Free Community Legal Education
Community Outreach
Know your rights before you need them.
Slatton & Hass Immigration Advocates provides free legal education to community groups, schools, and organizations serving immigrant families across Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. Sessions are available in English and Spanish. There is no cost to host one.
An informed community is a protected community. We believe every family deserves to know their rights, no matter their immigration status, and that nobody should face the possibility of detention without a plan. These programs are how we get that information to people before a crisis, not after.
What We Offer
Three programs, all free to your community.
Mock Asylum Interviews
Before entering private practice, our founder Victoria Slatton served as a USCIS asylum officer. That is a perspective we do not want to gatekeep. We run free mock asylum interviews for community groups, walking participants through a realistic practice session led by someone who used to conduct the real thing.
- A realistic practice interview, start to finish
- Open question-and-answer session afterward
- What an asylum officer is actually listening for
- Available in English and Spanish
Know Your Rights & Detention Preparedness
We understand the fear that comes with the possibility of detention, and we want families to feel supported rather than alone in facing it. These trainings offer clear, practical guidance on what to expect and how to prepare, delivered with care for how sensitive the topic is.
- Your rights during an encounter with immigration enforcement
- How to build a family plan before anything happens
- Every family who attends receives a free detention preparedness kit
- The kit includes power of attorney documents, financial planning resources, and childcare arrangement guidance
School & Community Days
Building understanding starts young, so our team makes it a priority to show up where communities gather, including local schools. Through age-appropriate presentations and conversations, we help students and families see immigration law as something approachable rather than intimidating.
Why We Do This
Community outreach is a core value of our firm.
Legal information should not be something you can only get once you have hired a lawyer. Most of the people who need to understand this system will never walk into our office, and that is exactly why we go to them. If a training we run means one family has a power of attorney in place before they need it, or one person understands what an asylum officer is really asking, that is worth more than anything we could have billed for the hour.
Common Questions
Questions we get about outreach
How much does a community training cost?
Nothing. All of our community outreach programs are free, including the mock asylum interviews, the know your rights and detention preparedness trainings, and the detention preparedness kits families receive.
Who can request a training?
Community groups, schools, and organizations serving immigrant families. If you are not sure whether your group is a fit, contact us and ask.
What areas do you travel to?
Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. Our office is in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Are sessions available in Spanish?
Yes. We present in both English and Spanish.
Who leads the mock asylum interviews?
Victoria Slatton, the firm's founder, who served as a USCIS asylum officer before entering private practice.
What is in the detention preparedness kit?
Power of attorney documents, financial planning resources, and childcare arrangement guidance. Every family who attends a detention preparedness training receives one at no cost.
Does attending a training make you my lawyer?
No. These sessions are legal education, not legal advice, and attending one does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need advice about your own case, book a consultation and we will talk about your specific facts.
Bring Us In
Host a free training.
Tell us about your group and what your community needs, and we will find a date. You can reach us at info@slattonhasslaw.com or 240-891-2154.