Founded in 1969, Centro Legal de la Raza is a legal services agency protecting and advancing the rights of low-income, immigrant, Black, and Latinx communities through bilingual legal representation, education, and advocacy. By combining quality legal services with know-your-rights education and youth development, Centro Legal de la Raza ensures access to justice for thousands of individuals throughout Northern and Central California.
Founded in 1969, Centro Legal de la Raza is a comprehensive legal services agency focused on protecting the rights of the most vulnerable. We provide high-quality legal services, education, and advocacy across several practice areas, including immigration, housing, and workers’ rights. We believe that by combining direct legal services with policy advocacy and community organizing, we can build a more just and equitable society.
Immigrants’ Rights:
Legal Services. Centro Legal’s immigration practice is focused on serving the needs of our most vulnerable community members, including families living in poverty, long residing undocumented immigrants and families, youth, victims of violent crimes, asylum seekers, and detained individuals in removal proceedings.
Our removal defense practice specializes in cases that are urgent and often involve novel legal issues. Centro Legal’s immigration team has expertise in complex detained cases, including individuals deemed mentally incompetent by the court and appointed counsel.
Centro Legal also runs a robust pro bono immigration program. We train and provide technical and substantive assistance for pro bono attorneys representing clients seeking U visa relief, asylum before the immigration courts and asylum office, and bond for release from immigration detention. Pro bono attorneys also participate in our clinics and workshops under Centro Legal’s supervision and mentorship.
Policy Advocacy. Centro Legal’s strong legal rights and direct representation immigration program places us in a unique position to advocate for systemic change to the broken immigration system and to promote the rights of individuals on a local, regional, and national scale. In addition to providing legal assistance to low-income immigrants, Centro Legal’s immigration team works with local and national partner groups to advocate and litigate for reform for individuals in immigration detention.
To promote systemic change on a broader scale, Centro Legal engages in and supports a wide array of immigrants’ rights advocacy efforts. We have participated in litigation on immigration detention conditions, provided data and legal support for a City of Oakland lawsuit against a “notario” business that defrauded immigrants, and are currently engaged in advocacy to increase access to counsel for immigrant detainees. Centro Legal attorneys also participate in quarterly meetings to improve conditions at the various immigration detention centers throughout California.
In recent years, Centro Legal has been at the forefront of efforts to curtail unlawful collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities in order to prevent unjust deportations and keep immigrant families together.
Tenants’ Rights:
Eviction Defense Representation. Tenants’ Rights Program attorneys represent tenants with evictions in Alameda County and Contra Costa County.
Know Your Rights Trainings For Buildings. Tenant’s Rights Program attorneys are available to provide Know Your Rights trainings to groups, including residents of entire buildings. In order to stop displacement, we need to make sure all tenants in a building are protected. The loss of even one tenant from a building chips away at our vibrant communities.
Affirmative Housing Litigation. Centro Legal regularly files affirmative housing lawsuits to address tenant harassment by landlords, unsafe or unhealthy living conditions and and illegal behavior by landlords.
Workers’ Rights:
Legal Representation. The low-wage immigrant workers served by Centro Legal’s Workers’ Rights Program are employed in industries where wage theft and other serious workplace violations are commonplace. All-too-often, the workers we represent share stories of dangerous working conditions and employers not paying at all for days, weeks, and sometimes even months of work. When workers confront their employers about the legal violations, they often face extortionary threats related to their supposed immigration status. Access to a talented legal services attorney can make a huge difference in the outcomes for these workers.
The Workers’ Rights Program provides legal services to all low-wage workers, regardless of immigration status. By sharing our legal expertise with the broader community, we aim to give workers and other advocates the tools to address workplace violations.
Policy Advocacy. Centro Legal’s Workers’ Rights Program regularly joins in State and local policy advocacy efforts to improve legal protections and address systemic problems faced by low-wage workers. We engage in this advocacy through media events, amicus briefs, letters of support, and in-person meetings with State legislators and local city councilmembers. Centro has an important dual role to play in this advocacy both by sharing our significant substantive expertise on legal issues and in ensuring that the voices and concerns of low-wage workers inform policy decisions.
Litigation:
Centro Legal de la Raza’s Litigation team works with all our legal programs to represent low-income and immigrant workers, tenants, and other clients and communities in affirmative and impact lawsuits to protect their rights and improve conditions more broadly. Often, litigation in state and federal courts is the only way our clients can protect their rights and communities. Centro Legal also co-counsels these cases with other highly respected nonprofit organizations, local government, and law firm partners.
These cases include national class action lawsuits in federal district court and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of immigrant detainees, facing unlawful detention and oppressive bond practices. We also represent thousands of tenants and workers in state and federal lawsuits and class actions against unethical employers and landlords for:
Wage theft
Unethical employers and landlords
Harassment
Substandard conditions
Discrimination
Retaliation
Illegal lockouts
Other violations of worker and tenants rights
Youth Law Academy:
The Youth Law Academy is a three year program for Oakland high school students designed to build confidence and understanding of the path to college. Recognizing the need for more diversity in the legal profession we ultimately hope to inspire our students to seek a career in the law for the betterment of our community.
We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those with expertise in:
Legal practice, social justice advocacy, or nonprofit management.
Strategic planning, finance, or HR.
Deep connections to the communities we serve.
A shared commitment to equity, inclusion, and systemic change.
Joining the Board of Directors at Centro Legal de la Raza is an opportunity to lead a legacy organization and drive systemic change. As a board member, you will gain:
Professional Leadership & Governance Experience: Develop and hone high-level skills in nonprofit governance, fiduciary oversight, and strategic organizational planning. This role provides a unique “macro” view of legal services that complements professional practice in law, business, or policy.
Strategic Networking & Community Building: Collaborate closely with a diverse group of high-level professionals, corporate leaders, and community advocates. You will join a network of influential peers committed to social justice and equity across the region.
Direct Community & Systemic Impact: Play a pivotal role in protecting the rights of thousands of low-income, immigrant, and Latino individuals. Your leadership directly influences our ability to provide high-quality legal services and engage in impactful policy advocacy.
Organizational Influence: Contribute your unique expertise to shape the future of Centro Legal. You will have a seat at the table for critical decisions regarding our growth, mission-alignment, and long-term sustainability.
Visibility as a Social Justice Champion: Represent a premier legal services organization at high-profile events—including our Annual Gala—and serve as a recognized ambassador for immigrant rights and housing justice.
