Ensuring Just Treatment for Immigrant Children

Photo by The Atlantic

Earlier this summer, the Law Foundation was part of a legal team that obtained a positive federal appeals court ruling determining that undocumented immigrant children detained by federal authorities must be given adequate living conditions, including access to clean water, proper heating and cooling, and appropriate sleeping conditions. Co-counsel on the case included the Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, and La Raza Centro Legal.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, ruled that immigration authorities must abide by the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, named for a teenage girl who brought the original case, that established standards for the detention, release, and treatment of minors in immigration custody.

Law Foundation attorney, Kate Manning, an expert on child welfare, argued for improved conditions on behalf of some of the children who were in detention and served as the Law Foundation’s lead on this case. The Law Foundation is thankful to its partners and is proud to have worked together to ensure that immigrant children across the country are treated with dignity and justice under the law.

Pro Bono Spotlight: A Little Help Goes A Long Way

When 8-year-old Charlie Taylor* began experiencing seizures as a result of mold and dust mites in his family’s apartment, Charlie’s doctor recommended the family clean the mold and replace the carpet with wood flooring. The family informed their landlord of Charlie’s illness and requested the repairs be made. Instead, the landlord refused and suggested the family move to another unit where the rent is higher. That’s when the Taylor family came to the Law Foundation and was matched with volunteer attorneys from Hogan Lovells, who quickly came to their rescue.

The Hogan Lovells team assigned to the case sent a letter to the landlord on the Taylor family’s behalf, requesting that he have the mold in the unit professionally cleaned and the carpet replaced with wood flooring. The landlord promptly agreed and then worked with our volunteers to make the necessary repairs and improve conditions in the apartment. 

Sean Mahsoul, an attorney at Hogan Lovells, shared the following about his experience:

“This case meant a great to deal to me especially given that the health of a child was at stake. We ended up achieving a positive result for our client that helped improve the health of his son and the livelihood of his family. It made me appreciate the impact that I can make as an attorney by using my legal skills to advocate for those who may not be able to advocate for themselves. I was especially happy that we were able to achieve a positive result without having to escalate the situation.”

*Name changed to protect identity

A Hard-Fought Five Years Brings a Huge Victory

For five years, more than 400 residents of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, Palo Alto’s last mobile home park, fought to preserve their homes after the park owners announced their intention to sell the property to a developer. 

Earlier this month, a deal was reached that will preserve the park as affordable housing.

Buena Vista families will continue to enjoy their diverse and tight-knit community and benefit from living in a high opportunity area of Silicon Valley, one that has high-quality Palo Alto schools, safe neighborhoods, jobs, and healthcare. 

We thank the Housing Authority of Santa Clara County and its Executive Director Katherine Harasz, who, together with Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, worked to ensure that Buena Vista will be preserved--and renovated-- and operated on a day-to-day basis by The Caritas Corporation, a nonprofit with a mission of maintaining quality affordable housing.

We worked in partnership with our tireless and courageous clients, the Buena Vista residents' association, and many other community advocates and supporters, including:  the Friends of Buena Vista, a dedicated group of Palo Altans, led by Winter Dellenbach; the Palo Alto School Board; the Palo Alto and regional PTAs, led by Susan Eldredge and Nancy Krop; the Community Working Group; Stanford professors and students, led by Education Professor Amado Padilla; Larry Klein; and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and his staff members Micaela Hellman-Tincher and Kristina Loquist. 

Photo by Eric Kuhri, Bay Area News Group

The Law Foundation's Buena Vista preservation team included senior attorneys Nadia Aziz and Diana Castillo, senior outreach coordinators Teresa Magana and Nuemi Guzman, supervising attorney Melissa Morris, former supervising attorney James Zahradka, and directing attorney Kyra Kazantzis.  The team was supported by expert co-counsel Madeline Howard, Navneet Grewal, Sue Himmelreich, and Dick Rothschild at the Western Center on Law & Poverty. The law firm of Sidley Austin LLP provided generous pro bono staffing and financial resources for the litigation effort; Matt Dolan and Norm Blears were the key, hard-working members of the Sidley team.