WELCOME
Dear Friends,
As our work has evolved to mitigate new barriers to asylum arising through rapidly changing policies, I remain deeply grateful for the support of our community and the trust and resilience of our clients. This year has demanded unprecedented agility from Mabel Center In addition to our continued work adapting to the dedicated docket and other forms of expedited removal, which often deprives families of the chance to prepare for critical asylum hearings, we have also helped clients navigate the splintering consequences of Biden’s new asylum rule, otherwise known as Asylum Transit Ban, which unjustly strips many who qualify of their right to asylum by requiring that they seek asylum in countries they previously traveled through.
Shortly after the Asylum Transit Ban was implemented in May 2023, Mabel Center’s entire staff traveled to the Texas/ Mexico border to volunteer with the Laredo Project, providing legal support to asylum seekers newly entangled by the limitations of the new policy. By working on the ground, we remain attuned to the reality at the border, and reinforce our ties to border organizations
Changing border policies also led to unprecedented numbers of people seeking asylum in Massachusetts and prompted Governor Maura Healey to declare a state of emergency. Mabel Center helped lead the legal response to the crisis We partnered with the Office of Refugee and Immigrants, American Immigration Lawyers’ Association and the Boston Bar Association to design and facilitate large scale work authorization clinics that allowed over 9,000 individuals to secure work permits, find jobs, and take their first step towards a safe and stable life in the United States.
Mabel Center is justice in action. We believe that everyone regardless of where they are from or their status deserves safety and the dignity of legal representation in asylum proceedings. As we continue to push back against policies narrowing the path to asylum and represent clients fighting for a life safe from persecution, we are ever grateful for your support of our mission and our clients.
In solidarity,
JILL SEEBER, ESQ. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER
ABOUT US
Mabel Center provides critical legal services to migrants seeking refuge in the United States. Since our inception, we have primarily worked with Central American women and children, providing a range of legal services, including complete representation in asylum proceedings, obtaining special protections for domestic violence victims, and visas for unaccompanied or neglected children. As we strive to serve the migrants most affected by the changing law, we have an increasing number of LGBTQ+ and Haitian clients.
Our willingness to take on and our consistent success with difficult and complex cases, coupled with our commitment to maintaining an open intake line, has made us a critical referral resource for families and children released from detention and relocated to the Greater Boston area.
As immigration policy continues to change and Mabel Center continously adapts to meet the acute legal needs that arise, our attorneys bring experience and vast knowledge of the immigration landscape. We strive to bring the rapid responses, problem-solving, and flexibility characteristic of border work to crises born from border policies that reach the Boston area.
One such policy is the “dedicated docket,” or expedited proceedings intended to rush asylum seekers, particularly families, through deportation proceedings without access to a lawyer or meaningful knowledge of their rights. Mabel Center is one of the only organizations representing multiple dedicated docket families in Boston Immigration Court. Through our partnerships with legal programs at the border and in detention centers, we are able to meet asylum-seekers early, allowing them to meet deadlines and preserve their case.
“I felt defeated. I felt that my future and the future of my daughter were up in the air. When Jill and Daniel took my case– I don’t even have the words to describe it. I felt supported. I felt protected.”
MABEL, OUR NAMESAKE
CLIENT STORIES
Maria was placed in expedited credible fear proceedings within five weeks of arriving in the United States under the New Asylum Rule. Maria attended four grueling interviews at the Boston Asylum office without representation where she told and re-told her traumatizing story of gender-based violence. Maria was denied asylum nine weeks after arriving in the United States. She then attended two hastily scheduled hearings at the Boston Immigration Court while unrepresented. She came to Mabel Center through our partnership with the Massachusetts Immigrant Collaborative. We took her case and with our representation, Maria successfully won asylum in front of an immigration judge, defending herself against her deportation order. The judge noted that the asylum officer had made a clear error in her analysis of the client’s claim. Maria is now able to live and work safely in the United States. We are in the process of applying for her Green Card.
