Types of Volunteer Opportunities
The Immigration Justice Campaign offers several different types of volunteer opportunities that require varying levels of experience and a variety of skill sets. See below for more details about each opportunity. If you are interested in volunteering with the Justice Campaign, please visit our Current Volunteer Opportunities page to apply for any opportunities that fit your skills, interests, and availability. *Note: Please only complete one application.
Prepare Parole Requests to Seek Release for Detained Asylum Seekers
| Detained asylum seekers may be eligible to request that ICE release them on “parole” while their asylum cases are pending in immigration court. Parole requests are filed with ICE and consist of a letter with supporting documentation. | |
| Location | Fully remote |
| Hours and Duration | 10-15 hours to prepare parole request and up to 2 months of phone and email follow-up with deportation officer. |
| Types of Volunteers Needed | Attorneys |
| Volunteer Role | Represent a detained asylum seeker by preparing a request for release on parole with supporting documentation, submit the parole request to the individual’s deportation officer, and then continue to follow-up with the deportation officer to make sure the release request is decided. |
| Interpretation | Volunteers are encouraged to secure their own interpreters. In some circumstances, the Justice Campaign may be able to arrange for a volunteer interpreter to work with you. |
| Malpractice Coverage | Generally available through Immigration Justice Campaign’s referring partner agencies, with some exceptions. |
Represent Immigrants Seeking Release on Bond
| Some detainees are eligible for release on bond while their cases are pending in immigration court. Volunteers who take on bond cases will prepare bond motions with supporting documentation and argue the bond motion in immigration court. | |
| Locations |
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| Hours and Duration | 25-50 hours over 2-4 weeks |
| Types of Volunteers Needed | Attorneys |
| Volunteer Role | Represent a detained immigrant in seeking release on bond. Meet with a detainee in person to gather information needed to draft a motion for release on bond. Gather documentation in support of the bond motion by collecting statements of the detainee’s friends and family members and/or other documentation. Draft the bond motion and file it with the immigration court. Prepare your client for the hearing and argue the motion in immigration court. |
| Interpretation/Translation | Volunteers are encouraged to secure their own interpreters. In some circumstances, the Justice Campaign may be able to arrange for a volunteer interpreter to work with you. |
| Malpractice Coverage | Generally available through Immigration Justice Campaign’s referring partner agencies, with some exceptions. |
Remotely (Telephonically) Represent Immigrants Seeking Release on Bond
| Many asylum seekers are eligible for release on bond while their cases are pending in immigration court. Government authorities often detain them in remote facilities far from available lawyers, especially near the southern border. Attorney volunteers who take on remote bond cases will communicate with their clients by phone, receive on the ground support for document and signature collection from our local partners, prepare motions to appear telephonically before the immigration court as well as a bond motion (with supporting documentation), and argue the bond motions before the immigration judge over the phone. | |
| Locations | Fully remote - Detention Centers in El Paso, Texas and several of our other partner sites |
| Hours and Duration | 25-50 hours over 2-4 weeks |
| Types of Volunteers Needed | Attorneys |
| Volunteer Role | Represent a detained asylum seeker in seeking release on bond pending their immigration court proceedings. Speak with your client by phone to gather information needed to draft a motion for release on bond. Note that communicating with a detained asylum seeker will often require some degree of persistence due to access to counsel barriers. Gather documentation in support of the bond motion by collecting statements of the detainee’s friends and family members and/or other documentation. Draft the bond motion as well as the motion to appear telephonically before the immigration court and file those motions. Prepare your client for the hearing and argue the motion in immigration court. |
| Interpretation/Translation | Volunteers are encouraged to secure their own interpreters. In some circumstances, the Justice Campaign may be able to arrange for a volunteer interpreter to work with you. |
| Malpractice Coverage | Generally available through Immigration Justice Campaign’s referring local partner organizations, with some exceptions. |
Represent an Asylum Seeker in their Deportation Proceedings
| Detained asylum seekers must present their claims for asylum before an immigration judge at a full hearing in immigration court. This is their request for relief from deportation. Asylum hearings are adversarial in nature and require presenting detailed oral testimony by the asylum applicant plus evidentiary submissions. | |
| Locations |
*Note: If you live far from the detention center, there are ways to meet with your client by telephone or videoconference so that travel to the facility is required only 1 or 2 times. You can also file motions to appear telephonically at preliminary hearings (although not the final merits hearing). |
| Hours and Duration | 50-150 hours over 3-4 months |
| Types of Volunteers Needed | Attorneys |
| Volunteer Role | Represent a detained asylum seeker in their asylum merits case. Meet with your client at the facility to understand their story and fear of persecution in their country of origin. (This work can be done remotely at some sites.) Assist client in preparing and filing asylum application and supporting documentation, including corroborating evidence and information about the conditions in their country of origin. Appear at final adversarial merits hearing before immigration judge and assist in presenting your client’s testimony and evidence in support of asylum. |
| Interpretation/Translation | Volunteers are encouraged to secure their own interpreters. In some circumstances, the Justice Campaign may be able to arrange for a volunteer interpreter to work with you. |
| Malpractice Coverage | Generally available through Immigration Justice Campaign’s referring partner agencies, with some exceptions. |
Conduct Country Conditions Research for Pro Se Asylum Seekers
