Perhaps nowhere was free legal support more urgently needed than during this year’s multiple immigration crises. In 2021, We The Action recruited more than 800 lawyers to work on projects to support immigrant communities. We The Action lawyers reunited families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, supported Afghan refugees applying for visas or humanitarian parole, and helped Haitians fleeing political violence seek Temporary Protected Status.
We The Action took a leadership role in the national effort to support Afghan refugees, joining Welcome.Us — a national coalition to welcome Afghan refugees co-chaired by Barack and Michelle Obama, George W. and Laura Bush, and Bill and Hillary Clinton – and the Welcome Legal Alliance, which Welcome.Us launched with Human Rights First and the Afghan-American Foundation. The Welcome Legal Alliance aims to mobilize the legal community to ensure that our Afghan neighbors have access to legal services throughout the entire resettlement process. We were even featured by the White House in a fact sheet about organizations leading the effort to support Afghan refugees!
Spotlight on: Maggie Anderson-Murphy
A lawyer from Connecticut, Maggie volunteered with VECINA to help reunite three children detained at the U.S.-Mexico border with their families or sponsors in America. With We The Action’s support, VECINA has already reunited nearly 200 unaccompanied minors with sponsors.
Spotlight on: Audrey Kwak
A child of Korean immigrants herself, Audrey volunteered with the Mississippi Center for Justice to help an immigrant mother avoid deportation after her arrest during the largest workplace immigration raid ever conducted by ICE in a single state. Her client grew to trust Audrey so deeply that, after she experienced a violent robbery in her Mississippi home, she immediately contacted Audrey for support and advice.