The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has shone a spotlight on the Democrat-linked legal industry that invests resources into shielding migrants from deportation, helping them find relief.
After entering the country illegally and evading law enforcement detection for years, Abrego Garcia was apprehended by immigration authorities in 2019 and, with the help of a lawyer, successfully claimed fear of deportation to his home country of El Salvador. Abrego Garcia, a suspected gang member, told a judge he was afraid of being persecuted by Barrio 18, the rival Salvadorian gang of MS-13.
DHS REVEALS EVIDENCE SUPPORTING ABREGO GARCIA’S MS-13 TIES
The judge granted Abrego Garcia’s request for “withholding of removal” based on this “well-founded” fear, which let him linger in the U.S. until his recent deportation by the Trump administration despite his unlawful status.
Abrego Garcia, like other illegal migrants facing the prospect of removal proceedings, achieved this legal feat because he had the counsel of Lucia Curiel, an immigration lawyer who ultimately helped him win the “withholding” order.
Around this time, per her LinkedIn page, Curiel was with the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition, a left-wing legal advocacy organization bankrolled by the Vera Institute of Justice, itself a big beneficiary of money from liberal donor George Soros.
CAIR Coalition, now the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, works to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants. Staffers visit immigration detention facilities around the D.C. area in search of potential clients, provide free-of-charge case consultation, hold legal orientation sessions teaching defenses against deportation, and offer pro se workshops on what to claim during deportation proceedings.
Across the immigration advocacy sector, liberal lawyers systematically work to keep illegal immigrants in the country. With the backing of progressive groups, a brigade of pro bono activist attorneys across the country coaches migrants on how to navigate U.S. immigration law and effectively game the system.
For example, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, a 501(c)(3) legal services provider operating along the United States-Mexico border in Arizona, crafted a guide to claiming asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
This widely distributed 34-page handbook, titled “I’m Afraid to Go Back,” instructs illegal immigrants on how to file for such claims and includes a link to the official I-589 application form, which the Florence Project can provide copies of upon request, along with a worksheet for preparing a declaration ahead of an asylum hearing.
In court, “[i]t is very important to tell the judge that you are afraid of returning to your country of origin,” the Florence Project instructs illegal migrants. “If you do not say that, you may not be able to apply for Asylum, Withholding of Removal, or CAT.”
To win an asylum case, the informational packet advises, migrants only have to show that there is at least a 10% chance of harm if returned to their home country. However, “you do not need to show that it will surely happen,” the Florence Project explains.
Migrants must also prove that they’re being persecuted based on a protected characteristic, such as race, or as a member of a “particular social group.”
“This area of the law is very complicated,” the handout notes. “You should try to talk to a lawyer from the Florence Project about any ‘particular social groups’ you may want to use in your case.” To that end, the Florence Project suggests arguing “you are a member of several different particular social groups” to bolster the odds of convincing a judge to grant asylum.
The agency also published a pamphlet on claiming “credible” or “reasonable fear,” the latter of which, the Florence Project tells asylum-seekers, is applicable even if an illegal immigrant has an in absentia order of deportation, has been deported before, or was convicted of committing an aggravated felony.
The Florence Project is funded via a variety of Democrat-linked law firms, such as Perkins Coie, and by left-of-center philanthropic foundations, such as Equal Justice Works, whose board chairman served in the Obama administration.
Previously, the Florence Project called for the defunding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, an Antifa-aligned radical association of far-left attorneys, advertises a state-by-state directory of immigration lawyers within its network.
In 2024, the organization launched two training series: one aimed at “cultivating a cohort of community defenders” and another focused on teaching lawyers “to navigate the complexities of immigration law.”
Marketed as “Resourcing the Movement,” the pilot program for “community defenders” spans seven months and several modules. Among the students representing 40 organizations across 20 states in 2024 were two detained individuals, who remained in lock-up while enrolled in the course, and other previously jailed attendees.
Apart from this programming, the National Immigration Project hosts removal defense webinars each month. In February, the group taught a class on “Overcoming Bars to Relief.” By attending these lessons, attorneys can earn Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits, which count as bar-required courses lawyers must take to maintain their law licenses.
The organization also circulates legal explainers, such as on “the harmful and racist impact” of barring immigrants with criminal records from becoming citizens, and practice advisories for attorneys to follow, including how to defend criminal aliens against the Laken Riley Act‘s mandatory detention provisions.
