For Immediate Release
November 15, 2022

Immigrant Advocates Network announces new name Justicia Lab and expanded focus on all areas of civic technology impacting immigrants

Expanded mission and focus establishes Justicia Lab as the leading non-profit innovation incubator for immigrant justice technology

Press Contact: hola@justicialab.org

New York, NY (November 15, 2022) - Today legal tech nonprofit Pro Bono Net and its immigrant justice initiative Immigrant Advocates Network announce a new name, Justicia Lab, new website and an expanded mission and focus. Justicia Lab will now be Pro Bono Net’s incubator of immigrant justice tech initiatives and the program under which the Immigration Advocates Network and all of their tools for immigrant justice will live.

This milestone marks a new era for the organization, drawing a clearer line between the Immigration Advocates Network website, our hub for advocate resources and the organization’s role as a launchpad for immigration legal tech initiatives.

“We envision a world where all immigrants have easy, equitable access to legal tools and resources to protect themselves, navigate the justice system, and live more secure lives. Today, we are proud to announce that we aim to bring us closer to that world as Justicia Lab,” says Justicia Lab Director Rodrigo Camarena.

Immigration Advocates Network was founded by Pro Bono Net in 2008 to and has since developed over a dozen immigrant justice legal tools and initiatives to scale and support the work of advocates and bridge the justice gap, helping over 500,000 people find critical immigration information and relief. These include digital tools to help immigrants find low cost legal assistance (Immigration Law Help), know their eligibility for immigration relief (Immi) and apply for naturalization (Citizenshipworks).

Justicia Lab will focus both on improving the technology and user experience of its core platforms. And it is expanding its scope beyond tools directly relating to helping people navigate the immigration system to identify common challenges in their field and incubate scalable digital tools to advance immigrant justice across civil legal aid issues including workplace justice and housing beyond. This expansion starts with the forthcoming public launch of ¡Reclamo!, the new comprehensive digital tool to help address wage theft immigrant workers in New York state’s construction sector.

Both technology and the legal process have historically been designed to exclude the most vulnerable communities in America from accessing justice. Justicia Lab and Pro Bono Net’s aim is to rebalance the scales and give immigrants and their advocates new tools to assert their rights – all while addressing long standing problems in digital equity and inclusion by prioritizing equitable design practices, data privacy, and language justice.

“For us, access to justice means not just having good and fair laws, but making sure that those laws are understandable and accessible to those with the fewest resources,” says Mark O’Brien. “It means creating tools that lead to legal empowerment rather than distrust and that rebalance the scales of justice to make our legal system fairer for everyone, especially those historically excluded from it.”

Justicia Lab worked with DYM Media to design an identity system that is more modern and approachable and that most importantly feels easy and accessible to use. The bright and bold colors are designed to set us apart and inspire while our new name reflects our commitment to innovation and the communities that we serve.

In addition to incubating new technology, Justicia Lab is also doubling down on its work supporting organizing, advocacy campaigns, and policy change that positively impact immigrant’s lives. This includes direct partnerships and collaboration with local and federal government agencies, legal aid organizations, community nonprofits, social justice groups, and the private sector.

“The IRC applauds the expansion of immigrant justice initiatives under Justicia Lab. IAN has long been a leader in leveraging technology to further legal access, filling a critical need in communities and among legal service providers,” says Amber Mull, Regional Deputy Director, US Legal Services International Rescue Committee (IRC). “We’ve been honored to be a partner in the immigration space, and look forward to the direction and vision of Justicia Lab.”

About Pro Bono Net

Pro Bono Net is a national nonprofit leader in building technology and collaborations that increase access to justice. From connecting attorneys to those most in need to creating legal tools to help individuals advocate for themselves, Pro Bono Net makes the law work for the many and not the few. http://www.probono.net

About Justicia Lab

Justicia Lab is Pro Bono Net’s immigrant justice technology lab, and a nonprofit legal tech initiative whose mission is to transform immigrant justice through collaboration, creativity, and technology. We work hand in hand with immigrants and their advocates to identify common challenges and incubate scalable digital tools to advance help immigrants navigate our immigration system, find workplace justice, and more. Our tools prioritize collaborative and equitable design, data privacy, and language justice and provide critical resources and capacity to where they’re needed the most. http://www.justicialab.org