Legal Navigation

A legal services navigator acts as a trusted access point for community members seeking immigration legal services. Navigators are not attorneys and cannot provide legal advice or complete legal forms for you. However, navigators can provide general information to help orient community members to immigration processes and connect them to immigration attorneys who can provide legal advice and complete legal forms.

When you contact Pueblo Unido, our navigators will collect detailed information about your immigration situation and work with you to find legal resources to support your case, including free legal aid programs, organizations that provide low-cost legal services, and private attorneys that specialize in helping people in your situation.

Because immigration cases contain confidential information, rest assured that our navigators are trained to protect and maintain strict confidentiality of your case. This information will only be shared with your permission to help you find adequate legal assistance.

Pueblo Unido helps people detained at the NW Detention Center in Tacoma, WA find attorneys to defend them against deportation and try to secure their release. If you would like to request help for a loved one who is detained in Tacoma, you can contact our navigators by calling 503-360-0324 or by completing the Legal and Social Services Request form at the top of this page. Individuals who are detained in Tacoma can contact us toll-free from inside the detention center by calling 503-912-8925 (intake line open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9am-5pm, except on federal holidays).

When you call Pueblo Unido to request help finding an attorney to defend your loved one in detention against deportation, our navigators will gather detailed information about the the person in detention--including biographical information, their travel history to and from the US, their family history, their immigration and criminal history, and their work history--and arrange for a free consultation with an attorney in our network. Pueblo Unido has developed a network of attorneys that are licensed, have experience with removal defense, are in good-standing with the state bar association, and who we’ve vetted and consider trustworthy. It’s important to note that these attorneys are not Pueblo Unido employees and we cannot control what cases they decide to take.

If the attorney offers to take on the case, the attorney will likely request an initial retainer fee of several thousand dollars and ask the client or their family to make additional monthly payments. While Pueblo Unido likely cannot cover 100% of the total legal defense cost, we may be able to help your family pay part of the initial retainer fee so that you can hire someone to start defending your loved one.

Please note that it’s up to the person in detention and their family to make a decision about whether to hire the attorney that we arranged a consultation with, or whether to consult with other attorneys. Pueblo Unido can offer general information to help guide the the decision-making process, but ultimately, the decision is up to the person in detention and their family.

After helping find an attorney and hire representation, Pueblo Unido may also be able to help the person in detention and their family obtain supporting evidence, such as support letters or relevant records, or cover additional costs related to gathering other forms of evidence like a psychological evaluation or an expert witness to testify at the final court hearing (also known as the individual calendar hearing or merits hearing).

Pueblo Unido can also make deposits on the detained person’s phone account so that they are able to communicate with their advocates, attorney, and loved ones.

Equity Corps of Oregon (ECO) is a publicly funded program that seeks to end unjust deportations by providing free legal assistance to individuals who are representing themselves before the Portland immigration court. Equity Corps aims to achieve universal representation in immigration court through a collective effort of community-based organizations and legal service providers. It is the first and only statewide universal representation program for immigrant defense in the entire country.

ECO was officially launched in Fall 2018, with the support of the City of Portland and Multnomah County. The program is the culmination of years of effort by members of the Oregon Ready coalition to create an innovative model of universal representation to defend Oregon immigrants from unjust and illegal deportation.

In Fall 2019, The State of Oregon allocated funds to support the state expansion of the ECO program, with the goal of providing legal representation for each of Oregon residents facing deportation proceedings in the Portland Immigration Court without sufficient resources to hire an attorney.

Pueblo Unido was selected as the Statewide Navigation Organization to support expansion of the ECO program, by providing:

• Legal navigation services;

• Training and accreditation of volunteer community navigators; and,

• Targeted outreach to immigrant communities across the state.

Prior to the launch of ECO, nearly half of immigrants facing deportation in Oregon appeared in the Portland Immigration Court without legal counsel. Without an attorney, respondents are far less likely to prevail against an unjust deportation. Those who are represented in removal proceedings are fifteen times more likely to apply for relief and five-and-a-half times more likely to win their cases and prevail against unjust deportations when compared to their non-represented counterparts.

To qualify for free legal services through the ECO program, you should:

• At risk of deportation;

• Reside in Oregon;

• Not be currently represented by an attorney;

• Earn < 200% of the federal poverty guidelines (which will be determined after your interview with a navigator)

1. Contact Pueblo Unido by calling 503-360-0324 or completing the Legal and Social Services Request form at the top of this page to schedule an appointment with a navigator.

2. Provide the information requested by our navigators, including information about your immigration case and copies of your immigration documents, to be included in your “navigation” (enrollment application).

Keep in mind that:

• The appointment with the navigator can take between 1-2 hours to complete;

• All of the information provided in the interview will be kept confidential and protected. Your navigator will only share this information with your permission to deportation defense attorneys.

• You can request an interpreter if necessary.

• After your appointment, your navigator will submit your “navigation” (enrollment application) to the attorneys at Innovation Law Lab, who is the Central Administrator of the ECO program.

• Innovation Law Lab will review the navigation, determine whether you are eligible for the ECO program, and inform your navigator of their decision within 2 weeks. Then your navigator will contact you directly to relay the eligibility determination.

• If you are determined to be eligible for the ECO program, Innovation Law Lab will then assign your case to a legal service provider to begin assisting you with your case.

Learn more about the ECO program by watching the video below.

Pueblo Unido also provides navigation services for people who do not qualify for ECO, including: people who reside outside of Oregon; people who are seeking affirmative legal services to obtain, maintain, or adjust status; and, people seeking non-immigration legal services, such as administrative, employment, housing, or family law. To learn more or request support, contact our navigation team by calling 503-360-0324 or by completing the Legal and Social Services Request form at the top of this page.

Nonprofit legal service providers in the Portland metro area offer support services for a variety of non-removal immigration issues at reduced/no-cost on a case-by-case basis. Some examples include:

• Support for LGBTQ immigrants

• Know Your Rights information

• Lawful Permanent Residency (Green Card)

• Family-Based Applications and Visas

• Employment Authorization

• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

• Naturalization and Citizenship

• ESL Classes

• Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

• Visa for crime victims (U visa)

• Survivors of human trafficking (T visa)

• Survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child sexual abuse (VAWA)

• Passport and Travel Documents (refugee travel documents, re-entry permits)

• Diversity Lottery

• Translation and Notary Services

Please Note: Nonprofit organizations typically have limited capacity and may not be able to respond to your request or take on your case.

If you would like a referral to a nonprofit legal service organization in the Portland metro area, please contact us.

If you live in Oregon and are seeking immigration legal services, please call the Oregon Worker Relief Call Center at 1-888-274-7292 between 9am-6pm Monday through Friday. 

If you live outside of Oregon and are seeking immigration legal services, or if you are seeking social services, please complete our online referral form or call us at 503-360-0324 and press 0 to be connected to the operator (Note: Due to high call volume and limited personnel, we may not be able to return all calls at this time. However, if you complete the online referral form, someone from our team will get in touch with you).

Pueblo Unido PDX is not a law firm and our employees are not attorneys. We do not offer any legal advice and cannot prepare legal forms for you. Our goal is to help navigate you to experienced attorneys who can provide legal advice.