Dear Friend of PAIR,

Happy Spring! In this season of new beginnings, it is a great time to join our active pro bono community and directly support asylum seekers from all over the world.

PAIR has also recently launched a legal Rapid Response Team—made up of pro bono attorneys supporting asylum seekers on a limited scope basis. For attorneys who are new to asylum law, this is an impactful and experiential way to start learning some of the basics. And you'll have a PAIR in-house mentoring attorney to support you every step of the way.

So, for 3 consecutive Wednesdays in April, we are hosting a legal Rapid Response Team training series. By RSVPing to one or more of the trainings below, you can join our Rapid Response team and be notified of timely pro bono opportunities to help asylum seekers. We'd love to have you join us!

If you have any questions or would like to chat further about joining our Rapid Response Team, please just hit "reply" and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

I look forward to seeing many of you next Wednesday, April 6th, for the first training in this series!

In solidarity,
Melanie
Pro Bono Involvement Coordinator at PAIR
PAIR's Rapid Response Team:
April Training Series for Pro Bono Attorneys
Wednesday, April 6, 2022 from 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Hosted by PAIR Asylum Attorney, Sarah Allar, Esq.

An Employment Authorization Document (EAD) enables asylum seekers to be able to support themselves and their families—as well as obtain a social security number for a variety of critical needs. Join Sarah Allar, Asylum Attorney at PAIR, as she goes over the importance of an EAD, eligibility, and best practices for preparing and filing. Please click here to register.
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 from 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Hosted by PAIR Asylum Attorney, Violeta Haralampieva, Esq.

Filing a "skeletal" asylum application is an important first step in both affirmative and defensive asylum cases. PAIR's Violeta Haralampieva will be facilitating a training on the technical aspects of preparing and filing Form I-589 (Application for Asylum). She will share best practices for completing the biographical sections and substantive questions on the form, as well as tips for filing with both USCIS in affirmative cases and EOIR in defensive cases. Please click here to register.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 from 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Hosted by PAIR Detention Attorney, Irene Freidel, Esq.

PAIR's Detention Staff Attorney, Irene Freidel, will be giving a training on how to represent detained "recent arrival" clients at bond hearings in Immigration Court. A number of asylum seekers continue to be detained at the Wyatt Detention Center, on the Massachusetts/Rhode Island border. PAIR frequently has a number of pro bono bond cases, many with political opinion-based asylum claims. The timeframe on a bond case is about 2 weeks after case placement/acceptance, and pro bono attorneys can make an enormous impact on releasing those in detention. Please click here to register.
Click here for the training series flyer to distribute to your network!
Available Pro Bono Cases



To read the longer case abstract for each the cases below, please click here.

If you are an attorney and are interested in taking on one of the below cases, please email me at mgleason@pairproject.org.


  • Asylum (Affirmative): JKGE (Colombia) is a 37 year old man who fears returning to his home country because he is gay and HIV positive.

  • Asylum (Affirmative): LAMG (Guatemala) is a 29 year old woman who fears returning to her home country because she identifies as transgender.

  • Asylum (Defensive): LEG (Guatemala) is 21 year old woman who fears returning to her home country as a result of having endured years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the father of her children.

  • Asylum (Defensive): LRC (Ecuador) is a 28 year old woman who fled her home country due to physical attacks and death threats made against her by her partner's uncle due to her sexual orientation.

  • Asylum (Affirmative): TMK (Kenya) is a 48 year old woman who fears returning to her home country because of targeted harm by an illegal religious sect who intensely persecuted her due to her identity as a Christian and her rejection of gender norms.

  • Unaccompanied Child/Asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (Defensive): SDS (Honduras) is a 19 year old young woman who fled to the United States after struggling with abuse she suffered in her home country and her family receiving threats.

  • Unaccompanied Child/Asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (Defensive): LGG (El Salvador) is a 19 year old young woman who fled to the United States because of her fear of the MS-13 gang and because there was no one to care for her in El Salvador.

  • Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (Affirmative): JAHF (Colombia) is a 20 year old young woman who arrived in the United States alone as a 17 year old.
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