Restrictions on Asylum-Seekers Are Unlawful →

Immigrants’ Rights Groups Blast Federal Government’s Misguided Asylum Policy Changes  Centro Presente and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) vehemently opposed the Biden Administration’s proposed restrictions on asylum-seekers at the border. Reminiscent of Trump-era restrictions, the Biden Administration’s proposed asylum changes would create unlawful barriers for migrants fleeing persecution and torture. Immigrants’ rights organizations have detailed the...

Migrants in Massachusetts →

Immigrants’ Rights Groups File Public Records Requests to Shed Light on Arrival of Migrants in Massachusetts Immigration Data Can Inform State/Local Policymaking Centro Presente and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) filed public records requests, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Immigration and...

Lawsuit Against U.S. Immigration Agencies on Humanitarian Parole →

Immigrants’ Rights Organizations File Federal Lawsuit Against U.S. Immigration Agencies Seeking Documents on Humanitarian Parole  Humanitarian Parole Is Life-Saving For Many But Shrouded In Mystery The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (“FIRRP”) and Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and the U.S....

Statement on Martha’s Vineyard Case →

Lawyers for Civil Rights releases statement responding to the motions presented by Governor DeSantis and his co-defendants in the federal class action filed by Alianza Americas and the migrants who were fraudulently induced to travel by plane to Martha’s Vineyard.  The bottom line is that Governor DeSantis doesn't want to be...

Martha’s Vineyard Migrants Respond to New Florida Legislation →

Florida lawmakers last week approved Governor Ron DeSantis’ request to change the program under which he fraudulently induced 49 migrants to fly to Martha’s Vineyard last Fall. Among other alterations, the new law would remove the restriction in the original law that required migrants to be relocated "from this state."...

Federal Response to Haitian Migrants Held in Squalor Under Border Bridge →

Haitian Migrants Held in Squalid Conditions Under Border Bridge See Progress in Federal Investigation Haitian Americans United and forty-eight Haitian migrants who were unlawfully confined by federal immigration officials under a bridge near Del Rio, Texas, have received a formal response to their civil rights complaint from the U.S. Department...

Boston Police Denies Right to Counsel →

Boston Police Denies Right to Counsel to Community Group Concerned About Disappeared Latina  January 26, 2023 Since the disappearance of Reina Carolina Morales Rojas, Latinos Unidos en Massachusetts (LUMA) has been urging law enforcement officials to investigate the matter with immediacy. Reina has been missing since November 26, 2022, but...

Botched Police Investigation in East Boston Reinforces Racial Disparities →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) urges the City of Boston and the Boston Police Department (BPD) to investigate the disappearance of Reina Carolina Morales Rojas. To provide zealous police protection to all residents regardless of race, class, or national origin, the City needs to conduct an independent audit surrounding issues of diversity,...

Facing Lawsuit, Barnstable County’s New Sheriff Ends Contract With ICE →

Facing Lawsuit, Barnstable County’s New Sheriff Ends Contract With ICE  Move Eliminates Last “287g Agreement” By Sheriffs In New England Incoming Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley fulfilled her campaign promise to end the Sheriff’s Office’s “287(g) agreement” with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  The move follows a lawsuit filed by Lawyers...

Martha’s Vineyard Migrants Go After Plane Company, Perla & Top Florida Officials →

Martha’s Vineyard Immigrants Add Plane Company, Its CEO, and  High-Level Florida Officials As Defendants In Federal Class Action Lawsuit Amended Complaint Details Orchestrated Plan To Deceive Immigrants  Attorneys from Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) filed an amended complaint in the federal class action challenging the scheme perpetrated by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and...

LCR’s Civil Rights Summit →

LCR’s Civil Rights Summit November 4, 2022 Lawyers for Civil Rights held a Civil Rights Summit on November 4, 2022, convening powerful attorneys and community partners for strategic and catalytic thought partnership to advance civil rights in the current legal landscape, including changes in the composition of the Supreme Court....

Fact-Finding Mission Examines Conditions in Central America →

A Closer Look: Fact-Finding Mission Examines Conditions in Central America Fact-finding Delegation Documents Push and Pull Factors of Migration from Central America  In response to recent migration trends, Centro Presente, Alianza Americas, GreenRoots, and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) conducted a week-long fact-finding mission in August to witness and investigate...

Retracing Perla’s Steps in Texas and the Border →

Retracing Perla’s Steps: Attorneys Representing Martha’s Vineyard Migrants Visit San Antonio and U.S. Border Last week, Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) sent a fact-finding delegation to Texas and Mexico to explore the conditions and dynamics near the U.S.-Mexico border. LCR undertook this mission shortly after filing a federal class action complaint on...

Inhumane Venezuelan Policy →

Statement On New DHS “Migrant Enforcement Process” for Venezuelan Migrants to the United States Lawyers for Civil Rights Objects to Arbitrary and Inhumane Venezuelan Policy On October 12, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new “Migrant Enforcement Process” for Venezuelan migrants to the United States. The process, which went...

“Perla” Unmasked: Martha’s Vineyard Class Action Statement →

“Perla” Unmasked: Statement By Attorneys Representing Martha’s Vineyard Migrants In Federal Class Action Lawsuit The New York Times and CNN are reporting that “Perla,” the woman sued as Doe Defendant #1 in our federal class action lawsuit brought by the migrants deceived into traveling to Martha’s Vineyard last month, is Perla Huerta. ...

Martha’s Vineyard Migrants: Plane Companies Warned Not To Destroy Evidence →

Plane Companies Warned Not To Destroy Evidence in Connection with Martha’s Vineyard Migrants Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), the organization providing free legal support to the migrants flown by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to Martha’s Vineyard, warned two plane companies not to destroy any evidence surrounding the flights at issue in...

Launching the Lauren Sampson Fellowship →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Launches Lauren Sampson Fellowship Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is committed to honoring the memory and legacy of our colleague Lauren Sampson. We are proud to announce the creation of a legal fellowship dedicated to deepening and expanding Lauren’s impactful work from housing to climate justice and...

Immigrants File Federal Class Action Against Florida’s Governor →

Federal Class Action Challenges the Fraudulent Scheme Victimizing Nearly 50 Vulnerable Immigrants in Martha’s Vineyard September 20, 2022 Boston – Today, Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) filed a federal civil rights class action lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Secretary of Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, the State...