Dallas Faith Groups Train Lawyers to Help Detained Families

When Mass ends at Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos in Dallas, parishioners now hear an unusual announcement alongside the usual prayers and potlucks: If immigration authorities have detained your loved one, we can help.

Father Ángel Ríos and Dallas Area Interfaith have built something remarkable over the past two years. They've trained volunteer lawyers to challenge immigration detentions using habeas corpus petitions, giving detained people their day in court.

The Immigration Detention Project started when organizers spotted a critical gap. More people were being detained, but specialized immigration attorneys were scarce. So they decided to train lawyers from other fields to step up.

Tim McManus, a senior organizer with the project, said they knew they couldn't stop everything. But they could slow things down and create chances for people to be heard.

The results speak for themselves. A mother and young daughter from Plano, detained separately while seeking asylum, were released and reunited. A 33-year-old man from Mauritania with serious medical needs got out of detention. A Mexican father who arrived in the U.S. as a four-year-old stayed with his American children instead of being deported.

The project works because churches became safe spaces for scared families. Over the past year, more than 1,200 people attended "Know Your Rights" workshops hosted by congregations across North Texas.

Silvia Juliana Manzano, who works with Spanish-speaking churches, said families trust their parishes in ways they might not trust other institutions. When fear runs high, the church offers safety.

The workshops teach practical preparation too. Families learn to set up powers of attorney, organize financial records, and identify who would care for their children if a parent gets detained.

The Ripple Effect spreads across faith traditions. Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, and Unitarian congregations work side by side. First Unitarian Church members include attorneys and former government officials who now monitor immigration courts and create educational videos.

Reverend T.J. FitzGerald said detention is touching lives of people who thought they were removed from it two years ago. Members are learning about the violence, poverty, and persecution that drove families to seek safety in North Texas.

The coalition partners with Texas A&M Legal Clinics and trains pro bono attorneys who represent people pursuing asylum claims. These cases require both compassion and expertise, and the network provides both.

Right now, the Supreme Court is weighing whether the government can detain certain immigrants without bond hearings. But while policy battles play out in Washington, Dallas congregations are answering a simpler call: showing up for neighbors who need help navigating an unfamiliar system.

Churches across Dallas are proving that faith means action, and that communities grow stronger when they protect their most vulnerable members.