Chicago Legal Community Coming Together To Help Families At Border

While the United States-Mexico border might be thousands of miles from Chicago, the topic of immigration is one that hits close to home for Chicagoans.

Last week, news broke that families were being separated at the Southern border. Children as young as eight months old were taken from their parents and housed in separate detention camps. A majority of families spoken to in detention centers had fled Mexico to stay safe from the violence.

Family detention centers have long been a hidden fixture along the border and now people are ready for it to end. Conditions at family detention centers have been questioned for years and hundreds of allegations of abuse have been found from 2009 to 2014, according to a recent study by Chicago law students.

The Chicago legal community has come together to help the families affected by this. Heartland Alliance, a Chicago non-profit, revealed it was housing 66 children that had been taken from their families at the border. Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth introduced a bill on Monday that would set specific standards for detention centers and forbid the separation of families.

Kristin Harris, Chicago chapter president of the American Immigration Association, said that she has teamed up with other lawyers around the city to provide assistance to the families in detention along the border. They are working hard to organize volunteer opportunities and connect volunteer with the Immigration Justice Campaign, a non-profit that helps secure the freedom of immigrants trying to become citizens in the United States.

Harris says that they have received interest from lawyers of all specialties that are eager to provide assistance in any way possible. She also says how heartening it is to the see the community come together to help those in need.

If you are interested in volunteering for the Immigration Justice Campaign, go to https://www.immigrationjustice.us/home to learn more.