Get Help for Pro Se Asylum Seekers | Center for Gender and Refugee Studies

Get Help

This page contains information for individual asylum seekers, not for attorneys working on individual cases, which can be found in the TA Library.

Where do I start?

I need help immediately! I, or someone I know, is dealing with ICE currently.

Please scroll down on this page to find links to resources that can help you. The Know Your Rights section will educate you about your rights as a person in the United States. If you or anyone you know is targeted by immigration/ICE, you can call your local Rapid Response hotline to report the activity and ask for assistance. It is recommended you report an immigration arrest as soon as possible to receive the most effective assistance. The Responding to an Immigration Arrest section includes resources on what to do if you or someone you know is arrested or detained by ICE.

I am looking for legal counsel or representation.

At the bottom of this page, you will find a Referrals section which contains links to various places you may be able to find free or low-cost legal assistance.

I need some help understanding what all of these terms mean.

Please jump to our Glossary section down below!

I am interested in preparing my own asylum application. How can I do so?

Please go to our pro se materials folder for more resources.

Know Your Rights

These resources are to help educate yourself about your rights as a person present in the United States. Many of these resources are available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Farsi, Chinese, and Korean.

Know Your Rights - Preparing for the Trump Administration

Columbia Law School's Immigrants' Rights Clinic has prepared a presentation about knowing your rights in preparation for the Trump administration. Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Urdu, Arabic, and Persian.

ILRC's Community Guidance: Your Day in Court

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center has created a guide about knowing what to expect from immigration court proceedings. Available in Spanish here.

Know Your Rights with ICE

The Immigrant Defense Project has created flyers about knowing your rights when dealing with ICE. Available in English, Spanish, French, Punjabi, Arabic, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Haitian Creole, Bangla, and Hindi.

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Know Your Rights in Maya Mam

The Mayan League has created Know Your Rights resources in Maya Mam.

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We Have Rights - Your Rights When Dealing with ICE

The We Have Rights campaign has created videos about preparing for and defending your rights during ICE encounters. Available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Haitian Creole, Russian, and Urdu.

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Know Your Rights with the FBI

The ACLU, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and CAIR have created a guide on what to do if the FBI is at your door. Available in English and Arabic.

ILRC Red Cards

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center has creating "Red Cards" to help people learn about their rights and assert their rights when dealing with ICE. Available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

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Rapid Response Hotlines

Rapid Response hotlines are phone numbers you can call at anytime if you, your family, or others you know are targeted by ICE enforcement activity. Using these hotlines, you can report raids in your area, seek help if you are being detained or are at risk of being deported, or report missing migrants.

NNIRR Immigration Hotlines

The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights has gathered a list of national, state and local Immigration Hotlines. Through these hotlines you can report immigration arrests in your area, seek help if being detained or at risk of being removed (deported), and you can report missing immigrants.

California State

The California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice maintains an updated list of Rapid Response Networks in California. Please use this link to find your local hotline.

Rapid Response Network Hotlines across the US

This resource compiles a large number of hotline numbers across the country.

Responding to an Immigration Arrest

SFILEN - Deportations and Detentions

The San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network has created a guide on what to do if you or your family are dealing with ICE. Available in English and Spanish.

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ICE Detainee Locator

Use this link to find an individual or family member who is currently detained by ICE. Here is a guide about how to use the locator. Available in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

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Emergency & Family Preparedness Planning

Emergency & family preparedness plans are important documents that provide guidance about caring for your children and family in case an immigration emergency happens. Learn more about creating these documents here.

ILRC's Step-by-Step Family Preparedness Plan

Here you can find a toolkit from the ILRC with step-by-step instructions about creating a family preparedness plan. Available in English and Spanish.

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We Have Rights - Emergency Plan

The Brooklyn Defender Services' We Have Rights Campaign has documents and instructions about creating emergency plans. Available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.

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Washington State Immigrant Safety Plan

Resources on creating a safety plan, available in English and Spanish.

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Immigration Preparedness Toolkit

This toolkit outlines concrete steps you and your family members can take to protect yourself, provides a guide to seeking legal advice, and describes different immigration options available.

Referrals

These links provide directories of pro bono and low-cost legal service providers.

National Immigration Legal Services Directory

The Immigration Advocates Network maintains a directory of free or low-cost legal service providers by state, county, or detention facility.

Find an Attorney

EOIR Pro Bono Legal Service Providers

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) maintains a list of pro bono legal service providers by state/territory.

Find an Attorney

AILA's Find an Immigration Lawyer

The American Immigration Lawyers Association maintains a member directory of immigration attorneys. Please note that this directory includes attorneys at all price levels.

Find an Attorney

OneDegree

OneDegree provides access to community resources, including legal aid and support with food, housing, health, education, and employment.

