Seattle Legal Defense Network
Find Out if You're Eligible for Free Legal Services
The Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs' (OIRA) Immigrant Legal Defense Network (LDN) provides legal advice and representation to low-income residents, students, and workers during immigration proceedings. The overarching goal of our program is to increase access to legal services for immigrants and refugees to protect themselves from deportation and remain safely in their communities with the ones they love.
Why legal support is essential:
- There is no right to a government-provided attorney in immigration court. People who appear in immigration court must pay for an attorney or go without representation while navigating complex rules and regulations against well-trained U.S. government attorneys, often in a language they do not understand. Despite the critical role of legal counsel, 63 percent of all people appearing in immigration court are unrepresented by counsel, and a staggering 83 percent of detained people face proceedings without counsel.
- Representation helps keep families and communities together. Studies have revealed that immigrants represented by legal counsel are five times more likely to obtain legal relief, while detained individuals are up to 10.5 times more likely to achieve a favorable outcome with legal representation. In fact, only 10 percent of people without representation in deportation proceedings have had successful case outcomes, compared to 63 percent of people with representation.
- Representation increases immigration court efficiency and reduces the severe backlog of immigration cases – currently over 3.4 million. 96 percent of people represented by counsel appear in court and immigrants are also more prepared to proceed in their legal cases, avoiding reasons to request continuances or delays. Providing legal support to immigrants and refugees helps uphold their rights while building stronger, safer, and more equitable communities for everyone.
Have you or someone you know received a notice from immigration court or been detained by ICE?
If you are in need of immigration legal services and cannot pay for them, the Seattle Legal Defense Network may be able to help.
To see if you are eligible for free legal services, call one of these organizations:
For mental health and medical evaluations in support of legal services, contact:
To qualify for FREE Legal Defense Network assistance, you must:
- Be an immigrant in detention, facing deportation, or at risk because of your immigration status;
- Currently live, work, or attend school located within the boundaries of the city of Seattle; AND
- Have a household income below 200% of the federal poverty level.
Legal Defense Network 2024 Impact Data:
- 215 people received full direct representation in legal immigration cases each quarter of the year
- 41 new clients received full direct representation in their immigration case
- 295 clients received limited legal services, such as in-depth legal consultation or assistance with immigration forms such as asylum application, employment authorization requests, biometric requests, or change of venue or change of address
- 32 clients received assistance with pro se asylum application
- 82 people obtained work authorization
- 52 people obtained permanent or temporary immigration status or were otherwise allowed to stay in the U.S.
- Our community partners filed for relief on behalf of their LDN clients 148 times and attended 38 court hearings and USCIS interviews
Legal Defense Network Impact Story
Last year, a youth whose asylum application has been pending since 2019 was approved for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Deferred Action. Our community partner at the time, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), represented her before the state court in a motion for Vulnerable Youth Guardianship based on her parents’ inability to protect her from poverty and gang violence in El Salvador. Today, she is pursuing a GED so that she can attend college. With work authorization through deferred action, this youth holds two jobs in order to help support her mother and a young sibling in her home country. She is also saving up to buy a house, which she says she could never have done back home where she began working at the age of seven for mere dollars a day.
Know Your Rights Resources for Immigrants, Refugees, and Advocates
We created this 2025 Know Your Rights resource webpage to inform and support community members, City departments, and community-based organizations, partners, and service providers who are working to support immigrant and refugee communities in Seattle and Washington state and help keep all our residents safe. We also joined with the Seattle Office of Economic Development (OED) to host a virtual Know Your Rights Training for business owners and employers, designed to inform them how to ensure compliance with existing immigration regulations and how to protect their workers and workplace.
Training for Local Service Providers on Immigration
On April 3, 2025, OIRA joined with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) to host a free training for service providers on recent changes to immigration policy at the Seattle Public Library. Together with NWIRP executive director Malou Chavez and Directing Attorney Henry Hwang, we covered the following topics:
- Immigration Policy Changes: Update on the immigration policies implemented by the Trump administration and their continued impact on immigrant communities.
- Local Laws & Policies: Overview of the laws and policies in place in the City of Seattle and Washington State that protect immigrant and refugee residents and workers.
- Best practices: Overview of best practices for service providers to effectively serve and protect their immigrant and refugee clients.
Watch the video below and see OIRA’s YouTube channel for more trainings, briefings, and discussions.