It was founded in 1983 by lawyer Peter Schey with the mission of protecting and furthering the human and civil rights of immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized communities through nationwide class action litigation and activism.
[3] The initial focus was on providing legal services to Central American refugees who were fleeing civil wars and political persecution in their home countries.
Flores v. Reno set the minimum standard of living for detained immigrant children in the United States, set CHRCL as the only nongovernmental organization allowed to hold detention centers accountable for these minimum standards, and required the prompt release of detained children to relatives residing in the United States.
[4] League of United Latin American Citizens v. Wilson prevented proposition 187, which sought to deny healthcare, social services, and education to individuals suspected to be undocumented immigrants.
[2] In 2000, among other organizations, CHRCL wrote The Life Act, which extended the ability to apply for legal residency to over 200,000 immigrants who had previously been denied due to brief travel outside of the United States.
"[19] According to an April 2018 lawsuit filed by the center, a "range of psychotropic drugs" were "routinely and forcibly" administered to traumatized children in youth shelters that funded by the U.S.