Fall 2025 Justice For All Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Program Fundraising Campaign

DIRE NEED FOR LEGAL SUPPORT

The Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Program provides pro bono legal representation, as well as Know-Your-Rights presentations, to immigrants and survivors of human trafficking across Massachusetts. Due to significantly increased application fees created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, there is now a dire need for funding to help pay immigration filing fees for our low-income clients. Many of our clients are struggling to pay rent, feed their families and manage their physical and mental health as they recover from persecution and trauma. It is more important than ever to help our clients access the immigration benefits they deserve as the Administration heightens efforts to remove noncitizens, separate families and weaken support for trafficking survivors.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Due to budget cuts caused by the administration's attacks on higher education, our program can't hire Legal Assistants without your support.  These Legal Assistant positions are vital for our program to represent low-income clients, train law students, and provide educational outreach to marginalized communities. Legal Assistants are third-year law students who have taken the Clinic previously and are handling complex, challenging cases that require advanced legal training. In addition to providing top-notch representation and outreach under the supervision of the Clinic’s Directors, these law students have the opportunity to build their skillsets to become excellent public interest attorneys in the fields of immigrants’ rights and anti-trafficking work.

Additionally, we will use the funds from this campaign to pay the newly enacted immigration fees in the One Big Beautiful Act. For example, the asylum process previously had zero to minimal fees, recognizing that asylum seekers are particularly vulnerable. Now this process includes yearly fees as well as exorbitant fees to file work permits. This legislation has limited access to fee waivers, where low income asylum seekers could try to waive these fees. As a result, to ensure that immigrants can seek asylum, we need your help to provide funding for their filing fees. The IRHTP exclusively serves low-income clients who cannot otherwise afford legal representation because income should not be a deciding factor in a person’s access to justice.

GOALS

Our goal is to raise $17,600.  Due to the current uncertainty for both immigration law and higher education, any funds we can secure for the future are invaluable. 

• $11,200 dollars will allow us to hire 4 Legal Assistants per year.

• $6,000 dollars will allow us to assist 20 immigrants with immigration filing fees, including asylum, motions to reopen, work card applications, and required medical examinations.

• $400 dollars will support 5 Know-Your-Rights presentations, including transportation for students, materials, printing of Know Your Rights, and related expenses.

• Total goal of $17,600.

With your help, we aim to raise $17,600 to ensure the funding of our program for next year, allowing us to serve immigrants and victims of human trafficking. Any money beyond the $17,600 will be used in future years to support these goals.