At Project Corazón, our programs are designed to respond to the most urgent needs of migrants and asylum seekers while ensuring access to justice, dignity, and safety. Through innovation, collaboration, and the commitment of thousands of pro bono attorneys, we deliver comprehensive legal services that make a tangible difference in people’s lives.
Project Corazon: Detention Bridge Project
Right now, 60,000 immigrants sit in detention centers—up from 39,000 in January. Most will face deportation proceedings completely alone.
The stakes: Immigrants with legal representation are 5x more likely to win their cases. But detention centers operate as legal deserts—willing attorneys can't help because facilities are remote and procedures are impossible to navigate.
The solution: Project Corazon’s new Detention Bridge Project tears down these barriers.
DETENTION BRIDGE WILL:
✓ Build the first public database of detention center procedures—eliminating hundreds of wasted hours for volunteer attorneys
✓ Deploy volunteer lawyers to underserved facilities providing advocacy declarations, DHS complaints, and parole requests
✓ Serve hundreds of detained immigrants annually who would otherwise face deportation alone
Project Corazon: Work Permits Pro Bono Project
For over four years, Project Corazon work permit program has helped unrepresented asylum seekers apply for their employment authorization documents. Thousands of people fleeing harm in their home countries are currently in the process of seeking asylum in the US. While their cases are being processed by the government, these asylum seekers urgently need legal authorization to work so they can provide for themselves and their families.
The ability to work legally is essential for asylum seekers to support themselves and their families while awaiting the outcome of their cases. Our Work Permit Clinics, conducted both in-person and virtually, provide free legal assistance for initial and renewal applications, helping individuals navigate complex requirements and avoid costly mistakes.
Read more about the Work Permit Pro Bono Program.
“We are protecting the integrity of the legal system, due process, and the rule of law. We have obligations to those individuals that are rooted in the Constitution and our own international agreements.”
Know Your Rights (KYR) Sessions
Knowledge is a critical tool for empowerment. Our KYR sessions—offered online and in person—equip asylum seekers, including LGBTQ+ individuals and other vulnerable groups, with the information they need to understand the U.S. immigration system, their rights, and the steps required to pursue protection. With tens of thousands of participants and viewers, these sessions expand access to crucial legal knowledge nationwide.
Community organizations, groups, and service providers can request a KYR session for their users by email preguntas@L4GG.org
Estuardo Cifuentes, Project Corazón Program Manager, delivering an in-person Know Your Rights session for asylum seekers.
Internal Cases
In addition to large-scale clinics and trainings, our team also handles a select number of internal cases for clients in urgent or especially vulnerable circumstances. These include asylum seekers facing detention, individuals with urgent medical needs, and LGBTQ+ clients at heightened risk. By taking on internal cases directly, we ensure that those with the most pressing needs receive dedicated representation and protection.
Through these programs, Project Corazón remains committed to meeting migrants and asylum seekers where they are—whether at the border, in detention centers, or in communities across the country—and ensuring that no one is left without access to legal support and the possibility of a safer future.
Supervision and Support for Immigration Cases
Project Corazón provides close supervision and ongoing support for asylum and immigration cases handled not only by our vast network of pro bono attorneys, but also in collaboration with allied organizations that share our commitment to defending human rights. We ensure quality and consistency across representation by offering training, mentoring, and expert guidance. This approach allows us to maintain high standards of legal advocacy while engaging new attorneys in meaningful pro bono service.
We have a long history of defending the rights of migrants.
Marc, a Project Corazón client who survived false imprisonment in Haiti, torture in Mexico, and nine months of U.S. detention, reunited with his family after our team won his asylum case.
Our previous projects include Project Corazon Border Rights Project, and Project Corazon Rapid Response.
Most of our work centers on helping asylum seekers. An asylum seeker is a person who has fled their own country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Seeking asylum is legal under United States and international law.
Project Corazon works with partners across the country to address critical needs as they arise. We join forces with organizations, lawyers, and law firms on the front lines of the battle to reunite and represent immigrant families. Together, we look for ways to collaborate, share resources, and maximize our collective impact. From mobilizing law firms to complete more than 1,500 Credible Fear Interviews on short notice to building a large-scale project to assist Ukrainian nationals in the U.S. with applying for Temporary Protected Status in 2022, we remain flexible so we can effectively and efficiently help when new and urgent situations emerge.
3 Ways to Help Project Corazon:
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Donate to L4GG so that we can provide more free legal help to asylum-seekers without resources. Donations will support Project Corazon initiatives and go to the areas of most need.
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Project Corazon is seeking licensed attorneys who are willing to remotely assist asylum seekers with applying for their work permits. We estimate each matter will take approximately 5-10 hours, and we offer training and mentorship for all pro bono attorneys volunteering through this project.
If you are interested in volunteering to handle one or more of these matters, please click here to fill out our pro bono form and we will reach out when an opportunity becomes available.
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If you're an attorney, legal worker or law student, or translator who would like to volunteer with Project Corazon - Detention Bridge Program, please click here to learn more about how you can help. All volunteer opportunities are remote.