ABA Children’s Immigration Law Academy awarded Texas Bar Foundation grant

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2026 - The American Bar Association Children's Immigration Law Academy (CILA), an expert legal resource center focused entirely on children's immigration matters nationwide, has been awarded a $7,500 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation.

CILA helps legal and social services practitioners and pro bono attorneys stay up to date on frequent changes in immigration law and policy. Its mission is to empower champions for unaccompanied children - advocates who guide children through complex legal procedures - to do so with courage, competency, compassion and creativity. CILA builds capacity for those working to advance the rights of children seeking protection through training, technical assistance, resource development and collaboration.

The grant funding will support annual licensing fees for Texas organizations posting pro bono opportunities on CILA's platform and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) fees for virtual training to encourage pro bono service. Through the platform and CILA's free CLE-accredited trainings, over 155 opportunities on the platform have been placed with volunteers. 

"CILA is so grateful to the Texas Bar Foundation for this funding to support our pro bono platform," said CILA Director Dalia Castillo-Granados. "The platform facilitates pro bono service so that children do not have to face deportation alone."

Since 2019, CILA has hosted the Pro Bono Matters for Children Facing Deportation platform to enable non-profits to seek pro bono legal representation for immigrant children. Interested volunteers, including attorneys, law students and interpreters, can search, view and receive notifications about case cards to find pro bono opportunities.

Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $32 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation's largest charitably-funded bar foundation.

For more information, contact Shanda Ivory at [email protected].