Service Provider Spotlight – RAICES

As part of InReach’s initiative to spotlight service providers on the ground working to support LGBTQ asylum seekers, we’re proud to feature U.S. service provider Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES).

Based in Texas, The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) serves immigrants and refugees in the community by providing immigration-related legal services, advocacy and opportunities for educational and social support. RAICES believes that by actively promoting the well-being and informed participation of immigrants and refugees in the community, everyone benefits.

Founded in 1986 as the Refugee Aid Project by community activists in South Texas, RAICES has grown to be the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas. With offices in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, RAICES is a frontline organization in the roiling debate about immigration and immigrants in the world. As an organization that combines expertise developed from the daily practice of immigration law with a deep commitment to advocacy, RAICES is unique among immigration organizations. A diverse staff of 130 attorneys, legal assistants, and support staff provide consultations, direct legal services, representation, assistance and advocacy to communities in Texas and to clients after they leave the state. In 2017, RAICES staff closed 51,000 cases at no cost to the client. Their advocacy and commitment to change are driven by the clients and families they serve every day as their attorneys and legal assistants provide legal advocacy and representation in an immigration system that breaks apart families and leaves millions without pathways to legal status.

RAICES uses InReach’s free resource catalog when they’re trying to connect clients to legal services.