Media
Press Releases and Statements
December 1, 2021
DALLAS – Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI), a Dallas-area non-profit organization, will be ringing in this International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2021, with the celebration RYHO21: Stories from the HeART at Dallas’s Kimpton Pittman Hotel (2551 Elm St, Dallas, TX 75226) from...
October 18, 2021
DALLAS – This weekend, high-level government officials continued to be complicit in racist and cruel border policies, refusing asylum seekers their legal right for a bid for safety in the U.S. “President Biden should have walked into office in January by dismantling Trump’s racist and cruel...
July 18, 2021
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI) Statement on DACA Decision
DALLAS - On July 16, 2021, Judge Hanen of the Southern District of Texas declared DACA unlawful. DACA is a temporary protection for undocumented youth to lawfully work and stay in the United States. "To our family, friends, and community, we're here standing...
June 18, 2021
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI) Statement on Reduction of Backlog for Immigrant Survivors
DALLAS – On June 16, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland reversed two Trump Administration immigration decisions that unjustly limited access to asylum for people fleeing domestic and gang violence in their home countries. The legally flawed decisions...
June 17, 2021
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI) Statement on Reduction of Backlog for Immigrant Survivors
DALLAS - On June 14, 2021, the Biden Administration announced a new policy intended to ease the tremendous harm of the immigration backlog on immigrant survivors of serious crime. The policy, which specifically affects immigrant survivors eligible for the U Visa, will...
March 15, 2021
HRI Connect Announces Healthcare Navigator Tool for Immigrant Communities
DALLAS – On March 15, 2021, Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI), a Dallas-area non-profit organization, launched a multi-lingual healthcare navigator tool. The webpage and hotline will help immigrants and refugees living in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex ...
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI) Statement on President Biden's Executive Orders
DALLAS – On February 2, 2021, President Biden issued three Executive Orders ordering review of family separation, migration at the U.S. Southern Border, and the Public Charge rule and barriers to naturalization. "At HRI, we believe in a just immigration system,"....
December 14, 2020
During Twentieth Anniversary, HRI’s Founding Vision Ensured the Rental, Food and Social Services Support Necessary During the Pandemic
DALLAS – This December, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country, Human Rights Initiative of North Texas celebrates its twentieth birthday and the founding vision that primed the organization to distribute close to $250,000 of direct rental....
December 10, 2020
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI) Statement on Today's Major Asylum Rollback, Released on Human Rights Day
DALLAS – On December 10, 2020--the international observance of Human Rights Day--the Trump Administration announced the largest rollback of asylum in recent history. The rule particularly targets people making asylum claims based on their gender and people fleeing political...
November 16, 2020
HRI Celebrates the Law Firms, Institutions, and Individuals that Help People Fleeing Violence Find Safety in Dallas
DALLAS – Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI), a Dallas-area non-profit organization, is announcing this year’s prestigious Angel of Freedom award winners: Pete Thompson, Associate with Clark Hill Strasburger, as the Individual Angel of Freedom Honoree; Sidley ...
October 6, 2020
HRI and SMU Law’s Hunter Center Release New Report Detailing the Immigration System’s Revictimization of Undocumented Survivors of Crimes
DALLAS – Undocumented survivors of crime face significant barriers and re-victimization by United States’ broken immigration system, which forces them to wait nearly a decade for the U visas they are eligible for. Today, Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI), the Dallas-area...
October 1, 2020
HRI Announces Its Annual Storytelling Event, Stories From the HeART: Rock Your HeART Out (RYHO), for October 17
DALLAS – Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI), a Dallas-area non-profit organization, is announcing its 2020 RYHO roster, which includes 22 visual artists, 12 musicians and 9 poetry performers who are coming together for a free virtual event on October 17, 2020...
March 20, 2020
Statement on Border Closure and Turnbacks of Asylum Seekers
DALLAS – “We echo the call of the United Nations, leading human rights organizations and immigration lawyers from across the country: in this crisis, America cannot shut the door in the faces of our siblings from across the world with nowhere else to go,” said Pilar Ferguson...