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LawHelpCA

LawHelpCA is a website maintained by the Legal Aid Association of California that provides free information and guidance about legal issues in the state of California. Available in many languages.

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ASAP Immigration Court Help Desks

The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project maintains a list of organizations that provide limited legal assistance to asylum seekers without lawyers in immigration court.

InReach

InReach provides services for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, refugees, and other immigrants.

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Glossary

What is pro bono legal aid?

Pro bono legal aid refers to legal assistance provided at no cost, most often to low-income people who would otherwise not be able to afford legal services.

Who is a pro se respondent?

A pro se respondent is a person who is preparing and presenting their case on their own, without the representation of an attorney or accredited representative. If an attorney or accredited representative has not given you a signed agreement showing they will represent you, it is not safe to assume that you have representation.

What is a referral?

Legal referrals are suggestions for places to look where you might be able to find legal support. These are not to be considered recommendations regarding who to consult, a guarantee you will find help, nor an endorsement of the quality of service you may receive.

What do all of these acronyms mean?

Government Agencies and Departments

Acronym	Definition	Explanation
CBP	Customs and Border Protection	U.S. Customs Border and Protection is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. CBP is the primary agency responsible for regulating and monitoring the border.
DOJ	Department of Justice	The Department of Justice is the department of the federal government that deals with enforcing federal laws in the U.S. EOIR is a part of the Department of Justice.
DHS	Department of Homeland Security	The Department of Homeland Security is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security. CBP, ICE, and USCIS are all part of DHS.
EOIR	Executive Office for Immigration Review	The Executive Office for Immigration Review is an agency of the Department of Justice. All the immigration courts in the U.S. are part of EOIR.
ICE	Immigration Customs and Enforcement	U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement, often called ICE, is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE's work includes detaining and removing people with undocumented status in the U.S.
USCIS	United States Citizenship and Immigration Services	U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. USCIS processes and make decisions on various immigration matters, including applications for work visas, asylum, adjustment of status, and citizenship. Asylum offices are part of USCIS.

Other Acronyms

Acronym	Definition	Explanation
AO	Asylum Office	Asylum offices are where affirmative immigration cases are argued and decided.
AG	Attorney General	The attorney general of the United States is the head of the Department of Justice.
BIA	Board of Immigration Appeals	The Board of Immigration Appeals reviews decisions made by immigration judges. The BIA is part of EOIR.
CAT	Convention Against Torture	Convention Against Torture is a form of immigration relief that comes from a United Nations agreement.
EAD	Employment Authorization Document	Employment Authorization Documents are official papers that allow you to work legally in the United States.
ER	Expedited Removal	Expedited removal is when someone is deported from the United States without a trial in front of an immigration judge.
IJ	Immigration Judge	Immigration judges decide immigration cases in immigration courts.
NTA	Notice to Appear	A Notice to Appear is a document that tells someone to go to immigration court for their trial.
SIJS	Special Immigrant Juvenile Status	Special Immigrant Juvenile Status is a form of immigration relief available for young people present in the United States.
TPS	Temporary Protected Status	Temporary Protected Status is a temporary immigration status provided to people who cannot return to their home countries because of unsafe conditions in their home country. The Department of Homeland Security decides which countries receive temporary protected status.

Who is an accredited representative?

The only people allowed to represent immigrants in matters before the immigration court (EOIR), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are attorneys and BIA accredited representatives. Accredited representatives are not attorneys, but are trained experts with certification to represent immigrants in their cases. Immigrants are always allowed to represent themselves in their own immigration matters pro-se.

What is asylum?

Asylum is a form of protection offered by the U.S. government to individuals who have a “well-founded fear” of returning to their country of origin because they have been “persecuted” (harmed) in the past or may be persecuted in the future if they return because of their “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

Individuals who are granted asylum are allowed to remain and seek employment in the United States. They may obtain legal status for their children under age 21 or for a non-abusive spouse to remain or join them in the U.S. Those granted asylum can later apply for permanent residence (a “green card”) and, eventually, U.S. citizenship.

Do I have options other than asylum?

Each individual's immigration case is highly specific and dependent on individual variables.

However, if you may be eligible for asylum, you may also be eligible for two other related forms of relief, known as withholding of removal (withholding) and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

You may be eligible for these protections if you are afraid to return to your country either because of something that happened to you before you left or something that might happen to you if you are forced to return. You can apply for all three forms of relief using a Form I-589 Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal (and CAT). These forms of relief are complex and it is recommended that you consult with an expert whenever possible in order to know whether you are eligible for them.

More Information

Looking for more information about your options for immigration relief in the United States? Go to our Immigration Relief page to learn more about the U.S. immigration system, your legal rights, and the options available to you.

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