Kids in Need of Defense

KIND was founded by the Microsoft Corporation and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, and is the leading national organization that works to ensure that no refugee or immigrant child faces immigration court alone. We do this in partnership with over 335 law firms, corporate legal departments, law schools, and bar associations, which provide pro bono representation to unaccompanied children referred to KIND for assistance in their deportation proceedings. KIND has received more than 12,900 child referrals since we opened our doors in 2009, and trained over 14,700 pro bono attorneys. KIND also helps children who are returning to their home countries through deportation or voluntary departure to do so safely and to reintegrate into their home communities. Through our reintegration pilot project in Guatemala, we place children with our local nongovernmental organization partners, which provide vital social services including family reunification, school enrollment, skills training, and counseling. KIND also advocates to change law, policy, and practices to improve the protection of unaccompanied children in the United States, and is working to build a stronger regional protection framework throughout Central America and Mexico. We educate policymakers, the media, and the broader public about the violence that is driving children out of the Northern Triangle and their need for protection. Mission: KIND serves as the leading organization for the protection of children who enter the U.S. immigration system alone and strives to ensure that no such child appears in immigration court without representation. We achieve fundamental fairness through high-quality legal representation and by advancing the child’s best interests, safety, and well-being.