Center For Gender And Refugee Studies- California

Technical Assistance & Training: CGRS-CA uses the affiliated Center's unique and efficient web-based interface to provide legal technical assistance to attorneys and other advocates representing asylum seekers throughout California. Advocates submit a request online, providing basic information about their clients country of origin, type of persecution feared, specific legal obstacles, and other relevant information. We then provide them access to tailored litigation resource materials that include, but are not limited to, practice advisories, in-depth manuals, model briefs, unpublished immigration court decisions, country conditions research, and expert witness referrals. Continued on Schedule O

Policy and Advocacy:Immigration and refugee law is made at the federal level, but it directly affects refugees and immigrants residing in California. CGRS-California analyzes immigration policy through research and tracking of cases, and educates the California legal, immigrant, and refugee communities about legislation and other policy proposals and their implications. The goal of this work is to promote law and public policies and procedures that recognize and advance the rights of asylum seekers and other immigrants seeking status in the United States and that align with international norms.

Litigation:We undertake strategic litigation on behalf of refugees and other immigrants in California before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)including the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appealsthe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and other federal Courts of Appeals. We become involved in influential cases as counsel or co-counsel, as amicus curiae, and as expert consultants to the attorneys and advocacy organizations in such cases. Our goal is to advance the law to provide maximum protection for individuals fleeing persecution in line with the United States international obligations and ensure that the due process rights of refugees and other immigrants are upheld.