The Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition honored Beveridge & Diamond with their 2019 Detained Children's Champion Award at their 20th Anniversary Awards Gala on October 29. The Detained Children's Program staff unanimously selected B&D to receive this award, citing "a profound level of commitment to their child clients" and that "at each turn, the firm has stepped forward and made clear to the world that children should not be, and will not be, forced to face an immigration judge alone."

The Detained Children’s Program provides legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children detained by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at juvenile facilities in Maryland and Virginia. The facilities include ORR long-term foster care programs, large shelter programs, and secure detention facilities. Each year, CAIR Coalition serves over 500 detained immigrant children. "Of the thousands of people that CAIR Coalition works with each year, it is often the case that the most in need of kindness, empathy, and advocacy are the young children that the government detains," the CAIR Coalition stated.

“The Beveridge & Diamond teams with whom I have worked have provided superlative, above-and-beyond advocacy for their young clients and families," according to the Detained Children's Program staff. "Their dedication and acuity were on full display at each stage of the cases, ensuring that the children’s voices were heard.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the CAIR Coalition’s work to protect the rights, the lives, and the families of immigrants in the Capital region and beyond. The annual event brings together several hundred supporters from across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia committed to keeping families together and striving to ensure equal justice for all immigrant men, women, and children at risk of detention and deportation in the DC metropolitan area and beyond through direct legal representation, presentations, impact and advocacy work, and the training of attorneys in immigration and criminal justice arenas. It is the only non-profit organization in the Washington, D.C., area with a legal services program focused exclusively on assisting detained immigrant men, women, and children in jails and juvenile facilities in Maryland and Virginia.

Associates Jenny Leech and Grant Tolley, along with Principals Alan Sachs, David Friedland, and Eric Klein, accepted the award on behalf of B&D at the Gala (pictured below, right to left).

Click here for more information on CAIR, and click here to learn more about B&D's pro bono efforts.