Press

“With this policy, the Trump administration is purposefully keeping Central Americans in unsafe conditions without access to counsel and evidence in an effort to send them straight back to the hands of their persecutors.” – Dree Collopy

“This bill will bring an end to asylum for all minors from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala arriving at the U.S. border. This historic change in asylum law would categorically block tens of thousands of children from ever applying for asylum.” – Dree Collopy

“President Trump tried to claim Tuesday night that shutting down the federal government over his demand for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is a compassionate action — that he is taking a stand on behalf of the American public and even immigrants in response to what he called a “humanitarian and security crisis.” Trump was right about one thing: What’s happening on the southern border is a crisis. But it is his choices that have created it, and his wall would not solve anything.” — Dree Collopy

Although her focus is on helping clients prevent deportation altogether, Benach said she now spends time instructing families on how to fill out the standby guardianship forms. “It’s responsive to a great need in the immigrant community here,” Benach said. “It gives people a little peace of mind.” — Ava Benach

What happens to the American-born children of immigrants who face deportation from the United States? Throughout most of the country, they become wards of the state, leaving

“If I were to walk into court asking for a final decision before the the shutdown even happened, I would have to wait until 2021,” Ava Benach, an immigration attorney at Benach Collopy told ThinkProgress in an interview. “I have a client who was supposed to have a hearing on January 3 where we were going to resolve a number of issues and create a plan going forward, and now who knows when that will happen?”