RAICES
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In communities across the U.S., RAICES' service recipients face detention and deportation every day and frequently do not have access to legal counsel. Immigrants who have access to representation are up to ten times more likely to establish a right to stay with their families and communities in the U.S. than immigrants who lack representation. Rapidly changing immigration policies also require rapid responders in instances where the policies create humanitarian crises such as that of family separation.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Direct Legal and Social Services
In Texas, less than 30% of those in immigration court proceedings have counsel, resulting in deportation orders for over 70%. In response, RAICES provides trauma-informed, culturally sensitive affirmative and removal defense legal services to low-income immigrants throughout Texas, including pro bono representation and social services case management for immigrant families, unaccompanied children, and survivors of domestic violence. RAICES opens over 10,000 substantive cases annually.
Rights Advocacy
RAICES' advocacy and impact litigation priorities center the needs of immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking community members and pursue systemic change with the understanding that U.S. policies and practices will not advance unless the American people demand it.
Refugee Client Services
Developed in collaboration with national partner USCRI for individuals classified as Refugees, Asylees, Certified Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking, Cuban and Haitian Entrants, Certain Amerasians, and Special Immigrant Visa Holders from Iraq and Afghanistan, RAICES' Refugee Client Services provide pathways for family and individual self-sufficiency and includes access to legal counsel and rapid support for housing, financial assistance, school enrollment, healthcare services inclusive of mental and behavioral health diagnostic and treatment referrals, and employment assistance.
Where we work
Awards
Kahlil Gibran Award for Institutional Excellence 2019
Arab American Institute Foundation
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of new volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth
Related Program
Rights Advocacy
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
RAICES has been growing a national volunteer program over the last three years in order to activate communities across the country in support of migrant justice.
Unaccompanied Child 'Know Your Rights' Presentation Recipients
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Immigrants and migrants, Children and youth
Related Program
Direct Legal and Social Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
RAICES provides rights presentations to unaccompanied children held in government custody in over a dozen shelters and select emergency facilities.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
RAICES strives to address the gap in representation of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, because every individual has the right to pursue viable legal relief with a qualified attorney or representative to accompany them through their immigration process. The promotion and access to effective representation are the core of RAICES programs to provide legal and social services to underserved populations and to center their experiences in our advocacy for systemic change at the national level.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Headquartered in the state of Texas, where recent legislation such as SB4 has gone to great lengths to criminalize immigrants, RAICES prioritizes quality and diversity of legal, social, and advocacy services to counteract damaging, and at times unpredictable, U.S. immigration policies. RAICES prioritizes universal representation models, which accepting cases regardless of their strength. Additionally, through education and outreach programs, RAICES regularly engages with communities to advocate for immigrant-friendly policies and communicate the positive effect immigration has in our cities.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Founded in 1986 and a Department of Justice accredited legal services agency since 1993, RAICES has a wide range of institutional experience with detained populations, including families and children (unaccompanied or otherwise). RAICES is uniquely capable to serve immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking community members independently and competently through a public defender model applied to the majority of cases, and a universal representation model specifically reserved for unaccompanied minors and families in detention, as well as adults in detention served under several existing programs. RAICES centers client needs and pursues all viable forms of relief.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
RAICES provides legal and social services to disenfranchised immigrants and refugees, including families and unaccompanied children, and pairs direct client service with impact litigation and advocacy focused on expanding permanent protections for immigrants and changing the narrative around immigration in the U.S. The 501(c3) not-for-profit is headquartered in San Antonio, with offices in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and Laredo. Each year, RAICES opens more than 10,000 affirmative and defensive direct representation cases, including social services case management; provides Know Your Rights presentations and legal intakes in 15 shelters and select emergency facilities for unaccompanied children; and supports the resettlement of more than 400 refugee parents and children, including Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders and humanitarian parolees.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
RAICES
Board of directorsas of 08/25/2023
Jayci Giaccone
Olga Kauffman
Veteran Activist and Organizer
Tony Davila
Davila Construction
Jayci Giaccone, CFRE
The Concilio
John Walvoord
Texas Wilson
Charles Garrido
Alliance Global Partners
Salman Cheema
Amazon
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/18/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.