Texas Civil Rights Lawyers Fight Injustice Close to Home

Daniel Hatoum grew up wearing cowboy boots in Texas, but after September 11th, neighbors suddenly saw him as a threat because his father was Muslim. When his twin brother found a note calling him a "terrorist" in his high school locker, Hatoum knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life.

Today, Hatoum works as a Senior Supervising Attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project, fighting for families facing deportation in the Texas borderlands. Many of his clients are parents who came to America for the same reason his parents did: to give their children a better life.

One case still drives him. Ms. Z entered the United States legally with her two children but was arrested and sent to a detention facility without a full hearing. Her six-year-old son couldn't get medical care for his leukemia while detained in Dilley, Texas.

Hatoum and his team filed a legal case and went public with the story. The pressure worked and Ms. Z's family was freed, and her son could finally get the treatment he needed.

Sarah Xiyi Chen, also a daughter of immigrants, fights a different battle at the same organization. She works on voting rights, tackling barriers like gerrymandering that silence communities of color. Texas ranks among the most heavily gerrymandered states in America, according to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.

Last year, the TCRP challenged district maps redrawn to discriminate against Black and Latino voters. The Supreme Court allowed those maps to stand while the case continues, but Chen sees hope even in defeats.

After one lost case, community supporters gathered and promised to create "good trouble" to advocate for fairer education and housing policies. Filing lawsuits shows people that lawyers are willing to fight for them, even when courts aren't friendly to civil rights claims.

The Ripple Effect

The impact extends beyond courtrooms. When Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman, was arrested at a peaceful New York protest and detained in Texas, the TCRP took her case. After winning her freedom, Kordia didn't walk away. She continues advocating for people still trapped in detention.

For Hatoum, every victory defeats the same prejudices that led bullies to target him as a kid. Chen says the work gives her "greater peace and optimism than I thought possible," knowing she's changing the conditions that allow injustice to happen.

These attorneys turned childhood pain into purpose, and now families across Texas have champions who understand their struggles from the inside.