Advokato is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free legal assistance to underserved communities in and out of detention facilities and shelters. Our specialty is serving unaccompanied minors.
Every year in Bexar County, children appear in immigration court without a parent, without a lawyer, and without understanding what is happening to them.
We stand with them.
Donate Now Learn MoreImmigration court is adversarial.
There is no public defender.
Even for children.
Unaccompanied children are expected to face a judge, a government prosecutor, an interpreter, and a complex legal system entirely on their own. Many are under 15. Many do not speak English. Most have experienced trauma.
Without legal representation, the outcome is often decided before the child ever speaks.
Advokato exists to ensure that no unaccompanied child in Bexar County faces immigration court alone. We provide comprehensive legal services to children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, standing beside them from the moment they enter the system until their case is resolved. Justice should not depend on age, language, or luck.
Fear turns into understanding.
Our attorneys go directly into shelters and foster care programs to explain, in clear and age-appropriate language, what is happening, what rights children have, and how they can ask for help.
For many children, this is the first time anyone has explained their situation.
One attorney can change one life.
We recruit, train, and support pro bono lawyers so more children have representation in court. We provide the guidance and infrastructure that turn willingness into real advocacy. Your support multiplies impact.
When no one else can, we step in.
Some cases are urgent. Some are complex. Some children cannot wait. Our attorneys provide full legal representation, standing beside children in court and fighting for their safety from start to finish.
With a lawyer, children are far more likely to:
Without one, they face overwhelming odds and irreversible consequences.
The difference is representation.
Unaccompanied children do not have the means to hire lawyers.
The legal system does not provide one for them.
Every service we provide depends on donor support.
Your donation:
This is due process, made real.
Children did not choose to arrive alone.
They should not face the system alone.