New York Times Reports on Akin Gump Pro Bono Work with Detained Immigrant Families

In its article “The Shame of America’s Family Detention Camps,” on the federal government’s detention of undocumented Central American immigrants—primarily women and children fleeing regional violence—in large centers in New Mexico and Texas, The New York Times noted Akin Gump’s pro bono work at the Karnes City, Texas detention facility.

The article outlines the history of the detention facility in Artesia, New Mexico, as well as the challenges for both detainees and their legal counsel and traces the eventual transfer of the women and children being held there to a facility in Karnes City, Texas.

In late August, Akin Gump formed the Karnes City Immigrant Family Pro Bono Project with representatives from the University of Texas Law School Immigration Clinic, the Tahirih Justice Center, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and Human Rights First to provide legal counsel to the families being held at that center. The organizing role played by Akin Gump lawyer Lauren Connell on behalf of the Karnes detainees is noted in the article.

In October, The National Law Journal profiled the firm’s work at Karnes City. To read more about it, please click here.