Torture Survivors Project

The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles’ Torture Survivors Project attends to the needs of immigrants who were victims of torture in their countries of origin. It involves both outreach and legal assistance to this diverse community of asylees and refugees.

We assist torture survivors to apply for their initial and renewal work permits, adjustment of status and naturalization. We also assist them to file petitions for family members and applications for political asylum. Other legal services include: in court representation, family reunification assistance and government benefits assistance.

The Torture Survivors Project conducts outreach in key ethnic communities where it is known there are large populations of asylees and refugees who have come to the U.S. from countries where torture is commonly committed. These include countries such as Armenia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Kenya, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Liberia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Somalia, Sudan and Vietnam.

Our attorneys and advocates assist torture survivors with the following services:

• Deportation defense in court (including Application for asylum , withholding of removal or CAT (*)
• Affirmative Application for Asylum (*)
• Work Permits and other employment eligibility issues
• Refugee Travel documents
• Family reunification for asylees, refugees, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) and US Citizens that were victims of torture
• Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Resident
• Naturalization

Case management including assistance applying and maintaining government benefits

The Torture Survivors Project maintains a strong partnership with various agencies in Los Angeles, meeting bimonthly as the Los Angeles Asylum Collaborative. The Collaborative includes the Program for Torture Victims (PTV), Public Counsel’s Immigrant Rights Project, HIV-AIDS Legal Services Alliance (HALSA), USC Immigration Clinic and the local International Rescue Committee (IRC) among others.

The Los Angeles Asylum Collaborative often refers and shares clients with each other so as to compliment each organization’s respective services. Clients who are torture survivors benefit enormously from this collaboration in that they receive a comprehensive range of legal, social and health services.

For more information about the Torture Survivors Project, or if you need assistance, e-mail us at tsp@lafla.org or call (800) 399-4529.

(*) Limited to clients meeting LSC non-citizen eligibility requirements.

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Language Lines/Hotlines

• Immigration Intake Line
  (800) 399-4529
• English/Español
  (800) 399-4529
• Torture Survivor Intake Line
  (213) 640-3913
• 國粵語熱線 / Cantonese/Mandarin
  (323) 801-7912
• 日本語 / Japanese
  (323) 801-7913
• ភាសាខ្មែរ / (Cambodian)
  (562) 304-2523
• 한국어 / Korean
  (323) 801-7987
• Tiếng Việt / Vietnamese
  (323) 801-7923