Pro bono Archives - Benach Collopy

Una carta abierta a mi comunidad Latinx. De Diana Mateo

June 5, 2020

¡Hola, amigos! Soy una de las paralegales de BC, Diana. Como una Latina profesional de inmigración, quería compartir algunas ideas con nuestros amigos y clientes de BC sobre algunos problemas preocupantes que he visto en...

An Open Letter to my Non-Black Latinx Community

June 5, 2020

This is a special blog post by our Paralegal Diana Mateo, who has been inspired to write by the Black Lives Matter movement to speak out about anti-blackness in the Latino community. A version in...

Whitman Walker Health Presents Ava Benach with Fenner Award for Public Service

May 24, 2017

Earlier this month, Ava Benach received the Fenner Award for Public Service from Whitman Walker Health Legal Services. She got it for doing what she does best-- winning cases! The award recognizes the unique relationship...

Dree Collopy on Central American Refugees and Asylum Law

February 12, 2016

Writing in today's Leadership Blog from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Dree Collopy explains the fundamentals of asylum law the critics, journalists, and politicians fail to understand: Any refusal to recognize gender-motivated violence such as...

House Democrats (and Dree!) Call on Obama to End Family Detention

May 22, 2015

Yesterday, several prominent House Democrats called on the administration to end family detention. Organized by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California, the Democrats decried the Obama administration's detention of women and children fleeing violence in Central...

BR Attorneys Lobby the Administration and Congress to End Family Detention

April 27, 2015

Once a year immigration attorneys from all over the country march to Washington, D.C. to meet with their elected officials and to encourage them to take action toward fixing this country’s broken immigration system. The...

Injunction Against the Dysfunction of Family Detention

February 23, 2015

Artesia. Karnes. Dilley. Before the administration decided it would be a great idea to lock up Central American women and children fleeing from persecution, these towns were unknown. Artesia was the hometown of our government’s...

FOBR Olsi Vrapi Tries to Represent a Child in Artesia, New Mexico

July 21, 2014

Olsi Vrapi is a Friend of Benach Collopy who practices in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He recently found himself on the front line of the battle of how to handle the major influx of refugee children...

Catholic University Law Students Develop Novel Legal Argument that is Gaining Traction in the Courts

July 8, 2014

This post was written by Adilene Nunez and Francisco Lopez, law students at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. Meeting our client and gaining his trust In the fall of 2013, a...

GUEST BLOG by Catholic University Law Students: “From Tragedy to Triumph, One Man’s Second Chance”

May 1, 2014

By Ana Sami and Brittni Downs, CUA Immigration Litigation Clinic Students Our work with Joe* started with a bang. Our Immigration Litigation Clinic had just begun when we were assigned his case and told that...

GUEST BLOG: Catholic University Law Students Win Asylum Case…23 Years in the Making

April 24, 2014

By Ana Victoria Perez and Elmer Martin Uribe, Student Attorneys with the CUA Immigration Litigation Clinic “Asylum has been granted. Congratulations.” Those are the magic words that Judge David Crosland uttered on the morning of...

GUEST BLOG: Gender-Based Asylum Victory in Virginia by the George Washington University Law School Immigration Clinic

April 15, 2014

This post was written by Sydney Barron, a law student at George Washington University Law School and a member of the school's Immigration Clinic, under the direction of Professor Alberto Benitez. Benach Collopy periodically offers...

GUEST BLOG: Catholic University Law Students Win Protection for South African Client!

March 20, 2014

By Judith Muñoz and Tarunpal Dhillon, Student Attorneys with the Catholic University Law School Immigration Litigation Clinic We met our client, Tanya,[i] for the first time on December 18, 2013 at the Baltimore Immigration Court....

Another 4th Circuit Social Group Victory! When is mental illness not like hating broccoli?

February 2, 2014

Last week, we wrote about the Fourth Circuit's decision in Martinez v. Holder, in which the 4th Circuit held that "former gang members" can qualify as a particular social group for the purpose of establishing...

Two Big Asylum Cases at 4th Circuit This Week

October 28, 2013

This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the federal appellate court which sets federal law in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the Carolinas, will hear two cases regarding U.S. asylum law. ...