January 29, 2020
Statement: Today Marks One Year of U.S.-Inflicted Human Rights Abuses on Asylum Seekers at the Southern Border
DALLAS – “One year ago, this administration announced the implementation of the absurdly named Migrant Protection Protocols. Contrary to the requirements and norms of international law (as well as decades of practice at our borders), we now require desperate...
December 3, 2019
Over 25 Restaurants and Businesses—and Counting—Are Uniting in support of Human Rights Day DFW on December 10th, proceeds to benefit Human Rights Initiative of North Texas
DALLAS – Dozens of Dallas-area restaurants and businesses are coming together to celebrate the third annual Human Rights Day DFW on December 10, the anniversary of the 1948 day on which the United Nations adopted the universal declaration of human rights...
November 14, 2019
Statement on Proposal to Limit Asylum Seekers from Supporting Themselves While Their Applications Are Pending
DALLAS – “HRI’s clients flee from violence, torture, and threats of death at a moment’s notice. When they finally make it safely to US soil, they’re often in dire circumstances. Travel has wiped out savings. It’s lucky if they know anyone in the US that can provide some...
October 2, 2019
October 19 “Rock Your HeART Out Concert & Art Auction” Will Unveil New Works from 11 Visual Artists, including Tina Medina, Daniel Avazpour and Jessica Fuentes
DALLAS – Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI) announces its fourth Annual Rock Your HeART Out Concert & Art Auction to take place on Saturday, October 19, 2019 from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Life in Deep Ellum (2803 Taylor St., Dallas, TX 75226). Rock Your...
August 7, 2019
Statement on Advance of Anti-Asylum Bill to Senate Floor
DALLAS – "Where are the bills that solve the problems that have been plaguing our system for years, address the actual causes of this crisis and ensure that people fleeing persecution can find safety in the United States?” said Bill Holston, Executive Director of the...
June 14, 2019
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI) Statement on Announcement to Expand Asylum Access
DALLAS – “Guatemala is not a safe country for its own citizens, let alone the refugees that are traveling through the country to reach the United States,” said Pilar Ferguson, Asylum Program Attorney at the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas. “Our own State...
May 30, 2019
Statement on DOJ Rule Rejecting Asylum Seekers Who Have Traveled Through a Third Country
DALLAS – “Asylum was created by the international community in the wake of the Holocaust—an agreement that we would never again send people fleeing persecution back to their persecutors,” said Bill Holston, Executive Director of the Human Rights Initiative...
Media Inquiries
Contact HRI Community Education & Advocacy Director Kali Cohn, at advocacy@hrionline.org.
Our Experts
HRI has subject-matter experts in immigration law, asylum, relief for unaccompanied children, and immigrant survivors of crime.
HRI in the Media
March 14, 2022
Dallas Morning News
December 23, 2021
WFAA
December 6, 2021
KERA
November 30, 2021
Dallas Morning News
Families Separated at the U.S.-Mexico Border Suffer PTSD, Anxiety and Depression, Study Finds
November 17, 2021
KERA
Despite a Policy Change in June, Some North Texas U Visa Applicants Are Still Waiting
September 21, 2021
The New Humanitarian
Confronting the Long, Uneven Path to Gender-based Asylum in the US
June 21, 2021
Attorney At Law Magazine - Dallas
Bill Holston on Human Rights Initiative of North Texas
May 27, 2021
KERA News
Abbott Sends Warning About Fentanyl From Mexico, But Some Advocates Question His Reasoning
April 21, 2021
Billboard
How to Watch Kali Uchis' Immersive Virtual Concert
April 15, 2021
Dallas Doing Good
This Healthcare Navigator is Built by the People Who Need It
March 24, 2021
Dallas Morning News
Immigrant Children in Federal Care Haven’t Escaped COVID-19 Infection
March 17, 2021
KERA News
New Tool Available For Immigrants And Refugees In DFW To Find Affordable Healthcare
March 15, 2021
WFAA
US to House up to 3,000 Immigrant Teens at Dallas Site
March 9, 2021
But Her Lyrics...
