| RAICES | |
| Status: | 501(c)(3) Non-profit organization |
| Purpose: | To model a welcoming nation by fighting for the freedoms of immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking people and families. |
| Headquarters: | San Antonio, TX |
| Tax Id: | 74-2436920[1] |
| Location: | P.O. Box 786100 San Antonio, Texas 78278 United States |
| Leader Name: | Dolores K. Schroeder, MSW, JD |
| Services: | Immigration Legal and Social Services |
| Leader Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
| Employees: | 320 |
Headquartered in Texas and with national reach, RAICES, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formally known as the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, promotes migrant justice by providing legal services, social services case management, and rights advocacy for immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking people and families.
RAICES is currently the largest immigration legal services agency in Texas.[2]
RAICES was founded in 1986 during the Sanctuary Movement as a response to immigration policies that created impossible legal barriers for Central American refugees to seek protection in the U.S.
In June 2018, publicity regarding the Trump administration's family separation policy led to the creation of an Internet campaign to collect funds for RAICES.[3] [4] [5]
A Facebook user in California created a fundraiser for RAICES called "Reunite an immigrant parent with their child." Raising over $20 million, the fundraiser was created in response to a "zero tolerance" immigration policy implemented in April 2018 by United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions,[6] which requires United States Border Patrol agents to detain for criminal prosecution all adult immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally, which requires separating children from their incarcerated parent(s).[7]