Austin has a new non-profit in town. Vecina was founded in November 2019 by Lindsay Gray, who now serves as CEO. Its mission is to “empower immigrant justice advocates through mentoring attorneys, educating communities, and mobilizing volunteers.”
Vecina was founded to address the need for legal representation for the thousands of asylum seekers stuck in Mexico under the Trump administration’s Remain in Mexico (MPP) program. Working with local advocacy organizations in the Tijuana and Laredo areas, Vecina focuses on matching pro bono attorneys with clients who need their services, and providing those attorneys, most of whom are not specialists in immigration law, with the necessary training and mentoring to be successful. Although the MPP is being phased out under the Biden administration, and many asylum seekers will be permitted to pursue their cases from this side of the border, the need for legal services remains critical.
In addition to one-on-one mentoring, Vecina also provides group trainings for new immigration lawyers and volunteers at non-profits as well as at bar associations and law firms. Some of these trainings offer Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit to participants.
Beyond the legal world, Vecina also seeks to combat misunderstanding and misinformation about immigration among the general public. They provide speakers to community groups seeking to understand what is going on with immigration and asylum, and experts to address these issues in the media. Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an Austin immigration attorney and President of Vecina’s Board of Directors recently appeared on Fox News to debate Biden’s changes to immigration policy with Stephen Miller, architect of some of Trump’s most cruel and inhumane policies. She was a brave woman to enter this arena! Despite facing a barrage of mockery and misinformation, she provided a much-needed injection of compassion and factual information.
We will add a link to Vecina on the Women on the Border Volunteer Opportunities page. In addition to the continuing need for volunteer attorneys, they are also looking for administrative, social media, and accounting help in their Austin office.