“I hope [my attorneys] will be able to help other people—the same way they helped me.”

Shackled hand and foot on a deportation flight to Mexico, Naomi* sat weeping and praying. Her parents brought her to the United States when she was nine years old. Though she had struggled to navigate the complex path to legal residency, she had built a life in the Chicago area, with children and grandchildren she would be leaving behind. When she ...

Technology expands possibilities for incarcerated people to build their resumes

Erica Orta felt nervous waiting for the Zoom screen to light up as she sat in front of a computer at the Ohio Reformatory for Women preparing to facilitate a meeting for the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera)’s Unlocking Potential team for the first time. But when the faces appeared, she smoothly led the team through the agenda.“It was surreal,” said ...