Children's Immigration Law Academy (CILA)
The Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA) is a legal resource center created to empower advocates to guide unaccompanied children through complex legal procedures with courage, competency, compassion, and creativity. CILA builds capacity for legal and social services advocates in the field as well as pro bono attorneys by delivering four key services: trainings, technical assistance, community opportunities, and resource development.
Your Gift Matters
Immigration law is complex, and children should not have to face immigration court alone. Your gift helps ensure more unaccompanied children are represented in immigration court and that the advocates who serve them have the support they need.
Children in immigration proceedings have no right to appointed counsel, and over forty percent of unaccompanied children are currently unrepresented in their immigration matters. CILA’s services empower advocates, provide resources and training, and encourage pro bono attorneys to get involved.
Every
gift counts! Help ABA CILA continue to build capacity and support advocates
across the nation working with unaccompanied children.
Our Impact
Children’s immigration law is dynamic with regular changes, and there is frequent turnover and growth of staff at legal organizations serving unaccompanied children in their immigration matters. ABA CILA provides technical assistance to advocates at all experience levels and in all roles, whether attorneys, accredited representatives, legal staff, or social services staff. In 2023, CILA’s team responded to nearly 500 requests for technical assistance. CILA also hosted more than 24 trainings in 2023, including webinars, workshops, and other opportunities to advance advocacy skills, knowledge of children’s immigration law, and awareness of important social services issues. In 2023, more than 300 advocates received training at one of CILA’s three-day Boot Camps. CILA also created over 100 resources in 2023, many of them available with a free CILA account on CILA’s website.
CILA’s Pro Bono Matters for Children Facing Deportation platform matched interested volunteers with over 40 pro bono opportunities serving immigrant children. Twenty organizations across the country can post case opportunities on CILA’s platform.
One advocate had this to say about CILA’s services:
“As Legal Services Director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center’s Children’s Representation Project, I lead a large and growing team of attorneys and advocates providing key legal services to unaccompanied children throughout California. We often use CILA’s excellent resources in training and onboarding new staff, as well as ensuring existing staff are up to date on trends and changes in law.”
– Mickey Donovan-Kaloust, Legal Services Director, Immigrant Defenders Law Center
Take a Case, Change a Life
Lawyers and law students, find a pro bono opportunity serving an unaccompanied child on CILA’s Pro Bono Matters for Children Facing Deportation platform. Remote opportunities and mentorship are available as indicated.
Learn more about CILA by reading our 2023 Annual Report.