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TA Program New Resources and Upcoming Trainings

CGRS regularly adds new resources to the TA Library, schedules upcoming trainings, and makes technical improvements and updates to our site. Keep an eye on this page for program updates!

Please note that the resources listed below are limited to those authored by CGRS or universal expert declarations provided by CGRS. Our TA Library also includes a wide range of third-party materials such as sample briefs, unpublished decisions, and resources authored by other organizations. We encourage you to check the TA Library regularly for new and helpful resources.

Events and Trainings

CGRS regularly offers events and trainings on refugee law, policy, and human rights. These are generally open to the public, including advocates, legal and social service providers, students, and community members. If your organization is interested in collaborating on an event or training, please contact us at cgrs-ca@uclawsf.edu.

New Litigation Support Resources
Sep 19, 2024
Updated CGRS Country Conditions Resources on Honduras

CGRS has released two updated country conditions toolkits on violence against women in Honduras and government ineffectiveness in Honduras and a sample annotated table of contents on violence against women in Honduras.

Sep 16, 2024
New Expert Declaration: Donald Hernández Palma on Climate Disasters and Environmental Degradation in Honduras

CGRS has released a new universal expert declaration authored by Donald Hernández Palma addressing the disproportionate and harmful impacts of environmental policies, climate disasters, and environmental degradation on groups of people already facing structural inequalities.

Aug 22, 2024
New CGRS Webinar: Best Practices for Working with Expert Witnesses in Asylum and Related Claims

In this training, CGRS attorneys discuss when expert witnesses may be useful, how they can benefit children’s fear of return cases, best practices for vetting experts for an individual case, and identify the major steps in working together from the initial conversation to the conclusion of proceedings.

Jul 31, 2024
New CGRS Country Conditions Resource Lists

CGRS has released two new country conditions resource lists on harm to LGBTQ+ individuals in Kazakhstan and harm to people with disabilities in El Salvador.

Jul 18, 2024
New CGRS Explainer: Cruz-Galicia v. Garland on Climate-Related Asylum

This explainer provides an overview of Cruz Galicia v. Garland, the first court of appeals decision on a climate change-based asylum claim, in which the court denied Mr. Cruz Galicia’s petition for review, finding that his proposed particular social group of “climate refugees” lacked social distinction, a necessary element of that ground for asylum. 

Jun 29, 2024
New CGRS Practice Advisory: Investigating Climate-Related Aspects of Fear-of-Return Claims

This advisory proceeds through a composite hypothetical of a climate-related asylum case, offering practical guidance on how to elicit relevant facts in support of the case.

Jun 29, 2024
New CGRS Practice Advisory: The Dedicated Docket: Current Issues and Best Practices for Representing Families

This practice advisory provides an overview of the Dedicated Docket, discusses strategies for representing families on the docket, and discusses strategies and best practices for mitigating and making a record of due process concerns for families whose cases are on the docket.

Jun 29, 2024
New CGRS Country Conditions Toolkit: Harm and Discrimination Against Miskitu Individuals in Nicaragua and Honduras

This toolkit includes pertinent resources on the historical and social context of persecution of the Indigenous Miskitu in Nicaragua and Honduras, and the prevalence and types of harm perpetrated against this community.

Jun 14, 2024
New CGRS Country Conditions Toolkit: Political Opinion in Brazil

This toolkit includes pertinent resources on the historical and social context of political persecution in Brazil, the prevalence of this type of harm, and violence targeted at specific groups based on their political activities.

Jun 14, 2024
New CGRS Practice Advisory: Legal Framework and Litigation Strategies for Overcoming Challenges to Expert Testimony in Immigration Court

This advisory discusses the legal framework for evaluating expert witnesses and proposes litigation strategies advocates can use to persuade adjudicators to admit expert opinions into the record and accord them full weight.

TA Program Newsletters
July 2024 Newsletter

Announcements include: new TA resources, expert witness database updates, CGRS's federal lawsuit and comment over the new anti-asylum rules, our testimony on the climate emergency and humans rights, a report on Haitian asylum seekers in Mexico, and new advocates to our team.

February 2024 Newsletter

Announcements include: new TA resources released since October 2023, February and March webinars, CGRS's brief to the Inter-American Court of human rights on climate displacement, and our complaint on human rights violations at Open-Air Detention Sites.

October 2023 Newsletter

Announcements include: new TA resources released since July 2023, a December 2023 webinar, updates on CGRS's lawsuit challenging the Biden Administration's turnback policy, a Rally to Restore Asylum in Southern California, and new advocates to our team.

July 2023 Newsletter

Announcements include: new TA resources released since April 2023, in-person and virtual training in August and September 2023, CGRS's matching gift campaign, CGRS and our partners' legal challenges to the asylum ban and turnback policy, and our request for cases in which CGRS can provide amicus support.

Other TA Program News and Updates
Join CGRS's TA user focus group

Want to help improve CGRS's TA services and get access to new features early? Click below to join our new focus group.

New case intake form feature

CGRS has added a field to our case intake form to track asylum ban cases.

New feature: edit your case intake after submitting

You can now edit your own case record to add new information and immediately get relevant materials in the TA Library. Go to your My Account page to edit.

New feature in the Expert Witness Database

Organizations or clinics offering expert evaluations are now listed in the Expert Witness Database.

Share a TA Library with co-counsel

If you are working on a case with other colleagues, clinic students, or pro bono counsel, add others as shared users to access the same resources and save time. To share, click Share Case on the case record.

Submit resources for inclusion in the TA Library

Support CGRS by helping expand our TA Library! We welcome submissions of sample briefs, country conditions research, universal declarations, and more.

Help Support CGRS!

CGRS relies on individual donations to provide informative events and trainings free of charge. Please consider donating to support our work. Donate here.

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