| Asylum seekers must submit evidence of the conditions in their countries of origin that give rise to their fear of persecution. Because of their conditions of confinement, detained asylum seekers often do not have the resources to do this research. | |
| Location | Fully remote |
| Hours and Duration | 10-15 hours over 2-4 weeks |
| Types of Volunteers Needed | Attorneys, Law Students, Paralegals |
| Volunteer Role | Conduct basic internet research and compile news articles, reports from government agencies (e.g., U.S. State Department), non-profits (e.g., Human Rights Watch), and other sources to substantiate an asylum applicant’s claim of fear of persecution if they return to their country of origin. Country condition packets are often hundreds of pages in length. Print copies of the country conditions packet and mail to the detainee appearing pro se. |
| Malpractice Coverage | Generally available through Immigration Justice Campaign’s referring partner agencies, with some exceptions. |
Provide Interpretation/Translation Services
| For a variety of our opportunities above, assist in the provision of legal services by providing in-person or telephonic interpretation for volunteer attorneys or provide English translation of documents. | |
| Locations |
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| Hours and Duration |
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| Types of Volunteers Needed | Interpreters/Translators (No professional certificates are required. We only need to know that you are fully bilingual and have a letter of recommendation.) |
| Volunteer Role |
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Provide a Mental Health Evaluation
| Perform a telephonic or in-person psychological evaluation for an immigrant detainee. Write up the evaluation into the form of an expert declaration, which will then be submitted to either an immigration court or government agency to support some form of relief for the detainee. | |
| Locations |
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| Types of Volunteers Needed | Mental health professionals |
| Volunteer Role | Either visit in person or speak by phone/video-conference (as available) with a detained immigrant who has been identified by our local partners or volunteer attorneys as experiencing mental health-related concerns. Conduct professional mental health evaluation to determine psychological condition of the individual and potential causes. Compile observations and findings into an expert declaration, which will then be submitted in support of some form of relief for the detainee—e.g., a request for release from the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or an asylum application before the immigration court. Must be available to testify in Court telephonically in the event that the Court requires oral testimony beyond the written declaration. |
Provide a Forensic Medical Examination
| Perform a telephonic (and documents-based), skype, or in-person forensic medical examination for an immigrant detainee. Write up the evaluation in the form of an expert declaration, which will be submitted to either an immigration court or government agency to support some form of relief for the detainee. | |
| Locations |
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| Types of Volunteers Needed | Physicians |
| Volunteer Role | Either visit in person or speak by phone/video-conference (as available) with a detained immigrant who has been identified by our local partners or volunteer attorneys as having physical trauma that is related to their immigration case. Conduct forensic medical examination to determine the physical condition of the individual and potential causes. Compile observations and findings into an expert declaration, which will be submitted in support of some form of relief for the detainee—e.g., a request for release from the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or an asylum application before the immigration court. Must be available to testify in Court telephonically in the event that the Court requires oral testimony beyond the written declaration. |
Represent An Asylum Seeker in their Board of Immigration Appeals Case
| If a detained asylum seeker loses his or her case before the Immigration Judge, they have an opportunity to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Oral argument is not required—decisions are issued based on the record and appeal briefs. This is a fully remote volunteer opportunity. | |
| Locations |
Fully remote Our clients are detained in the following locations (which you do NOT need to visit for this volunteer opportunity):
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| Hours and Duration |
25-50 hours over the course of several months
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| Types of Volunteers Needed | Attorneys |
| Volunteer Role | Represent a detained asylum seeker in their appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Volunteers will need to review the record of proceedings and transcript for their client’s case. Volunteers will be expected to file a Notice of Appeal (EOIR-27) within 30 days of the Immigration Judge’s adverse decision and timely submit an appeal brief according to the schedule subsequently assigned by the Board of Immigration Appeals. |
| Interpretation/Translation | Although volunteers do not need to meet with their detained clients, they are asked to make arrangements to call their clients at the start of the representation to introduce themselves and describe the appeals process, answering any questions the clients may have. Volunteers are encouraged to secure their own interpreters for this phone call, if needed. In some circumstances, the Justice Campaign may be able to arrange for a volunteer interpreter to participate in this call with you. |
| Malpractice Coverage | Generally available through Immigration Justice Campaign’s referring partner agencies, with some exceptions. |
Respond to Hotline Calls
| Our partner, Freedom for Immigrants, runs a hotline for people in immigration detention as well as family members seeking support for loved ones in detention. Hotline volunteers monitor detention conditions, report abuses and request support on behalf of callers. | |
| Locations | Fully remote |
| Hours and Duration |
You will sign up for 2-hour shifts that take place M-F between 6am-8pm PST |
| Types of Volunteers Needed | Preference given to volunteers who speak a second language |
| Volunteer Role | Respond to calls to the hotline from people in immigration detention as well as family members seeking support for their loved ones in detention.
