American Gateways which provides legal assistance to immigrants in more than 20 Central Texas counties is excited to announce that its Waco office is hosting its first Equal Justice Works Fellow, Alicia Alvarado. The Equal Justice Works Fellowship is a two-year program through which Alicia will provide immigration legal services to low-income detained asylum seekers and incarcerated noncitizens seeking help at the intersection of criminal and immigration law. Founded in 1986, Equal Justice Works facilitates Fellowships at legal services organizations to help fulfill our nation’s promise of equal justice for all.
Analí Looper, Director of the Waco Office of American Gateways said, “We are incredibly excited for this unique opportunity to serve more individuals in the Waco area, which has a growing immigrant population.” Looper went on to add, “Alicia will provide critical advocacy and representation that will significantly impact not only the lives of those she directly represents but also their families.”
Detained immigrants are less likely to secure representation. Through her fellowship, Alicia will work with detained noncitizens in detention centers surrounding the Waco area—among these are the McLennan County Jail, Jack Harwell Detention Center, and Limestone County Detention Center. The services range from education, assistance, advocacy, direct representation before the immigration court and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), and crimmigration advisals which are provided for noncitizens and their criminal defense attorneys who are legally required to provide their noncitizen clients with information about the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. Convictions can often times have a profound effect on the noncitizen’s future in the United States and lead to unnecessary deportation and family separation. Criminal defense attorneys who have court-appointed noncitizen clients are invited to contact American Gateways for immigration advisals for their clients.
MORE: Contact Edna Yang, American Gateways, 512-478-0546 ext. 202 or ednay@americangateways.org
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American Gateways champions the rights of immigrants, refugees and survivors of persecution, torture, conflict, and human trafficking through immigration legal services, at low or no cost, as well as education and advocacy.
