The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) is very proud to announce that CGRS Senior Staff Attorney Christine Lin has been selected to receive the Legal Aid Association of California’s 2017 Award of Merit for a Legal Services Attorney, which recognizes attorneys who improve access to justice in California through legal services. A fierce advocate, generous colleague, and effective educator of legal services practitioners throughout California, Christine empowers and increases the capacity of attorneys and organizations to provide quality legal representation to indigent asylum seekers.
The Trump Administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals (DACA) program that protects 800,000 undocumented immigrants is cruel and heartless. CGRS stands with DREAMERs and all members of the immigrant community as we continue to reject this Administration’s repeated scapegoating and racist attacks against immigrant families. We call on Congress to immediately take action and pass legislation to protect our immigrant youth.
CGRS is launching a new project—a searchable database of qualified and pre-vetted country specialists and health professionals who serve as expert witnesses to support asylum seekers in the United States. This service will be offered to attorneys and experts alike, free of charge. In addition to improving our referrals, which we have been providing through our technical assistance program for many years, CGRS will ramp up trainings for attorneys and experts on the use of expert testimony in immigration court to expand the pool of qualified experts and increase protection for individuals fleeing persecution.
