AILA Presents Taylor Levy with the 2020 Arthur C. Helton Memorial Human Rights Award

WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recognizes Taylor Levy of El Paso, TX, with the 2020 Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award for outstanding service in advancing the cause of human rights.

Taylor Levy is an immigration attorney in El Paso, Texas. After a decade working with various nonprofits, she founded her own legal consulting firm dedicated to protecting the rights of asylum seekers arriving at our southern border. Ms. Levy currently provides pro bono legal assistance to asylum-seeking families who have been returned to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, under the "Remain in Mexico" program, formally known as the "Migrant Protection Protocols." She also provides education and advocacy around issues affecting asylum seekers on the border, including mentoring other attorneys, presenting at conferences, speaking to the press, and hosting professional delegations visiting the area.

Previously, Ms. Levy served as a staff volunteer and Legal Coordinator at Annunciation House, a nonprofit organization that provides hospitality and shelter to migrants and refugees. She also served as the Family Immigration Program Coordinator and a Department of Justice Accredited Representative at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Ms. Levy has successfully represented asylum seekers in numerous immigration detention facilities, including working extensively with families detained in the notorious "Artesia Family Residential Center." Additionally, in 2018, she coordinated a pro bono legal project that successfully helped to reunite hundreds of parents separated from their minor children during the "zero tolerance" period of family separation.

In the past decade, Ms. Levy has provided free legal information and assistance to thousands of individuals seeking asylum and protection on the southern border. Her work has been profiled by NPR, MSNBC, CBS, the Washington Post, and ProPublica, among others. In August 2019, Ms. Levy was honored with the Recent Alumni Award for her contributions to Mitchell Hamline School of Law and later served as an adjunct professor with the school's immigration clinic, leading a group of students volunteering with the Dilley Pro Bono Project. She was also honored with the "Liberty Bell" Award in May 2019 from the El Paso Young Lawyers' Association.

Ms. Levy received her J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and holds an M.A. from the University of Texas at El Paso and a B.A. from the University of Colorado.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.