Restoration Immigration Legal Aid (RILA)

Help RILA continue our mission to care for the most vulnerable of our immigrant neighbors: asylum seekers and immigrant children. 

Restoration Immigration Legal Aid (RILA) provides excellent, pro bono immigration legal assistance to the most vulnerable immigrants in the DC area, focusing on asylum-seekers and immigrant children. Most of our clients, having undergone unspeakable suffering, fled from their home countries to find protection and safety. Without representation from RILA, our clients would likely navigate the immigration system on their own–a nearly impossible task for non-English speakers with few to no resources. 

Further, over the past several months, immigration policy, law and enforcement continue to change in ways that increase barriers to humanitarian-based immigration relief and place nearly all immigrants at an increased risk of intense Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) supervision programs, being detained and/or removed from the U.S.

RILA staff members step into this place of need, offering excellent legal representation and advocacy pro bono to immigrants in our communities for whom such services would otherwise be out of reach. Since January the hours our staff spends on each individual asylum case has increased by 25% due to changes in policy and enforcement. This increase is not only reflected in how long it takes to prepare a case to be heard in Immigration Court, but also advocating for RILA clients and keeping families together in an environment of increased enforcement. 

RILA has demonstrated success in achieving significant, life-changing results with a 77% success rate for securing grants of asylum. Each year we obtain about 300 work permits for clients and have successfully obtained approval in 99% of our Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) cases. Currently, RILA carries over 1040 active cases and employs 15 staff members (with a full-time equivalent of 9.5), including four attorneys and five U.S. Department of Justice Accredited Representatives. Our more than 125 volunteers, including pro bono attorneys, are essential to our work. We believe individuals and communities are transformed by our work as our clients receive justice and protection and as community members join with us in our mission. 

Our work would not be possible without our donors’ partnership with us. Every dollar makes a real difference in the lives of our clients.