New York Legal Assistance Group Inc.

01/23/2025 | Press release | Archived content

NYLAG’s Melissa Chua Receives NYCLA’s 2025 Public Service Award

NYLAG's Melissa Chua Receives NYCLA's 2025 Public Service Award

  • January 23, 2025
  • 9:00 pm

The New York County Lawyers Association recognizes Chua's expertise and compassion throughout her career in immigration law.

NEW YORK, NY - Melissa Chua, Co-director of the New York Legal Assistance Group's (NYLAG) Immigrant Protection Unit, received the New York County Lawyers Association's 2025 Public Service Award on Thursday evening at the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York.

"A dedicated immigrant rights advocate, teacher, and leader for over sixteen years, Melissa Chua more than deserves this recognition," said Lisa Rivera, NYLAG President & CEO. "She models partnership with the communities we advocate alongside, constantly re-envisions how we can best provide services and push forward systemic change, and always makes a point to teach and support the next generation of advocates to join in this essential work. NYLAG and all of us in the public interest legal field at large are extremely fortunate for her fierce advocacy and leadership."

Of her many accomplishments, Melissa has notably played an instrumental role in creating a robust and impactful removal defense program at NYLAG, building intentional and strategic collaboratives with dozens of peer legal services organizations, coalitions, and community-based organizations to ensure our services and policy advocacy are led by and rooted in community. Most recently, she was a driving force behind expanding critical programming in response to community needs: Seeing the influx of newly arrived New Yorkers seeking asylum in the United States and recognizing the limited capacity of immigration legal service providers, she brought together six community-based organizations to collaborate with NYLAG on the Pro Se Plus Project, which aims to close the knowledge gap between attorneys and pro se respondents with the knowledge and tools to advocate for themselves throughout the immigration process through community mobilization. PSPP has worked with over 10,000 pro se applicants by helping them prepare their applications for asylum, making sure they understand the legal standard, providing training on court procedures, and providing pro se materials that they can use to prepare their cases. This model has been acknowledged across the City as a unique, effective, community-centered response.

During such a challenging time for our immigrant communities here in New York and across the country, NYLAG is incredibly fortunate to have advocates like Melissa leading the way.

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