Al Otro Lado began as a grassroots project in Tijuana, Mexico, supporting deported people and migrants facing human and civil rights violations. Early on, U.S. volunteer attorneys joined to provide free legal aid to deportees and asylum seekers just hours after their arrival in Mexico.

Following Donald Trump’s presidential election in 2016, as asylum seekers were unlawfully turned away from ports of entry, Al Otro Lado documented these violations and filed its first class action lawsuit, Al Otro Lado v. Nielsen, challenging the government’s illegal “turnback” policy.

As refugee caravans arrived and family separations escalated under President Trump’s family separation policy at the border, Al Otro Lado rapidly expanded—opening a Tijuana office in 2017 to meet urgent legal and humanitarian needs, and later becoming the primary organization representing deported parents separated from their children. Our team has since reunited hundreds of families and trained thousands of volunteers to serve thousands more refugees.

In 2019, we opened offices in San Diego and Los Angeles to support detained migrants and survivors of violence, torture, and homelessness. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we shifted to remote legal services, continuing to defend the rights of migrants across Mexico and the U.S.

Today, Al Otro Lado serves as counsel or plaintiff in multiple landmark lawsuits challenging detention conditions, forced labor, and barriers to asylum. We also advocate before Congress, the United Nations, and international human rights bodies to advance justice and accountability for migrants.