{"id":134404,"date":"2026-04-02T12:33:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T16:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=134404"},"modified":"2026-04-03T12:22:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:22:03","slug":"ghirp-to-host-5-year-anniversary-spring-festival-amid-threats-to-immigrant-legal-services-and-growing-ice-presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/ghirp-to-host-5-year-anniversary-spring-festival-amid-threats-to-immigrant-legal-services-and-growing-ice-presence\/","title":{"rendered":"GHIRP to Host 5-Year Anniversary Spring Festival Amid Threats to Immigrant Legal Services and Growing ICE Presence"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON, Texas, April 2, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project (GHIRP)<\/strong> will host its 5-Year Anniversary Spring Festival Fundraiser<\/strong><\/a> on Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Dan Electro\u2019s <\/strong>in Houston. <\/strong>The event will bring together community members and advocates to celebrate five years of impact while raising urgently needed funds to defend immigrants across the Galveston\u2013Houston area.<\/p>\n

\"Galveston-Houston
Image caption: Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project (GHIRP) 5-Year Anniversary Spring Festival Fundraiser.<\/em><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Spring Festival comes at a pivotal and deeply challenging moment. Across Texas and the nation, immigrant communities are experiencing an expanded and increasingly aggressive ICE presence, while funding for legal services programs face growing threats. Together, these forces are pushing more children, survivors, and families into deportation proceedings without access to basic due process.<\/p>\n

Legal representation is often the deciding factor between safety and separation, but access to attorneys and legal information remains alarmingly scarce. Nationwide, tens of thousands of people face immigration court each year without an attorney. In Texas, the gap is even more severe. As of the most recent data available (December 2025), only 27.8% of immigrants in deportation proceedings in Texas had legal representation<\/strong>, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). National research consistently shows that immigrants with attorneys are up to 5x more likely to be successful in their case<\/strong> than those forced to navigate the system alone, underscoring how devastating the lack of counsel can be.<\/p>\n

GHIRP exists to close that gap. The team provides free, high-quality legal services to immigrants<\/strong>, including survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and other crimes; detained and unaccompanied immigrant children; and individuals seeking protection from deportation. Immigrants in the United States do not<\/strong> have the right to a government-appointed attorney, even when their freedom, safety, or family unity is at stake. Without representation, many are forced to navigate one of the most complex legal systems alone, often with life-altering consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow more than ever, our community needs strong, well-resourced organizations standing up to protect immigrants confronting an immigration system that is becoming more punitive and less humane,\u201d said Chiqui S\u00e1nchez Kennedy, Executive Director of GHIRP. \u201cAs enforcement expands and funding for supportive programs is threatened, the need for legal representation is growing more urgent every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past five years, GHIRP has built a proven model of holistic, trauma-informed legal representation<\/strong>, helping children, survivors, and families navigate one of the most complex immigration legal systems in the world. GHIRP\u2019s mission is to build a resilient, diverse community by providing comprehensive representation and holistic legal services to immigrants in the Galveston-Houston area.<\/p>\n

The Spring Festival Fundraiser<\/strong> is designed to be both a celebration and a call to action. This family-friendly event will feature live music, multicultural food, kids\u2019 activities, raffles, and community performances, while reminding attendees that private and unrestricted donations from the community are increasingly essential<\/strong> to fill dangerous funding gaps and keep life-saving legal services available to those in need.<\/p>\n

Proceeds from the event will directly support GHIRP\u2019s free legal services, helping ensure that immigrants in our community are not forced to face detention and deportation proceedings alone.<\/p>\n

Event Details:<\/strong><\/p>\n