Acacia Center for Justice
The Acacia Center for Justice is a left-of-center advocacy organization that provides legal advice and counsel to illegal immigrants, including those facing deportation proceedings. Most of the organization’s programs receive taxpayer funding through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office of Immigration Review. 1
Contents
Activities
The Acacia Center for Justice advocates and provides legal support for illegal immigrants who face detention or deportation from the United States, often using taxpayer funding. The Center claims that the criminal legal and deportation systems are racially biased and that immigrants often face “systemic dehumanization.” 2
The Unaccompanied Children Program is managed in partnerships with the Vera Institute of Justice and works with a network of 50 legal service providers to provide publicly funded attorneys to children facing deportation. These attorneys focus on children detained by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 1 In December 2023, The Acacia Center for Justice became the primary contract with the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Unaccompanied Children Program to provide legal information and representation to minors who illegally crossed the border without their parents. 3
The Legal Orientation Program for Custodians is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office of Immigration Review and educates custodians of unaccompanied minors who crossed the border illegally about the child’s legal rights and the conduct of immigration proceedings. 1
The Children’s Counsel Initiative is also funded by the Executive Office of Immigration Review to provide legal representation to illegal immigrant children who do not have a parent or custodian. 1
The National Qualified Representative Program is also funded by the Executive Office of Immigration Review and operates as the first public defender-style program in immigration court where illegal immigrants who are deemed unable to represent themselves are granted a taxpayer-funded attorney. 1
The Family Group Legal Orientation Program is also funded by the Executive Office for Immigration Review to provide families who illegally crossed the border information on their legal options as well as court practices and procedures. 1
The Children’s Holistic Immigration Representation Program is funded by the California Department of Social Services to provide both social and legal services to unaccompanied illegal immigrant children residing in California. 1
The Immigration Court Help Desk is funded by the Executive Office for Immigration Review and is a legal education program for illegal immigrants who are not currently detained, particularly teaching individuals how to advocate for themselves in court. 1
The Legal Orientation Program is also funded by the Executive Office for Immigration Review to provide legal education to those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and who face removal proceedings. LOP operates in over 30 ICE facilities. 1
It was reported that in March 2022, the Acacia Center had received a three-year $769 million contract from the U.S Department of the Interior for the purpose of providing legal services for migrants in immigration court and deportation hearings. 4 As of January 2025, the Second Trump Administration froze federal funding that impacted several of the Center’s legal services. In response, Acacia Center deputy chief of programs Mike Corradini commented to the Washington Free Beacon, claiming, “We are ready to work with the Department of Justice to review and rapidly restore these essential services so that Acacia and our partners in the legal field can continue to deliver on the promise of justice for all.” 4
Following President Donald Trump’s reelection in November 2024, Acacia Center executive director Shaina Aber sent out a statement claiming, “No election result will erase the diversity and strength of our multicultural origins…[w]hatever comes, our partners will fight to ensure due process protections are not jettisoned in favor of politically motivated scapegoating.” 4
People
The executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice is Shaina Aber. Aber is a racial equity and inclusion advocate who previously worked as the deputy director of the Center of Immigration and Justice at the Vera Institute of Justice, a left-of-center advocacy organization that agitates against what it characterizes as mass incarceration, racial disparities, and marginalization particularly surrounding immigration and criminal justice issues. Aber also worked at the National Advocacy Office of the Jesuits of the United States and Canada where she focused on immigration and border policy. 5
Financial Statistics
Total Assets
Total Revenue
Total Expenses
Revenue Detail
Expenses Detail
Employee Compensation
- Number of Employees: 170
Highest Earning Employees
Grant Activity
All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $9,284,548
- Number of Grants: 4
- Number of Funders: 2
Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:
| Amount | Year | Funder | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,584,548 | 2024 | VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE INC | CDSS GRANT BALANCE TRANSFER (CHILD LEGAL SERVICES GRANT) AND GENERAL SUPPORT |
| $1,700,000 | 2023 | VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE INC | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT. |
| $1,600,000 | 2022 | VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE INC | START-UP/GENERAL SUPPORT GRANT |
| $400,000 | 2025 | The Ford Foundation | Core support for the National Immigrant Legal Responders Alliance (NILRA) and its Immigrant Defense and Litigation Fund for organization building, strengthening, and expanding immigrant legal defense programs for adults and children across the country |
All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $4,983,671
- Number of Grants: 16
- Number of Recipients: 16
Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years: