Legal Service Providers

RRRN is often not able to fulfill requests for financial support around immigration attorney costs. This page provides general information about some legal providers for low-income immigrants at risk of detention or deportation in the Greater Rochester area.

Note: This page is not meant as legal advice.

Advocacy request

Did you know? In criminal courts, the Sixth Amendment guarantees a right to counsel—but because immigration courts are civil, immigrants are not guaranteed that same right. Please contact your Senator about NY legislation that would give everyone access to representation in immigration court!

Free legal service providers

Immigration Law Unit at Legal Aid Society of Rochester provides support with various immigration matters, including but not limited to:

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions
Removal Proceedings
Work Authorization

For more information, read about Legal Aid Society’s Immigration Law Unit on their website or contact their Rochester office at 585-232-4090.

Immigration Legal Services at Journey’s End Refugee Services offers support to low-income refugees, asylees, and other immigrants around:

Permanent resident (Green Card) & Citizenship Services
Travel Documents and Work Authorization
Family Reunification
Immigration Status / Removal Defense

For more information, read about Journey’s End Immigration Legal Services on their website or contact Journey’s End Refugee Services by phone. Their satellite office at Catholic Family Center in Rochester, NY can be reached at 585-546-7200 x 4622.

Immigration Legal Assistance Program at Worker Justice of Western NY (WJCNY) specialties in supporting low-income immigrants around:

Labor Trafficking
Sexual abuse and domestic violence

For more information, go on WJCNY’s website and read about their Legal and Anti-Human Trafficking services. If you or someone you know is in need of legal assistance, please contact their Rochester office at 585-325-3050 to set up a consultation or get a referral.

VIVE at Jericho Road Community Health Center provides support for those wishing to make an asylum claim at the Canadian border. They can:

Request an appointment on your behalf with the Canada Border Services Agency
Assist in gathering documentation to support your claim and proof of qualifying family member
Provide an orientation about entering Canada to make a refugee claim
Answer questions to the best of their ability (but cannot give Canadian legal advice)

For more information, read about VIVE’s Legal Office on their website and contact VIVE at 716-892-4354 or viveinfo@jrchc.org.

Rochester’s Chapter of National Lawyers Guild is an anti-racist, anti-capitalist, and anti-imperalist organization that provides support around:

Presence of Rochester NLG legal observers at rallies (request in advance)
Legal Observer trainings
Multilingual Know Your Rights materials for law enforcement interactions
Legal Line for post-arrest support at 585-299-2977

For more information, go on National Lawyers Guild Rochester’s Facebook page.

Immigration Attorney Recommendations / Reviews

We are collecting information to create a resource for the community. Please email us at rocrapidresponse@gmail.com if you know of anyone who is open to pro bono work or have reviews (good, bad, or mixed) of immigration attorneys in the Greater Rochester area.