FFI needs people who are able to project their empathy and understanding over the phone in order to calm and reassure people in detention. |
| Interpretation/Translation | Preference given to volunteers who speak a second language |
| Malpractice Coverage | N/A |
Visitation
| Our partner, Freedom for Immigrants, is connected to the largest network of visitor volunteers in the US with more than 4,000 people making visits each week. This is a crucial way that you can provide direct support to people in immigration detention and work with them to expose human rights violations and abuses.
COVID-19 Update: During the COVID-19 pandemic, visitation groups are still continuing the critical work of supporting people in ICE detention and reporting human rights violations. Volunteers can communicate with people inside over the phone and/or by mail, and in some facilities electronic messaging and video visitation is possible. |
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| Locations | Multiple locations across the country |
| Hours and Duration | Will vary by location/facilitating visitation group |
| Types of Volunteers Needed | Volunteers who live within driving distance of a detention center |
| Volunteer Role | FFI will connect you with a local visitation network through which you will visit, write to, or otherwise communicate with people being held in immigration detention. |
| Interpretation/Translation | N/A |
| Malpractice Coverage | N/A |
Post-Release Support
| Our partner, Freedom for Immigrants, needs volunteers to join a growing grassroots movement of post-release community care to demonstrate that we are far more capable of providing refuge to immigrants than ICE and corporate prison contractors. | |
| Locations | In person or remote |
| Hours and Duration | Flexible |
| Types of Volunteers Needed | Non-attorney |
| Volunteer Role | Volunteers for this opportunity will support those coming out of detention with everyday tasks such as accessing food, shelter, healthcare, transportation, a lawyer, enrolling in English class, purchasing cell phone/ phone plan, bureaucratic errands, community integration, direct advocacy, and offer psycho-social support. |
| Interpretation/Translation | Languages other than English helpful but not necessary |
| Malpractice Coverage | N/A |
Spend 1 Week at a Detention Center
| Spend one week in Dilley, Texas at the largest family detention center in the country. Volunteers spending a week “on the ground” at a detention center will be received and supervised by our partner organizations’ local staff members. | |
| Locations |
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| Hours and Duration |
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| Volunteer Role |
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| Types of Volunteers Needed |
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| Interpretation/Translation | The vast majority of the clients we see in Dilley are Spanish speakers, and we therefore require that almost all of our volunteers speak Spanish. We do have limited spots for non-Spanish speakers, but because they fill up quickly, we may need to schedule your volunteer week farther into the future. We also ask that volunteers who do not speak Spanish secure their own interpretation for the week. This could mean inviting a Spanish-speaking friend or colleague to accompany you or to be available to interpret by phone for various blocks of time throughout the week. |
| Malpractice Coverage | Generally available through Immigration Justice Campaign’s referring partner agencies, with some exceptions. |
Proyecto Dilley
Six Proyecto Dilley volunteers report from their week on-the-ground with the Proyecto Dilley Pro Bono ProjectWhere We Work
Denver Contract Detention Facility
3130 Oakland St
Aurora, CO 80010
Phone Number: (303) 361-6612
South Texas Family Residential Center
1925 TX-85
Dilley, TX 78017
Phone Number: (830) 378-6500
Stewart Detention Center
146 Cca Rd
Lumpkin, GA 31815
Phone Number: (229) 838-5000
Elizabeth Detention Center
625 Evans St
Elizabeth, NJ 7201
Phone Number: (908) 352-3776
El Paso, TX
Port Isabel Service Processing Center
Otay Mesa Detention Center
7488 Calzada De La Fuente,
San Diego, CA 92154
Phone: (619) 671-8724
Port Isabel Service Processing Center
27991 Buena Vista Blvd,
Los Fresnos, TX 78566
Phone: (956) 547-1700
Broward Transitional Center and Krome Service Processing Center
Otay Mesa Detention Facility
El Valle Detention Facility
1800 Industrial Drive
Raymondville, TX, 78580
Phone: (956) 689-9999
Folkston ICE Processing Center
3026 Highway 252 E,
Folkston, GA 31537
Phone: (912) 496-6905
Irwin County Detention Center
132 Cotton Dr,
Ocilla, GA 31774
Phone: (229) 468-4121
Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center
1133 Hampton Dupre Rd,
Pine Prairie, LA 70576
Phone: (337) 599-2198
LaSalle ICE Processing Center
830 Pinehill Rd,
Jena, LA 71342
Phone: (318) 992-7800
The American Immigration Council warns non-citizens to guard against spoofing phone calls from ill-intended individuals seeking to create panic among our immigrant community. To learn more, please go to scam.immigrationcouncil.org.
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