Domestic Violence &
Human Trafficking (Lucha) Program

Communities are safer when human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault get reported and prosecuted, but immigrant survivors often avoid reporting these types of abuse for fear of being detained, deported, or separated from their children due to their immigration status.

Through free legal assistance, AI Justice’s Lucha Program helps survivors of violence and their children obtain immigration relief, a critical first step on the journey to building safe, independent, and financially stable lives. Whether abuse is taking place at home or at work, Lucha staff work swiftly and compassionately to help them gain freedom from mistreatment.

AI Justice is the only immigration service provider that offers on-site legal services at Miami-Dade County’s domestic violence shelter and Coordinated Victims Assistance Center. Lucha also collaborates with key partners to create a holistic approach to address the issues facing immigrant survivors by providing them with access to housing, healthcare and mental health counseling, education, job opportunities, and other services like obtaining a driver’s license, banking, and paying taxes. The program provides survivors with the support to achieve full residency, reunification with family members, and the opportunity to integrate and contribute to the community in which they live.

Staff engage in systemic advocacy, playing a pivotal role in training law enforcement and government agencies at the local, state, and national levels about how to effectively support immigrant survivors of abuse and trafficking.

Our vision is that by helping survivors report and escape from abuse, we can make a brighter future possible for them and their children.