The people we serve are the reason we started ILD — people who are long-residing members of our communities trying to remain lawfully united with their family members, as well as those who recently fled their homes and are seeking protection from harm. In an immigration system designed to limit access, we routinely encounter unjust policies and rulings: barriers to due process. And each day, we meet people who have been systematically deprived of access to full-scope representation and for whom immigration relief has remained persistently out of reach. All of our work arises directly from this witness.

Driven by these structural injustices, we provide direct representation while working toward systemic change. We form partnerships to expand legal services to people and places long ignored, including rural communities and individuals in detention, and to combine key social services offered through a strong network of community partnerships.

What we learn from our clients animates everything we do, from how we deliver services to what litigation and policy advocacy we choose to pursue to which partnerships we form. Led by our clients and in collaboration with other advocates, our goal is to reimagine and rebuild an immigration framework freed from the injustice, racism, and cruelty that define the current system.

The people we serve are why we started ILD and are also the reason we keep at it.