Our Programs
Our Approach
Mabel Center provides full legal representation to clients seeking asylum, along with handling cases for pro se applications, employment authorization documents (EAD), special immigrant juveniles (SIJs), and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) cases. Mabel Center attorneys have volunteered at family detention courts, worked alongside organizations at the border, and are all bilingual. Mabel Center addresses the gap that exists, in the Boston area, between the demand for Spanish-speaking, experienced legal services, and the supply of free/affordable legal services currently available. In the past few years, this gap has only widened with the introduction of dedicated dockets and changing policies. Mabel Center works closely with fellow immigrant organizations in Massachusetts and legal aid programs within family detention centers to establish relationships with asylum-seekers early to increase their chances of asylum.
“It is a privilege to serve our clients and an honor that they entrust us with their stories of resilience and survival.”
Pro Se Clinic
Many asylum-seekers are unaware that they must file their asylum application within one-year of arrival, and one missed court date or filing deadline can trigger an automatic order of deportation, returning women and children to the persecution they fled. Through its Pro Se Clinic, Mabel Center attorneys and paralegals provide guidance for clients that represent themselves without an attorney. By educating asylum-seekers on the immigration court system, the Pro Se Clinic prevents viable asylum cases from being lost due to missed filing deadlines.
Full Legal Representation
Mabel Center provides free and full legal representation for asylum-seekers with complex cases that existing legal services organizations are unable to accept due to the time commitment required. Many asylum-seekers in Boston are unable to find pro bono attorneys with the capacity to accept cases that involve unsettled precedent, or clients who have been detained, because these cases require immense time and resources. Mabel Center attorneys have developed systems to represent difficult cases successfully and efficiently, allowing us to take complex cases, and more of them.