American Bar Association
This fall, the American Bar Association’s Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA) marks 10 years of standing up for the rights of immigrant children.
What began as a vision to ensure unaccompanied children had a fair chance at justice has grown into a decade-long journey of impact, resilience and hope. To honor this anniversary, CILA is hosting two celebrations:
• On Sept. 23, a virtual webinar, “Ten Years Pursuing Justice for Unaccompanied Children,” brought together voices from across the country to look back on the progress made and the challenges ahead.
• On Nov. 6, the story continues in Houston with an in-person celebration honoring the community that has walked alongside CILA in its mission and to look forward to the next decade of advocacy.
Supporters are urged to get involved and to donate to support CILA’s work.
“This is a pivotal moment for unaccompanied children and for organizations that serve them,” said Dalia Castillo-Granados, CILA director. “We want to celebrate all that CILA has been able to accomplish in the past decade. We remain steadfast in our mission and hope these events will help us secure support to continue our important work.”
Created in 2015 by the ABA Commission on Immigration, the legal resource center supports migrant children advocates — legal and social services professionals — through training, technical assistance, resource development and collaboration. Starting in Texas and expanding nationwide, CILA also plays a key role in informing the ABA’s advocacy on policies and legislation that impact immigrant youth.
A casual conversation between Meredith Linsky, director of the ABA Commission on Immigration, and Yasmin Yavar, CILA deputy director, led to CILA’s creation in 2015 when Yavar mentioned the idea of creating a Texas legal resource center focused on children’s immigration law. At the time, a plan had already been drafted by Castillo-Granados and Yavar that would aim to support legal service providers by providing training and support for their staff. Additionally, the center could support pro bono volunteers in their efforts to assist unaccompanied minors.
Meanwhile, the ABA Working Group on Unaccompanied Minor Immigrants was looking for a way to support legal advocates in expanding representation for immigrant children.
CILA’s first grant came from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, and separate sustaining funding has come from the Vera Institute of Justice, the Acacia Center for Justice, the Simmons Foundation and the Houston Endowment, among others.
“The CILA team has been a critical partner in the ABA’s advocacy efforts,” Linsky said. “CILA’s expertise and deep understanding of policies, regulations and laws has positioned them to lead the analysis and drafting of thoughtful regulatory comments and letters to the administration and has allowed the ABA to be a part of the conversation about due process and fair treatment of immigrant children.”
CILA continues to be an invaluable resource for advocates supporting immigrant children. Last year, CILA saw increased demand for technical assistance, increased use of its resources and, overall, more engagement with its services. CILA’s pro bono platform aids organizations by helping spread the word about immigrant children who need representation and assisting in volunteer recruitment efforts. Volunteer opportunities range from working on research projects, participating in legal clinics and providing direct representation.
In 2024, CILA hosted 28 trainings for attorneys, legal staff, social services staff, pro bono attorneys and judges; held 24 working group meetings for practitioners, attended by nearly 1,000 participants; and answered over 720 legal technical assistance questions and 60 social services technical assistance questions.
“Working alongside CILA has confirmed that our work is interconnected and beneficial to us all,” said Raul Gomez, supervising unaccompanied children legal services specialist for the ABA’s South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), which provides critical legal services for people at risk of deportation in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and in Houston.
“Their insightful comments and suggestions in projects such as the ProBAR booklet have provided us with a fresh perspective within the same line of work, while their technical assistance strengthens our ability to reach our mutual goals and better serve our clients. Together we elevate the quality and impact of our shared mission.”
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives /2025/09/aba-cila-celebrates-10-years/)
This fall, the American Bar Association’s Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA) marks 10 years of standing up for the rights of immigrant children.
What began as a vision to ensure unaccompanied children had a fair chance at justice has grown into a decade-long journey of impact, resilience and hope. To honor this anniversary, CILA is hosting two celebrations:
• On Sept. 23, a virtual webinar, “Ten Years Pursuing Justice for Unaccompanied Children,” brought together voices from across the country to look back on the progress made and the challenges ahead.
• On Nov. 6, the story continues in Houston with an in-person celebration honoring the community that has walked alongside CILA in its mission and to look forward to the next decade of advocacy.
Supporters are urged to get involved and to donate to support CILA’s work.
“This is a pivotal moment for unaccompanied children and for organizations that serve them,” said Dalia Castillo-Granados, CILA director. “We want to celebrate all that CILA has been able to accomplish in the past decade. We remain steadfast in our mission and hope these events will help us secure support to continue our important work.”
Created in 2015 by the ABA Commission on Immigration, the legal resource center supports migrant children advocates — legal and social services professionals — through training, technical assistance, resource development and collaboration. Starting in Texas and expanding nationwide, CILA also plays a key role in informing the ABA’s advocacy on policies and legislation that impact immigrant youth.
A casual conversation between Meredith Linsky, director of the ABA Commission on Immigration, and Yasmin Yavar, CILA deputy director, led to CILA’s creation in 2015 when Yavar mentioned the idea of creating a Texas legal resource center focused on children’s immigration law. At the time, a plan had already been drafted by Castillo-Granados and Yavar that would aim to support legal service providers by providing training and support for their staff. Additionally, the center could support pro bono volunteers in their efforts to assist unaccompanied minors.
Meanwhile, the ABA Working Group on Unaccompanied Minor Immigrants was looking for a way to support legal advocates in expanding representation for immigrant children.
CILA’s first grant came from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, and separate sustaining funding has come from the Vera Institute of Justice, the Acacia Center for Justice, the Simmons Foundation and the Houston Endowment, among others.
“The CILA team has been a critical partner in the ABA’s advocacy efforts,” Linsky said. “CILA’s expertise and deep understanding of policies, regulations and laws has positioned them to lead the analysis and drafting of thoughtful regulatory comments and letters to the administration and has allowed the ABA to be a part of the conversation about due process and fair treatment of immigrant children.”
CILA continues to be an invaluable resource for advocates supporting immigrant children. Last year, CILA saw increased demand for technical assistance, increased use of its resources and, overall, more engagement with its services. CILA’s pro bono platform aids organizations by helping spread the word about immigrant children who need representation and assisting in volunteer recruitment efforts. Volunteer opportunities range from working on research projects, participating in legal clinics and providing direct representation.
In 2024, CILA hosted 28 trainings for attorneys, legal staff, social services staff, pro bono attorneys and judges; held 24 working group meetings for practitioners, attended by nearly 1,000 participants; and answered over 720 legal technical assistance questions and 60 social services technical assistance questions.
“Working alongside CILA has confirmed that our work is interconnected and beneficial to us all,” said Raul Gomez, supervising unaccompanied children legal services specialist for the ABA’s South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), which provides critical legal services for people at risk of deportation in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and in Houston.
“Their insightful comments and suggestions in projects such as the ProBAR booklet have provided us with a fresh perspective within the same line of work, while their technical assistance strengthens our ability to reach our mutual goals and better serve our clients. Together we elevate the quality and impact of our shared mission.”
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives /2025/09/aba-cila-celebrates-10-years/)
