Legal Representation

Advocates for Immigrant Rights provides legal representation designed to fulfill the needs of our community. Our programs and initiatives are focused on the protection of rights within the immigration legal system for our clients.

Advice-Only Legal Consultations

Empowering immigrants: AIR’s Rapid Response Advice-Only Legal Consultations

Our mission to fight for the dignity, safety, and inclusion of vulnerable immigrants is more crucial than ever. In response to the surging demand for legal services and the constraints of our limited resources, AIR has launched rapid response Advice-Only Legal Consultation appointments to provide accessible, high impact support. During these appointments, our experienced immigration attorneys meet virtually with clients to deliver comprehensive legal advice, evaluating their unique situations, identifying potential forms of relief, and exploring all available legal pathways. These sessions empower immigrants with clarity and confidence to pursue make informed choices about their future.

Citizenship Initiative

Naturalization is the process of becoming a United States citizen and is essential to having an equal say in our country. Because naturalizing is complex, we are equipping eligible clients with the necessary tools to accomplish this final step in their immigration process.

To aid our community in obtaining citizenship status without facing financial barriers, AIR renders services at a low cost.

You may qualify to apply for citizenship if you have held Legal Permanent Resident status (a green card) for at least 3 years if you obtained status through your citizen spouse, or 5 years otherwise and can demonstrate proficiency in English and civics.

If you believe you may qualify to apply for citizenship, we encourage you to reach to us to schedule an intake appointment.

Freedom Found Initiative

Through this program we represent people who have fled their countries because they fear persecution and torture for the kind of person they are or the opinions or beliefs they hold. In particular, we serve those people seeking asylum before the Memphis Immigration Court and those detained in the numerous facilities run by or contracted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement across Louisiana and Mississippi.

LGBTQI Focus

Across the globe, LGBTQI people are subject to the threat of murder, rape, trafficking, sex slavery, discrimination and subjugation, often sanctioned by their own governments. Fleeing such dangerous conditions, when they get to the U.S., LGBTQI people are often subject to stigma that comes from the overlapping marginalization of identities as immigrants. The burden of defending one’s legitimacy is even greater for transgender people, whose gender the state struggles to define and whose legal status is in question. Systemic violence shows up throughout the immigration system and in no place is it worse than in detention. LGBTQI people in particular face extreme violence because they are often held in gender inappropriate facilities or in solitary confinement "for their own safety". We want to make sure people can live freely and love who they choose without threat of violence.

Mid-South Unity Program

Through this program we represent people who have been living in the MidSouth for many years, have established lives and built families in this area, having worked and paid taxes only to find themselves swept up in immigration proceedings. We fight for these families to stay together and stay strong.
Our goal is to ensure that individuals are able to remain with their families to support and sustain themselves while they fight for their right to remain in this country. We do this by providing direct representation to those who have been detained or who are at risk of being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In addition to direct representation, we seek opportunities for outreach to educate and engage at-risk communities in order to prevent issues with immigration.