Lawsuit Against USCIS For “Public Charge” Records →

Civil Rights Organization Sues USCIS For Failure to Produce Public Charge Records Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a federal lawsuit against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for their failure to produce records responsive to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by the racial justice organization over a year...

Statement on First Circuit Opinion in Courthouse Arrest Case →

Statement Regarding First Circuit Opinion in Courthouse Arrest Case (Ryan v. ICE) Although we are disappointed in today's ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Ryan v. ICE, it is only a preliminary decision that sends the case back to the District Court in Boston for...

Keeping Courthouses Safe For All →

Civil Rights Groups Fight to Keep Courthouses Safe for All  Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), and Goodwin LLP presented oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to preserve a groundbreaking preliminary injunction blocking immigration officials from arresting people...

Undocumented Immigrants to Trump: We Are People and We Count →

CIVIL RIGHTS AND IMMIGRANT JUSTICE GROUPS ANNOUNCE FEDERAL COURT CHALLENGE TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S EXCLUSION OF UNDOCUMENTED INDIVIDUALS FROM CENSUS COUNT Undocumented Immigrants to Trump: We Are People and We Count In response to the Trump Administration’s racist memorandum excluding undocumented immigrants from the Census 2020 count, Lawyers for Civil Rights has filed...

Student Advocacy Groups Sue BPS and BPD for Records on Information Sharing With ICE →

Student Advocacy Groups Sue Boston Schools, Police Department to Uncover Records Showing Student Information-Sharing With ICE As police reform takes center stage at the national, state, and local levels, the Center for Law and Education, Inc. (CLE), Multicultural Education, Training, and Advocacy, Inc. (META), and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR)...

Victory! U.S. Supreme Court Keeps DACA Alive →

Statement in Response to Supreme Court's DACA Decision Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) applauds the ruling today from the U.S. Supreme Court halting the rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The Trump Administration, as part of its ongoing campaign to dismantle humanitarian immigration protections, has long-sought to end...

Coronavirus Pandemic Response →

Intake The demand for our free legal services has increased exponentially since the start of the public health and economic crisis.  Since March, we have received over 350 requests for legal assistance (intakes). The estimated demographic breakdown is as follows: 55% Black; 25% Latinx; 10% Asian American; and 10% other....

Blocking ICE Arrests in Courthouses →

Lawyers for Civil Rights' landmark case blocking immigration arrests in and around Massachusetts courthouses, Ryan v. ICE, is the first case of its kind in the country. The case was filed in partnership with Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, Committee for Public Counsel...

DACA Discrimination Class Action Against Online Lender →

Today, DACA recipient Ruben Juarez filed a nationwide class action lawsuit against SoFi, a major online personal finance company, on behalf of himself and other DACA recipients who were denied access to a variety of consumer credit, including student loans, personal loans, and home mortgages. The lawsuit, filed in federal...

Victory for immigrants held in Bristol County! →

Court Finds Bristol County Sheriff and ICE Likely Violated Constitutional Rights of Immigrant Detainees in Their Care Orders Widespread COVID Testing and Prohibits Future Admissions In a powerful order, a federal court in Boston ruled strongly in favor of immigrants detained by ICE at Bristol County. The court ruled that...

Coronavirus Legal Warriors →

As legal first responders, at a time when many doors are closing, we are opening ours wider. In response to an unprecedented need, we're adding a new coronavirus legal warrior to our team. This expansion is critical to deepening and expanding free support for affected families, including help with unemployment...

Coronavirus Lawsuit Against ICE: Complaint & Declarations →

On March 27, 2020, Lawyers for Civil Rights and Yale Law School’s Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic filed an emergency class action in federal court against ICE and the Bristol County Sheriff to secure the humanitarian release of immigrants because they are at risk of COVID-19 infection, illness, and...

Coronavirus Suit Filed Against ICE And Bristol County Sheriff →

Coronavirus Suit Filed Against ICE And Bristol County Sheriff For Release of All Persons In ICE Detention, Ban on New Admissions Class Action Alleges Life-Threatening & Inhumane Conditions: Guards With Symptoms, Lack of Sanitizer, Disinfectant, Toilet Paper, No Social Distancing March 27, 2020 A class action for emergency release has...

Legal Responses to COVID-19 →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is launching a comprehensive legal and policy initiative across immigration, education, housing and the census to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on our most vulnerable communities. Specifically, we are advocating to: Secure demographic and racial data on coronavirus infections and death. Stop immigration raids,...

Emergency Measures Needed →

As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds rapidly, it is imperative that state and local policy leaders enact emergency measures that will protect the most vulnerable populations. For those with higher incomes and more social supports, the sudden changes in daily life due to the pandemic will be inconvenient and disruptive. But...

Boston’s New ICE Policy Excludes Community Voices →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) condemns the City of Boston’s effort to move forward with critical policy decisions surrounding Boston Public Schools (BPS) and Boston Police Department (BPD) entanglement with ICE via the Boston Regional Information Center (BRIC) without vital community support. SIM, Unafraid Educators, and other key stakeholders have been...

Mother and 15-Year-Old Daughter Endure Hate Crime in Boston →

Victims Demand Hate Crime Investigation Against White Assailants CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO OF THE HATE CRIME In an unprovoked attack captured on video, a Latinx mother and her 15-year-old daughter were brutally assaulted by two white assailants because they were speaking Spanish, rather than English, near the Maverick Square...

Community Groups File Civil Rights Complaint To Halt Suffolk Downs Approval →

Complaint Alleges Review Process Is Inaccessible To Non-English Speakers, In Violation Of Federal Law Today, Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), charging that the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) has violated federal civil rights law by...