Jonathan Ryan
Executive Director, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and
Legal Services (RAICES)
"It is unacceptable to me that anyone is facing the brutal vicissitudes of the American immigration system that both major political parties have created. Ours will always be an asymmetric battle. But so were civil rights and women’s suffrage, worker’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights. As with those struggles, there are big victories and partial ones; there are lasting impacts and temporary reprieves. How we respond to this current humanitarian need in which families and children are fleeing in every direction in search of protection speaks to the moral character of our nation. What matters—and what will ultimately make us succeed—is our commitment to each other, and to restoring the soul of our country. That spirit—fighting relentlessly to improve the lives of our clients—is the same one I recognized when I joined RAICES 12 years ago. It has been my honor to lead RAICES since 2008.”
Biography
Jonathan Ryan has worked as a staff attorney at American Gateways where he helped to establish the Legal Orientation Program for adults in DHS detention. He received his B.A. from Columbia College in New York and is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. Ryan has served as the executive director of the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) since 2008. RAICES provides free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees in Central and South Texas. When Donald Trump’s Justice Department enacted a “zero tolerance” policy for so-called illegal entry into the U.S., and children fleeing violence in Central America were ripped from their parents and locked in cages, RAICES was ready to act. Their pro-bono attorneys and staff mobilized immediately to help reunite families, free children and families from detention, and help migrants get medical care they desperately needed.