Released on June 25, 2024
AUSTIN, Texas –– The Texas Access to Justice Foundation awarded Texas Immigration Law Council a transformative three-year grant for an Economic Justice initiative to narrow legal service gaps for immigrants across Texas.
The initiative will pilot bold new strategies to narrow justice gaps for low-income immigrants by deploying 15 Texas Immigrant Law Council Attorney Fellows, 15 Texas Immigrant Law Council Community Justice Worker Fellows partnered with 3 Equal Justice Works Fellows hosted by TxILC. The program will help immigrants across various geographies of Texas, including rural areas. These fellows will test ways attorneys and community justice workers can combine forces with community-based organizations to significantly reduce the justice gaps for low-income immigrants in need of legal help, including employment, consumer and housing law matters.
“Texas Access to Justice Foundation asked our legal service community to think big and propose bold solutions to help change the landscape of justice for low-income individuals in Texas and that is exactly what we did,” said Anne Chandler, Executive Director of Texas Immigration Law Council. “A program of this scope and subject matter is new for Texas and we are grateful for the opportunity to put this innovative project in place. Services that help immigrants with issues such as getting paid for work performed and help with transferring title on their home will have an outsized positive impact on Texas communities.” Sponsored by TAJF, Equal Justice Works Fellows will play a key part in project implementation. “We are honored to be selected to partner with TxILC. Equal Justice Works Fellows will fulfill a lead role in project implementation and help build the knowledge base around effective interventions that bring community justice workers and attorneys together,” said Kristen Uhler-McKeown, Vice President of Fellowships at Equal Justice Works.
The goal of the Economic Justice initiative is quite simple: to develop a robust statewide collaborative network of community justice workers and attorneys equipped to help low-income immigrants in Texas access basic legal needs. In the long-term, the goal is to pilot innovative and sustainable practices to create lasting change for Texas.
About Texas Access to Justice Foundation: The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) is the leading funder of civil legal aid to the poor in Texas. Created in 1984 by the Supreme Court of Texas, TAJF support for civil legal aid benefits hundreds of thousands of low-income Texans including victims of crime, abused and neglected children, veterans, the elderly and the homeless.
About Texas Immigration Law Council: Texas Immigration Law Council (TxILC) obtained 501(c)(3) status in February of 2024 with a mission to protect and promote the rights of immigrants and refugees in Texas. The organization formed to take-on bold strategies to significantly help immigrants access justice and to move forward practical immigration solutions.
About Equal Justice Works: Founded in 1986, Equal Justice Works is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for lawyers to transform their passion for equal justice into a lifelong commitment to public service. As the nation’s largest facilitator of opportunities in public interest law, Equal Justice Works brings together an extensive network of law students, lawyers, nonprofit legal aid organizations, and supporters to promote a lifelong commitment to public service and equal justice.
Contact: If you are interested in joining this effort as a funder, a pro bono legal service partner, or as a community partner, please reach out to Anne Chandler, info@txilc.org, Voice 512 316 7073.
