EXCERPT FROM HEALING THE HURT: A GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING SERVICES FOR TORTURE SURVIVORS, LEGAL SERVICES, CHAPTER 7

This chapter provides an overview of challenges that arise when representing torture survivors and strategies to ensure these challenges do not act as a barrier to effective legal representation.

Attorneys encounter torture survivors with a variety of legal needs. Frequently, however, the survivor's initial and most pressing legal problem involves immigration matters, such as asylum, family reunifications, or defense from removal (deportation). Because safety is crucial to the survivor's ability to engage fully in torture treatment services, the asylum process is integral to rehabilitation.

Other related immigration legal services, including family reunification, and obtaining lawful permanent resident status, may also be vital to the survivor's steps toward rehabilitation. Survivors with a variety of immigration statuses may find themselves in need of representation in these matters.

When feasible, torture treatment centers and immigration legal services professionals work in cooperation. Lawyers, however, are rarely trained to work with survivors of torture and may be overwhelmed by the many challenges presented during representation.

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Handbooks

• Strategies for Naturalizing the Most Vulnerable Applicants: A Guide to Helping Refugees and Immigrants Who Are Elderly, Disabled, Low-Income, Low-Literate, and Limited English Proficient. 

The handbook is available in PDF format as a free resource on CLINIC's website at http://www.cliniclegal.org/Refugee/resources.html.

• Asylee Eligibility for Resettlement Assistance: A Short Guide.

The guide, updated to February 2008, is a free resource for service providers that can be viewed and printed in PDF format on the CLINIC website at www.cliniclegal.org, under “Publications.”

Training

Review Rocky Mountain Survivors Center Legal Pages to access training resources. See more detailed description of the link below.

Links

American Bar Association (ABA Lawyer Referral Services)
http://www.abanet.org

American Immigration Law Foundation
http://www.ailf.org/
The American Immigration Law Foundation provides information about immigration policy and law and helps to promote an increased understanding of the value of immigration to the United States. Their website includes information for attorneys, educators, and immigrants.

American Immigration Lawyers Association
http://www.aila.org/
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) provide excellent resources to attorneys practicing in the area of immigration law, including practice advisories and litigation support.

Asylumlaw.org
http://www.asylumlaw.org
A website run by an international consortium of agencies that help asylum seekers in Australia, Canada, the United States and several countries in Europe. It provides links to legal and human rights resources, experts, and other information valuable for asylum seekers.

Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC)
http://www.cliniclegal.org
The Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC) works to provide legal and non-legal support services to Catholic Charities and its legal immigration programs. Visitors to their website can access publications, information about CLINIC's programs and training seminars, and current developments in U.S. immigration policy.

Center for Justice and Accountability
http://www.cja.org
The Center for Justice and Accountability is a legal organization addressing the issue of human rights. They work nationally and are located in San Francisco, California. They assist torture survivors in bringing about civil litigation against their perpetrators of torture if they live in or visit the United States. They also offer referrals for medical and psychosocial needs and offer outreach to community organizations and the greater public. Torture treatment services established in 1998.

Human Rights First
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org
Human Rights First, formerly the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, is an organization that furthers of the promotion of human rights through their legal and advocacy work. Their website has access to many articles and resources related to political asylum, national and international policy, and torture.

Immigrant Legal Resource Center
http://www.ilrc.org
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center provides technical support and publication designed for nonprofits working in the area of immigration law. They offer information and publications for immigrants, immigrant leaders and legal professionals.

Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
http://www.lafla.org
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) has a project to specifically address the needs of torture survivors. The Torture Survivor's Project helps survivors with work permit issues, naturalization, family reunification and political asylum. LAFLA partners with several organizations to address the needs of torture survivors, including the local International Rescue Committee (IRC) office and the Program for Torture Survivors (PTV).

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
http://www.lirs.org/What/programs/torturesurvivor.htm
LIRS has coordinated a nationwide network of legal service hubs (New York; Miami, Florida; York, Pennsylvania; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Florence, Arizona, places where large concentrations of torture survivors are being detained in immigration detention. Their goals are to make contact with torture survivors who are lost and isolated in the detention system and to provide legal representation on their behalves. They work with many partner organizations which are listed on their website. They offer downloadable information helpful to those individuals released from immigration detention and who may have recently arrived in the United States, particularly asylum seekers. They offer a guide for asylum seekers called Pocket Knowledge which is available online in French, English, Spanish and Arabic.

Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
http://www.mnadvocates.org/
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (MAHR) is a volunteer-based legal organization seeking to promote and protect human rights. They work locally, nationally, and internationally on human rights issues affecting various populations including children, women, refugees, immigrants, and marginalized populations.

National Center of Immigrant Integration Policy (Migration Policy Institute)
http://www.migrationinformation.org/integration/language_portal/corner.cfm
The Language Portal is a digital library of close to 600 resources relating to the use of language access services in social services and public safety agencies.  The Portal includes legal guidelines, service models, master contracts for service providers, hourly translation and interpretation rates for different languages in key areas of the United States, pay differentials for multilingual staff, and sample translated documents.

National Immigration Law Center
http://www.nilc.org
The National Immigration Law Center is a national support center that promotes the rights of low income immigrants and their families. They offer up-to-date legal information on employment concerns, public benefits and immigration issues.

REDRESS
http://www.redress.org/legal_advice.html
REDRESS is an organization that seeks to provide legal counsel and assist torture survivors to obtain reparation and to make accountable those who perpetrate torture. This organization is located in London.

Rocky Mountain Survivors Center (Legal) http://www.rmscdenver.org/legal.html
Participants of Rocky Mountain Survivors Center receive legal assistance through RMSC's Legal Department and through a growing network of volunteer lawyers. The Legal Department organized the information in this section to assist our volunteer lawyers in preparing asylum cases.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm
Helpline 1-800-375-5283
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website has location and filing information for immigration benefits, including political asylum. Free immigration forms may be downloadable or filed from this site. Case status information for cases pending with USCIS may be obtained.

U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review
http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir
This is the website for the U.S. Immigration Court system and the Board of Immigration Appeals. This site contains court location and filing information, a Virtual Law Library, and information about free immigration legal services around the United States.