Special Volunteer Opportunity: Immigration Community Response Initiative

For MBA Members Who Are Probate, Family, Estate and Immigration Law Practitioners

In collaboration with the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants (“ORI”) is spearheading an urgent immigration-related “community response initiative.” We are looking for MBA probate, family, estate and immigration lawyers to volunteer to meet at community-based events to provide legal advice to families left behind as a result of the increased intensity of ICE enforcement in Massachusetts, as well as families and individuals concerned about or at risk of ICE arrest, detention or deportation. Volunteering, however, does not involve providing direct representation.

This is a developing crisis and emergency that requires our legal profession and the MBA to step-up. When so many of us are looking for meaningful opportunities to volunteer, MBA lawyers can provide needed legal support at this point in time to Massachusetts immigrant families and individuals.

The event will be staged and organized by local non-profits that work closely with immigrants. The volunteer lawyer will meet with individuals and families directly affected by ICE enforcement to provide needed probate, estate planning, and family law-related legal advice, about, for example, guardianships, conservatorships, parentage proceedings, caregiver authorizations and powers of attorney, as well as immigration-related legal advice. Volunteer lawyers may also be asked to provide a brief presentation on family preparedness in the wake of heightened ICE enforcement. The community-based events will have interpreters available.

MBA volunteer lawyers will not be required to accept cases for limited or full representation, or prepare any documents. Rather, we are asking MBA volunteers to assist families in understanding their legal options when one or both parents have been detained or removed from the country. For further legal assistance, volunteers may provide a referral to the website, “Massachusetts legal help.” 

However, if the need of those who seek advice falls within the practice area of the MBA volunteer lawyer, the lawyer may choose to represent the client pro bono, or otherwise.

Any questions, please email Susan Church at susan.church@mass.gov, or Richard Cole, member of the MBA’s Civil Rights & Social Justice Section Council, at rcole.bostonlaw@rcn.com. 

If you are interested, please fill out this very short Microsoft form, which will then automatically go to ORI, and someone will contact you: https://forms.office.com/g/f7uYLpK3q3