Immigrant Defenders Law Center

ImmDef is now the largest nonprofit pro bono provider of deportation defense in California with offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego. Our team provides full-scale deportation defense representation and other legal services to approximately 30,000 adults and children in over 10 Southern California counties annually. We defend due process in immigration court by providing holistic legal services to vulnerable populations such as unaccompanied children, separated families, deported veterans, immigrants with mental health disabilities, and detained community members at all stages of their case. We advocate for systemic change in the immigration system through impact litigation and policy advocacy.Our programs include: our Childrens Representation Program, dedicated to representing thousands of child migrants in removal proceedings who would otherwise be forced to face immigration court alone, and providing legal education and individualized consultations to unaccompanied children detained by the U.S. government in local shelters; our Adult Representation Program, committed to providing holistic legal services to separated families, deported veterans, immigrants with mental health disabilities, and detained community members at all stages of their case; our Cross Boarder Initiative Program, focused on advocating for human rights, providing triage, legal support and representation at the U.S.-Mexico border; and our Litigation and Advocacy Program, devoted to pursuing strategic litigation to benefit immigrants and asylum seekers, engaging in policy advocacy for a more just immigration system, and advocating for local government initiatives that protect our communities and provide a sustainable legal services model that meets local needs.