Public Counsel

📣 Join our groundbreaking team! Public Counsel’s Opportunity Under Law Project is looking for a passionate Staff Attorney to fight for racial and economic justice through cutting-edge impact litigation, community-based campaigns, and strategic communications. ⏰ Apply by July 20, 2025 🔗 Details here—https://lnkd.in/gVaP_TPB Help uphold the rule of law, defend justice, and protect the rights of our communities. #Hiring #PublicInterestLaw #RacialJustice #EconomicJustice #LegalJobs

Last night, a federal court issued two Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs) against the Trump administration, halting unlawful immigration raids and detentions in Southern California. The rulings establish that the federal government’s actions likely violated the Constitution and must immediately stop. 🔸The first TRO bars immigration agents from stopping people without reasonable suspicion, including based on race, language, location, or work.   🔸The second TRO ensures access to legal counsel for individuals detained at B-18—a holding site in the basement of the federal building in downtown LA, where many have been held in horrific conditions without adequate food, hygiene, or even beds. Read the full press release here: https://bit.ly/ICE-TRO Deep appreciation to our co-counsel and courageous individual plaintiffs and plaintiff organizations: Los Angeles Worker Center Network, United Farm Workers Of America (UFW), CHIRLA, and Immigrant Defenders Law Center—represented by Public Counsel, ACLU SoCal, Hecker Fink LLP, Law Offices of Stacy Tolchin, UC Irvine School of Law Immigrant and Racial Justice Solidarity Clinic, NDLON National Day Laborer Organizing Network, ACLU of Northern California and ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, Martinez Aguilasocho Law, Inc., CHIRLA, and Immigrant Defenders Law Center.

UPDATE: This afternoon, we were in federal court seeking Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs) to immediately halt the Trump administration’s unlawful immigration raids in Southern California and restore access to legal counsel for individuals detained in inhumane, dungeon-like conditions. Hear from Public Counsel Staff Attorney Rebecca Brown speaking at today's press conference. The Court indicated decisions will be issued tomorrow—stay tuned for updates! Deep gratitude to our co-counsel and courageous individual plaintiffs and plaintiff organizations: Los Angeles Worker Center Network, United Farm Workers Of America (UFW), CHIRLA, and Immigrant Defenders Law Center—represented by Public Counsel, ACLU SoCal, Hecker Fink LLP, Law Offices of Stacy Tolchin, UC Irvine School of Law Immigrant and Racial Justice Solidarity Clinic, NDLON National Day Laborer Organizing Network, ACLU of Northern California and ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, Martinez Aguilasocho Law, Inc., CHIRLA, and Immigrant Defenders Law Center. 

Please indulge me a nerdy post and a solicitation… I am humbled and honored to be on the board of this incredible organization. And I was beyond excited to hear Diego Luna’s kind words about Public Counsel’s dedicated staff attorneys, who defend freedom on a daily basis. But, for every Cassian Andor openly fighting for liberty, we need a few Mon Mothma’s behind the scenes, helping to finance the cause. If you are looking for ways to chip in, please consider donating to Public Counsel: https://lnkd.in/gYu8FB3v

I am the proud son of #immigrants. 🇳🇬 I've benefited so much from those in the U.S. who fought tirelessly to make my parents' journey possible. 🇺🇸 As such, I've always tried to give back to the community that made me. 🙏🏿 One way in particular has been through Public Counsel, the nation’s largest provider of pro bono #legal services. Through them, I've been able to help survivors of domestic violence obtain lawful status in the U.S. It's been rewarding. ☺️ In addition to #immigration cases, there are so many other ways to help as a #lawyer, whether it be with #evictions, #bankruptcies, #veteran affairs, and so much more. ⚖️ Not a lawyer? No problem! Public Counsel also looks for people with specialized skills, which includes #paralegals, forensic #accountants, and #translators (students are welcome too). 🤓 If you're interested in learning more, please follow this link: 🔗https://lnkd.in/gb8BgZni. #immigration #probono #law #mba

For my California immigration advocates, I think this will be a great training to address family preparedness and to help support immigrant family unity during these extraordinary times.

Please spread the word about this training that Meredith Wallis from LSPC and I are doing on Wednesday. The webinar is for anyone who works with immigrant communities and wants to know more about how families can prepare.

Immigration attorneys and advocates: Join the Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC) on July 9 at 12 PM (PT) for a critical training on how immigration enforcement intersects with foster care. Learn how deportation impacts child custody, the differences between state and federal foster care systems, and practical strategies to help immigrant families avoid foster care placements during immigration crises. Presenters: Meredith Wallis (Legal Services for Prisoners with Children) and Sharon Balmer Cartagena (Public Counsel). 📅 Register here: https://lnkd.in/gksQ2Nju MCLE: 1-hour General Credit available. #FamilyPreparedness #ImmigrantRights #FosterCare

Very proud of the team at Hecker Fink LLP helping to bring this important case.

Last month, masked federal agents descended across Southern California, raiding street corners, car washes, parking lots, and worksites. Our community members, simply going about their lives, were targeted, interrogated, and disappeared. Since this surge in ICE enforcement and terror, CHIRLA has responded by serving the impacted families who have a loved one who was kidnapped and disappeared, and by responding to ICE sightings in our communities. Today, CHIRLA joined ACLU SoCal, Public Counsel, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and impacted families in exposing severe constitutional violations at the B18 detention center in Los Angeles, where our community members are forced to be in inhumane conditions, with attorneys having been denied access, and 4th Amendment rights have been violated. We will not stop fighting for our loved ones, our rights under the Constitution, and the basic human dignity that we all deserve. #SomosCHIRLA #NoDeportations #NoDetentions