The Hawai‘i Immigrant Justice Center (HIJC) provides free legal services to eligible indigent immigrants living in the State of Hawaii. We also conduct community outreach and education, host free legal clinics, and provide training on a variety of immigration and related civil rights issues.
We provide legal assistance to:
- Immigrant victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, and victims of other violent crimes by obtaining VAWA Self Petitions, Battered Spouse Waivers, T and U nonimmigrant visas, and other immigration relief.
- Citizens of the Freely Associated States.
- Reunite families, including reuniting families separated by human trafficking and poverty.
- Immigrant victims of crime in removal proceedings.
- Legal permanent residents who want to naturalize to become US citizens.
- Immigrants seeking to renew or replace documents, e.g., green card or naturalization certificate.
- Immigrants with limited English proficiency by advocating for equal access to government and government-funded services.
In addition to practicing immigration law, HIJC is part of the larger law firm of Legal Aid that advocates for the rights of immigrants, including those discriminated against because of their national origin, race, or other protected class.
For example, Legal Aid has advocated for immigrants denied critical public benefits, like subsidized housing, financial assistance, food stamps for US citizen children or eligible aliens (battered spouses), and QUEST. HIJC has brought Title IX (sex discrimination in federally funded educational institutions) and language access challenges on behalf of our clients. We have worked with federal and state agencies to win monetary awards against traffickers for our clients who are victims of human trafficking. We provide holistic legal services to address the multifaceted needs of our clients.
