and determine their eligibility for asylum with the lawyers we were able to hire for the day.
