Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL) is a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1983 by lawyer Peter Schey with the mission of protecting and furthering the human and civil rights of immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized communities through nationwide class action litigation and activism. Overview The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law was founded in 1983 by Peter Schey, a lawyer with a passion for social justice. The initial focus was on providing legal services to Central American refugees who were fleeing civil wars and political persecution in their home countries. As CHRCL's work expanded, CHRCL began to take on a broader range of issues related to human rights and constitutional law. Today, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law is a leading advocacy organization that works to protect and further the rights of immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized communities. Their work includes litigation, policy advocacy, and community education, with a focus on issues such as immigration reform, the rights of detained immigrants, and the protection of children's rights. CHCRL is the only non-governmental organization in the country permitted to inspect every detention site where children are detained for the purposes of interviewing and assess the quality of treatment of all detained children. Major Litigation In 1997, CHRCL lead three major nationwide cases. Flores v. Reno set the minimum standard of living for detained immigrant children in the United States, set CHRCL as the only nongovernmental organization allowed to hold detention centers accountable for these minimum standards, and required the prompt release of detained children to relatives residing in the United States. League of United Latin American Citizens v. Wilson prevented proposition 187, which sought to deny healthcare, social services, and education to individuals suspected to be undocumented immigrants. The Haitian Centre for Human Rights et al. v. United States, a human rights petition addressed to the inter'American commission on human rights of the Organization of American States resulting in a decision that the U.S. Haitian interdiction program violated the "right to life" pursuant to the American Declaration Of The Rights and Duties of Man. In 1998, CHRCL served as lead counsel in the nationwide class action, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, et al., v. Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith, et al. This case terminated the ability for entities to spy on Palestinian political activists. In 1999, CHRCL served as lead counsel in the nationwide class action, Lopez v. INS, which lead to the protection of rights to obtain counsel by immigrants when detained by the federal government. In 2000, among other organizations, CHRCL wrote The Life Act, which extended the ability to apply for legal residency to over 200,000 immigrants who had previously been denied due to brief travel outside of the United States. In 2002, CHRCL served as lead counsel in Reno v. Catholic Social Services, which granted over 250,000 immigrants legal status under the 1986 amnesty law. In 2012, CHRCL served as lead counsel in LULAC v.