Program areas at RAICES
Legal and social Services: as the largest immigration Legal Services agency in Texas, Raices provides trauma-informed, culturally sensitive affirmative and removal defense Legal support to detained and released Immigrant, Refugee, and asylum-seeking people, including representation for families and unaccompanied children in san antonio, austin, corpus christi, dallas-fort worth, and houston, as well as rural areas with historically limited access to counsel. In 2023, Raices oversaw more than 12,600 active cases on behalf of nearly 6,000 individuals from over six dozen socio-politically and economically destabilized nations across north, central, and south america, the caribbean, africa, the middle east, and south and southeast asia. (continued on schedule o)raices additionally provided access to wrap-around social Services case management for unaccompanied children and detained populations, including emergency financial assistance for Legal filing and bond fees, safety planning, and school enrollment.
Rights advocacy: Raices advocacy and litigation priorities Center the needs of Immigrant, Refugee, and asylum-seeking people and families and pursue systemic change with the understanding that prejudicial u.s. policies and practices will not advance unless the american people demand it. In 2023, Raices maintained its defense of families wrongfully separated in 2018 under the zero tolerance policy; advocated vigorously for the human and Legal rights of individuals wrongfully detained in federal government immigration prisons; and sounded the alarm on the threat to asylum nationally with liberty: at times, a multi-channel digital campaign anchored by a seven-story-tall billboard in times square. Throughout the year, Raices initiated more than 43,400 advocacy actions and over 1,685 community volunteer hours.
Refugee resettlement: developed beginning in 2017 with national partner uscri for individuals classified as refugees, asylees, certified victims of severe forms of trafficking, cuban and haitian entrants, certain amerasians, and special Immigrant visa holders from iraq and afghanistan, Raices' Refugee client Services provide pathways for individual and family self-sufficiency in Texas. In 2023, Raices initiated Services for more than 1,300 new clients via initiatives including reception and placement, matching grant, cash and medical assistance, preferred communities, employment Services, social adjustment Services, Refugee health promotion, and pc gaps.