Child looking at the courthouse alone

Legal Programs

No Child Should Face Immigration Court Alone

KIND provides attorneys to represent unaccompanied children through their legal proceedings in collaboration with a robust network of over 804 law firms, corporations, law schools and bar associations partners. Our dedicated team trains and mentors our volunteers throughout their cases with us.  Our staff also represent these children and provide Know Your Rights presentations in the cities in which we work to share vital information with communities in need.  

Learn more about the recent J.O.P. v. DHS Class Action Settlement: J.O.P. v. DHS, No. 19-1944 is a certified nationwide class action venued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland challenging a Trump administration policy that limited the ability to seek asylum for certain children who arrived in the country alone. Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), along with The National Immigration Project, Public Counsel, and Goodwin Procter represent the plaintiffs in this case, who came to the United States as unaccompanied children (UC) and whose asylum applications would have been rejected by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Trump administration policy.

J.O.P v. DHS

+ 6000
Children Represented Annually
+ 70000
Know Your Rights Presentations
804
Legal Partners

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Meet Our Pro Bono Attorneys

Meet Our Pro Bono Attorneys

Meet the pro bono lawyers who have represented KIND clients and changed the course of their lives.

Meet Our Partners

Meet Our Partners

Meet some of the partners who have made our work possible.

Become a Pro Bono Attorney

Become a Pro Bono Attorney

Learn how you can help change the life of an immigrant and refugee child.
January 28, 2024

KIND Fact Sheet

No child should ever face immigration court alone. Learn more about KIND, who we are, and what we do to protect unaccompanied migrant and refugee children with our KIND Fact Sheet.

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May 5, 2023

Navigating the U.S. Immigration System

Navigating the U.S. immigration system is extremely challenging, especially for children alone.   KIND created this helpful infographic to show the process unaccompanied and accompanied children go ...

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May 2, 2023

Specialized Children’s Dockets in Immigration Court

As part of a holistic vision to create a child-centered approach to the processing of children’s cases, KIND supports the establishment of a children’s court or children’s division of an indepen...

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October 25, 2022

Celebrating the Work of our Pro Bono Attorneys and Partners at KIND

Our pro bono partners make our work possible, and we are grateful for their ongoing support of our organization and the profound impact they have on the lives of the unaccompanied refugee and immigran...

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FAQs

KIND helps immigrant and refugee children who come to the United States without a parent or legal guardian. Most are fleeing pervasive narco-trafficking, human trafficking, and gang violence from which their governments cannot or will not protect them. Others are fleeing severe abuse including sexual and gender-based violence, which includes rape, sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, and forced or early marriage. A number have been abandoned or have lost their caregivers. The children range in age from toddlers to teenagers.

In the United States, immigration judges are 100 times more likely to grant legal relief to unaccompanied children with counsel than to those without. Without a fair chance to make their case, children who need and deserve protection can be sent back to grave harm.

KIND partners with law firms, corporation, bar associations, and law schools which agree to represent children referred to us at no cost. KIND provides training and mentorship–no immigration experience is necessary. KIND’s social services coordinators help children referred to us with their non-legal needs, including counseling and school enrollment.

Hear from Our Attorneys

"Helping the clients in these cases, the children themselves, is really what I am passionate about. These kids are caught in the crossfire of this very dangerous and daunting situation in their home countries and the political strife around immigration in this country. But these are just two young girls who are trying to have a safe childhood with a loving family member, just like any other kids would."
Kira Hettinger Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
"We all have a responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves."
Kurt Hansson Global Vice-Chairman of Paul Hastings LLP
"While the family and Layla won this asylum case because of their ability to tell their story, without attorneys, they wouldn’t have known the stories to tell and the importance of the experiences they had, I don’t think she would have had a shot without an attorney."
Elaine Blais Goodwin Procter LLP
"These kids have nothing else — they don’t have any safety net — we are that safety net…As a lawyer it was an extremely rewarding experience to know that you have a direct impact on helping someone, on changing and molding that person’s life’s story. It really doesn’t get any more rewarding than that."
Buck Dixon Troutman Sanders LLP

Stand Up for Children Alone

Whether or not you have legal expertise, you can help ensure the rights of unaccompanied children are protected.
Learn how you can get involved and support KIND.

 

Get Involved Now