Notably, the National Immigration Project’s executive director, Sirine Shebaya, was in charge of the Virginia Justice Program at the CAIR Coalition.
The National Immigration Project gets most of its revenue from foundation grants, according to its 2024 expenses report.
Last year, the National Immigration Project received $20,000 from the Tides Foundation, a major pass-through funder to numerous left-leaning nonprofits, financial statements show.
The Ford Foundation, a giant among center-left grantmaking vehicles, gave the National Immigration Project another $80,000 in June on top of the $450,000 approved in August 2023 to “[t]ie-off general support” in order to “ensure that immigrants at risk of deportation receive as much protection as possible” and that “attorneys, advocates, and organizers in the field are supported and resourced.”
In Chicago, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), a member of the National Immigration Project’s nexus, provides pro bono legal services to migrants seeking asylum. With a network of over 2,000 pro bono attorneys, NIJC serves more than 10,000 non-citizens yearly and touts a success rate of 98% in obtaining relief.
NIJC recruits pro bono attorneys willing to take on cases in surrounding states. Every month, the organization lists asylum-seekers in need of pro bono representation for referral. Working in tandem, NIJC staff provide extensive training, technical assistance, and resources, including a procedural manual outlining the legal test for “well-founded fear” and other aspects of asylum law.
NIJC also offers migrants general guidance on applying for asylum as well as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a broad form of humanitarian relief. The organization’s website lists off several scenarios when deciding whether to seek asylum, TPS, or both.
An open borders advocate, NIJC calls for the defunding of all federal immigration enforcement agencies and the decriminalization of illegal immigration.
The city of Chicago’s Legal Protection Fund proudly partners with NIJC and advertises its services to migrants living within the city’s limits. In response to the 2016 election of President Donald Trump, Chicago’s Legal Protection Fund, a citywide initiative supporting organizations that “empower immigrants,” was established to defend migrants against deportation.
Through its parent organization, Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Rights, NIJC has received a total of $400,000 from the Soros-funded Foundation to Promote Open Society since 2019, according to the Open Society Foundations grants database. One of these grants went directly toward helping NIJC defend migrants “regardless of background.”
Like the Florence Project, the San Francisco-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) dispenses educational material and self-help toolkits, including on what to do if placed under arrest and how to fight deportation.
“Tell every agent you see if you are afraid to return to your home country. Say it loudly and clearly,” ILRC advises. “If you do not say so, they may deport you without giving you a chance to see a judge or ask for asylum or other status.”
Since 2007, the ILRC has distributed “Red Cards” which provide “practical tips” and “legal strategies” in over 19 languages for illegal immigrants in the U.S. The size of a credit card, this printable 3.5″ x 2″ playbook is considered a lifeline to those carrying it.
In a video accompanying a recent New York Times article on the ILRC’s operation, reporter Miriam Jordan says, “This card could be the difference between staying in the United States or being deported.”
“You show agents the card,” an immigrant who has been in the United States for decades told The New York Times. “It does the talking.”
Following the reelection of Trump, the ILRC has reportedly received orders for approximately 9 million cards, more than in the previous 17 years combined.
Due to “an unprecedented demand,” the ILRC has temporarily closed its form that allowed nonprofits to access Red Cards for free. However, for a fee paid to a union-run printer, anyone wanting to obtain “Red Cards” in bulk can place online orders of over 1,000 via RedCardOrders.com.
ILRC also hosts webinars on arguing against “Bars to Asylum”—such as prior criminal conduct, U.S. national security concerns, and persecution of others—and “Dismantling Detention” as an institution, with tactics for fighting detention facility contracts and “how to challenge detention as it exists now while holding our goal of a truly prison-free future in mind.”
As part of its “Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice” program, in 2024, the Ford Foundation gave the ILRC a two-year $600,000 grant for “[g]eneral support to work with and educate immigrants, community organizations, and the legal sector.” Two years prior, the IRLC enjoyed $700,0000 in grant money from the Ford Foundation.
Almost all of the aforementioned organizations, including the CAIR Coalition, the Florence Project, the NLJC, and the ILRC, have active ActBlue campaigns. ActBlue, the main fundraising platform of the Democratic Party, is under congressional scrutiny for its suspicious foreign contributions.
The number of asylum claims continues to increase each year, according to the U.S. Executive Office for Immigration Review’s adjudication statistics. More than 478,900 were filed in 2023, up from nearly 260,000 the year before that. There were only about 88,800 asylum applications lodged in 2021, though the COVID-19 lockdowns stymied the court system.