Jessica and her two young children were placed on the dedicated docket and had six months to prepare for the case that would determine their pathway to survival in a foreign system and a foreign language. Due to lack of notice, they had missed a court date and were ordered deported by the judge. When reporting to ICE for a regular check in, they found out that, unbeknownst to them, they had a deportation order against them. After a local organization fought to reopen her case, they were referred to Mabel Center for their asylum case. Mabel Center attorneys prepared affidavits, assembled evidence, wrote a brief, and prepared the family for testimony. With our representation in court, Jessica and her two children won asylum and are on the path to a Green Card.
IN MEMORY OF TONY RODRIGUEZ
This year, we lost a titan at the heart of Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice – Tony Rodriguez. Tony passed away on October 1, 2023, just days before he was to be honored at our first annual event. What was meant to be a forum to celebrate an individual who powerfully shaped who we are today became a time to remember his work, impact, and spirit.
Tony's journey with us began years before Mabel Center was formed in the fall of 2020. Jill and Daniel met Tony in 2016 after they both had worked at the Karnes family detention center in Texas with mothers and young children who were being detained. Their experience ignited a shared commitment to this vulnerable population –one that had both the highest need for legal services and the least access to it. Back in Boston, they were determined to continue serving families in defensive asylum proceedings.
For over seven years, Tony’s unwavering dedication helped Mabel Center launch and navigate the complexities of our mission. His unique ability to build trust with asylum seekers, coupled with his deep roots in the communities we serve, enabled us to identify the most vulnerable individuals and connect them to critical support A fierce advocate and unofficial (but incredibly effective) social worker, Tony gave each person his undivided attention as though they were his only client.
Tony supported our namesake, Mabel, throughout her proceedings. When Mabel was trapped in Mexico, Tony called her regularly to check on her. “When I felt lonely and overwhelmed, Tony was there to encourage me He was always so kind and reminded me that I was strong enough to get through this,” said Mabel. We will never truly know all the ways Tony helped vulnerable people in their hardest moments. He provided aid to all who asked, and for many who never had to ask.
Tony’s guidance as our founding board member, treasurer, and dear friend was instrumental in shaping Mabel Center’s mission and building our relationships with local communities. His legacy urges us to act justly, care deeply, and lead with openness, compassion, and love. We will honor him as we strive to embody his extraordinary compassion and vitality.
Thank you to all who help us carry forward the work Tony led as we continue to serve the communities dear to him Though we mourn, we remain grateful for Tony’s impact on all of us.
FY23 SUPPORTERS
Mabel Center’s work is made possible with support from individual, foundation, and corporate donors We deeply appreciate our investors that have contributed to our work and enabled us to keep services free to our clients.
CURRENT TEAM
Staff
Mikell Abernethy, Esq., Attorney
Carmen Guhn-Knight, Operations Manager
Rory Millar, Immigration Paralegal
Daniel Santiago, Esq., Senior Attorney*
Jasmine Santos, Immigration Paralegal*
Jill Seeber, Esq., Executive Director*
Erin Truex, MSW, Director of Development and Communications*
*Denotes FY2023 staff member
Board of Directors
Kate Ascione
Glenda Fuentes
Genevieve Green, President
Andrea Meza, Esq.
Jackie Robinson, MS, Treasurer
Jill Seeber, Esq
Elissa Steglich, Esq., Vice President
Mabel Center staff volunteering in Tijuana, Mexico in 2024.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT SUMMARY
540 CLIENTS SERVED
The majority of Mabel Center's clients are women, children, and members of the LGBTQ community from Central America, Venezuela, and Haiti who escaped persecution and survived sequestration in Mexico and/or detention by the border.
127 CHILDREN SERVED
Mabel Center helps children (18 and under) with their asylum cases, or Special Immigrant Juvenile Visas for kids who have lived through parental abandonment or neglect.
254 NEW CLIENTS
New clients receive either full representation or legal support through our Pro Se practice, allowing them to overcome procedural hurdles that block most meritorious asylum cases.
156 CONSULTATIONS
Mabel Center maintained an open intake line for FY23, creating a pathway for just-arrived immigrants to learn about their rights and pursue defense from deportation.