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

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. ³ 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. ⁴

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. ⁵

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. ⁶

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. ⁷

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. ⁸

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. ⁹

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. ¹⁰

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. ¹¹

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. ¹²

1. “Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs.
2. “About Us.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/about-us/.
3. “Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs.
4. Allman, Madison. “Acacia Center for Justice Becomes the Prime Contractor for the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Unaccompanied Children Program.” Acacia Center for Justice. December 15, 2023. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://acaciajustice.org/acacia-becomes-prime-contractor-office-refugee-resettlement-unaccompanied-children-program/
5.  “Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs.
6. “Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs.
7.  “Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs.
8. “Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs.
9. “Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs.
10. “Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs.
11.  “Our Programs.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/what-we-do/#our-programs.
12. “Shaina Aber.” Acacia Center for Justice. Accessed January 16, 2024. https://acaciajustice.org/team/shaina-aber/.