CLARO

The Legal Collective that is Accessible

 
 

What is CLARO

The Colectivo Legal Accesible Razonable y Organizado (CLARO) is a democratically-run and operated collective focusing on removal defense, the life or death remedy for persecuted immigrants from around the world. CLARO provides free or low-cost, high-quality legal services, primarily for immigrants in removal proceedings or needing humanitarian relief before USCIS in Santa Clara County. CLARO has a perfect win rate for immigrants persecuted on account of political opinion, gender violence, or membership in a particular social group at political asylum hearings in the San Francisco Immigration Court for the past four years. Due to the severe lack of service providers for asylum, CLARO has also filed over 120 asylum applications pro se to sustain their cases and seek employment authorization. In November 2024 Human Agenda received recognition from the U.S. Department of Justice and paralegal accreditation, allowing non-attorneys to represent immigrants before the USCIS.

 
 

History

CLARO has been providing free accessible immigration consultations and free and low-cost legal services for low-income immigrants. CLARO has been representing undocumented immigrants in removal proceedings before EOIR and with affirmative immigration applications before USCIS for eight years. The success rate of CLARO asylum cases is exceptional: since March of 2020 every single removal defense asylum case has been granted. Through CLARO, Human Agenda allows local immigrants to navigate discriminatory immigration policies and create fulfilling dreams of caring, productive, well-rounded families and individuals.

 

Immigration Services Offered by CLARO

 

CONSULTATIONS

To be added to our list to receive a free consultation, call, WhatsApp (preferred) and provide us with this information:

  • Full Name

  • Phone Number

  • Best Language

  • City of residence

  • The last entry date for the United States

  • A# if you have one

  • Immigration Court hearing date, if you have one

  • Children or spouses who are here with you in the U.S. and would need immigration legal services as well

Call or WhatsApp (Preferred) Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. PT: (+1)-408-759-9571

REPRESENTATION

Free or low-cost immigration legal services to low-income immigrant community members with remedies such as:

Removal Defense

  • Asylum

  • Withholding of Removal

  • Protection under the Convention Against Torture 

  • Non-LPR Cancellation of Removal

    Removal Defense

  • Affirmative Asylum 

  • U Visas

  • T Visas

  • VAWA

  • Adjustment of Status on the basis of any of the above

  • Asylee or Refugee Family Petitions

  • Employment Authorization Document applications

 

Meet our CLARO Team Members

 

Liliya Paraketsova has led the CLARO program of Human Agenda since March 2020. She has litigated dozens of asylum cases in immigration court and secured affirmative immigration benefits, including work permits, for hundreds of immigrants. At the core of her practice is her own experience as an immigrant in this country under vulnerable circumstances and this has fueled her dedication to creating systemic change that supports a future where there is equal access for all human rights. Liliya is a native Russian speaker in addition to being fluent in Spanish and English. She worked with refugees in Ecuador and South Africa, as well as with human trafficking victims in Michigan prior to practicing immigration law in California. Liliya got her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in May 2018, and she has been a member of the New York bar since July 2019. She has seven years of management experience she gained prior to law school and a B.B.A. in international business and management from the University of Hawaii.

Felipe Romero joined the CLARO team as a staff attorney in October 2023. With a focus on humanitarian cases, he has represented clients at the San Francisco Immigration Court in their asylum proceedings. As a first-generation Latinx attorney born to immigrant parents from rural Mexico, Felipe's dedication to defending human rights and supporting immigrants stems from the stories his parents shared during their undocumented journey in the United States. He has witnessed firsthand the one-sidedness of the immigration system, which motivated him to seek change and assist those striving to immigrate to the United States for safety and a better life. He is a native Spanish speaker. Felipe earned his JD from Santa Clara University School of Law, where he also received a certificate in Public International Law. He also holds a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Law and Society from California State University, Los Angeles.

Emily Moncada, DOJ accredited representative, has been at Human Agenda’s CLARO program since June 2023. Since joining the CLARO Team, she has helped provide removal defense and affirmative immigration legal services to CLARO clients, many of them GBV survivors. Born in San Jose and raised by her immigrant parents, Emily grew up seeing her community struggle to access health, immigration, legal, and educational resources. Acknowledging the social, economic, and class disparities that exist for immigrants and people of color in the United States, she continued to work on expanding social justice work in legal services to combat the inequalities she grew up seeing in San Jose. Emily received her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law with a certificate in Public Interest and Social Justice Law. She has a B. A. from University of California Davis in Political Science with emphasis in U.S. Politics and International Relations and minors in Human Rights and Social/Cultural Anthropology