Mobilizing to Reunite Migrant Children & Families

Mobilizing Lawyers to Help Reunite Migrant Children & Families

The Vance Center's Keep Families Together (KFT) program helps to reunify and secure immigration relief for children and families separated by U.S. immigration policies. KFT mobilizes pro bono lawyers from Mexico and Central America to partner with lawyers from the U.S. in their representation of these children and families, all free of charge.

Over four years, KFT has made a tremendous impact by securing free, international co-counseling for over 275 migrant children and families, leading to many reunifications and/or legalization of immigration statuses.

Through KFT, lawyers at law firms across the region are drawing on their knowledge and networks to assist some of the most vulnerable migrants. When a U.S. legal partner approaches KFT, we find a lawyer from the child and/or family's home country to help with their case. These foreign lawyers are often the only people in a position to address critical legal and/or administrative hurdles, including: 

• Obtaining copies of and rectifying foreign birth certificates and medical records; 
• Representing and advising families on domestic legal issues in their home countries, including custody and guardianship issues; 
• Providing individualized support for children or families in deportation or removal proceedings in the U.S.;
• Gathering witness statements, often in hard-to-access, remote areas; and more.

Where we Need your Help

With social, political, and environmental violence increasing around the world, the need for collaboration among U.S. and international lawyers in the service of migrant children and families will only increase in scale and scope. Recently, we have seen many more migrant families from Colombia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela coming to the U.S., highlighting the growing need for cross-border pro bono co-counseling throughout the region. 

The KFT model meets this increasing legal need, but requires additional resources to do so. With your support, we will be able to scale this work and expand our services and capacity to make an even greater impact. Together, we will serve more migrant children and families than ever before, giving them the legal support to reunite with their families and settle safely in the U.S.

What our Partners are Saying about KFT

“Migrant children and families have complex legal needs here in Guatemala and in Central America generally, especially when they’re abroad. It’s been our honor at Mayora & Mayora to co-counsel with their U.S. lawyers and support them on a pro bono basis through the Vance Center’s Keep Families Together (KFT) initiative. KFT closes the access to justice gap for migrant children and families wherever possible and  our firm has witnessed—first hand—its life-changing impact on the most vulnerable members of our society.”

  Claudia Pereira, Partner at Mayora & Mayora 

“KIND’s partnership with Keep Families Together has been extremely helpful to our direct representation and pro bono attorneys. In many instances, without the assistance of pro bono resources identified through this initiative, there would have been insurmountable administrative and legal hurdles preventing our child clients from achieving protection in the U.S. As violence, natural disasters, and instability continue to force children to flee alone, the need for these important pro bono legal services is anticipated to grow.”

  Nirupa L. Narayan, Senior Director for Pro Bono Partnerships at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) 

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