empowering every client
We created IRLC in 2017 to address the needs of our community. Cincinnati Public Schools had seen a dramatic increase in the number of immigrant and refugee families. At Roberts Academy the number of English learners has increased from 0% to 67% in just 10 years. At the Academy of World Languages (AWL), half of the students were refugees. While various organizations had been working to create a resettlement infrastructure in our community, very few agencies provided affordable legal services. The Immigrant and Refugee Law Center was created to help fill this gap.
IRLC opened its first office in February 2018 at Roberts Academy’s Community Learning Center, and the surge in clients seeking legal services was immediate. We quickly expanded our offices to AWL. Today, we have our own headquarters and continue to partner closely with Cincinnati Public Schools, the City of Cincinnati, and other local schools and agencies, representing families throughout the Greater Cincinnati area. Our clients come from more than 78 different countries. They are refugees, asylum seekers, exploited immigrant youth, and survivors of domestic violence and other serious crimes, all here seeking a better life for themselves and their families. IRLC helps them understand and pursue their legal options to create stability and security for their families and the community.
I could never have imagined how quickly the Immigrant and Refugee Law Center (IRLC) would grow in just a few short years, and I am so incredibly proud of the work that we do for our community. With each person that shares their story with us, entrusting our legal professionals with their family’s fate in this country, I am reminded just how distinct our organization is. We have built a team that immigrant and refugee communities trust, that our schools, local agencies, and the City of Cincinnati trust, and that our donors entrust with their confidence. Together we are building a better future for our entire community, through knowledge, empowerment, and justice.
JULIE LEFTWICH
FOUNDER
Mission
The Immigrant and Refugee Law Center provides accessible legal services to immigrant and refugee families in the Greater Cincinnati community.
VISION
Equal and trusted access to justice and legal services for immigrants and refugees in the Greater Cincinnati area and a more welcoming, safer, and more stable community for families.
ABOUT US
Immigration is a human issue. Cincinnati is home to refugees and asylum seekers from around the world – families forced to flee from violence and lawlessness in their home countries.
After making arduous and often dangerous journeys to reach safety in our community, families face a host of challenges including an incredibly complex legal system, possible deportation and family separation, and barriers to employment, housing, and education. Having legal guidance and representation can make all the difference.
In response to the urgent need for legal services for immigrant and refugee families in Cincinnati, the Immigrant and Refugee Law Center (IRLC) began operation in February 2018. IRLC is a one-of-a-kind school-based nonprofit organization that provides pro bono legal services across a spectrum of humanitarian needs for low-income immigrant and refugee families.
We help our clients understand their legal rights. And we help them navigate our complex and intimidating legal system.
While our law office were co-located within comprehensive community learning centers in Cincinnati schools, we began leveraging a network of valued and trusted partner services that provides holistic support for families including clothing, housing, food, financial assistance, trauma counseling, early childhood education, English classes, and much more. Now that we are located in an independent building, we continue to work closely with community learning centers in Cincinnati schools to ensure that all immigrant and refugee families know how to access our services.
