Safe Passage Project

Safe Passage Project is a highly-focused nonprofit immigration legal services organization. We provide free lawyers to refugee and immigrant children in NYC & Long Island who are facing deportation back to life-threatening situations in their home countries. These children embark on a long and dangerous journey to the United States seeking safety from the gang violence, parental abuse and neglect, sexual assault, poverty, and trauma they knew at home. Immigrants are not entitled to court-appointed legal counsel. As a result, more than half of immigrant children must go through immigration proceedings without the aid of a lawyer. Unable to effectively argue their claim for the legal protections they may qualify for, more than 80% of these children are issued deportation orders. To many, this means returning to the danger from which they fled. That’s where we come in.

Safe Passage Project offers crucial free legal representation to over 1,300 young individuals navigating the complexities of the immigration process without support. Every child we assist has a distinct story and family history, and they all need your help to build a secure and stable future in the United States.

We partner with nearly 500 dedicated pro bono attorneys, including solo practitioners, retired lawyers, and those from law firms, to advocate for these unaccompanied minors. Pro bonos partnering with SPP to represent a client agree to provide full representation to a young person in their SIJS or asylum case, as well as representing them in removal proceedings. Case length can vary, but we ask that each pro bono be prepared to provide a commitment of at least 2 years to their case.

To ensure our pro bono attorneys feel fully supported, we provide close mentorship throughout each case. This includes reviewing all submitted work and offering tailored sample materials as needed. Our mentor attorneys are leading experts in immigration law who will provide guidance and serve as your primary point of contact in this meaningful and impactful work. To know more about our mentorship program please watch this video. This video provides critical information about our clientele and their legal cases, our Pro Bono mentoring model, and the resources and case support our organization offers to Pro Bono volunteers representing our clients.

If you are interested in representing an unaccompanied immigrant child and making a significant difference in their life, please consider joining us in our mission to ensure that no child faces the immigration process alone.