This Stolen Land, podcast featuring Emily Heger
December 10, 2020
Dallas Voice
Lambda Legal and Immigration Equality to Challenge New Asylum Ban
December 9, 2020
Central Track
Making Moves: 26 Ways To Get Involved in Dallas This Week
December 9, 2020
Dallas Morning News
Khao Noodle Shop and Be Kinder Coffee owners join Dallas walk for refugees
December 8, 2020
Lakewood Advocate
Human Rights Initiative Celebrates 20 Years of Lending Immigrants a Helping Hand
November 20, 2020
Attorney At Law Magazine
HRI Honors Sidley with Pro Bono Angel of Freedom Award
November 19, 2020
Attorney At Law Magazine
Clark Hill’s Thompson and Law Firm Sidley Austin Honored for Pro Bono Dedication
October 16, 2020
Dallas Observer
Rock Your Heart Out Shines a Light on Immigrant Artists
October 6, 2020
Glasstire
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas Presents 'Rock Your HeART Out'
October 5, 2020
PR Web
The 5th Annual UN Day Global Leadership Award Winners Announced
August 20, 2020
Law.com
Texas Law Firm Helps Burundian Asylum Seeker End 5-Year Flight
August 7, 2020
NBC DFW
City of Dallas Announces CARES Act Emergency Short-Term Rental
June 1, 2020
Al Dia
¿Cuáles son las consecuencias de participar en protestas para inmigrantes sin ciudadanía?
May 6, 2020
Dallas Morning News
March 25, 2020
A Conversation With… Podcast
A Conversation with Bill Holston
March 17, 2020
Dallas Observer
Dallas Immigration Advocates Seek to Protect Women Fleeing Gender Violence
March 13, 2020
Dallas Morning News
February 24, 2020
Dallas Observer
Ahead of Census, Dallas-Area Immigration Groups Work to Allay Fears
January 15, 2020
Dallas Observer
Judge Blocks Executive Order, Halting Abbott's Refugee Ban
January 15, 2020
Dallas Observer
Abbott's Refugee Ban Concerns Dallas Organizations
December 11, 2019
Voyage Dallas
Meet Anna Rupani, Carolina Pina and Elisandra De La Cruz of Human Rights Initiative of North Texas
December 4, 2019
Dallas Morning News
Those Who Continued to Fight for Justice Their Entire Lives Without Seeing Change Give Me Hope
December 3, 2019
Dallas Observer
How Dining at One of These Restaurants Can Make an Impact Dec. 10
December 3, 2019
Dallas Observer
Lowest Refugee Cap in Decades Worries Local Organizations and Advocates
November 28, 2019
Dallas Morning News
$40K Grant from Uber Means Hundreds of Free Rides for Domestic-Violence Victims at The Family Place
November 18, 2019
Dallas Observer
New Asylum Rule Would Hit DFW Immigrants and Organizations Hard
October 18, 2019
White Rock Lake Weekly
Rock Your HeART Show Puts 'Humans First'
October 12, 2019
Dallas Morning News
Dallas Artists Who Paired Up With Refugees Will Show Off Their Work at Rock Your Heart Out
October 8, 2019
Dallas Observer
Confusion Over New Rules Leads Many to Ditch Public Assistance
July 22, 2019
WFAA
Migrants' Journey Continues in Dallas at Greyhound Bus Stop
July 11, 2019
Dallas Doing Good
Bill Holston: Leading the Charge for Compassionate Legal Representation
June 28, 2019
MarketWatch
June 19, 2019
Dallas Morning News
Almost 100% of Asylum-Seeking Families with Legal Aid are Showing Up to Court, Analysis Finds
June 18, 2019
Texas Tribune
June 18, 2019
D Magazine
SUPPORT HRI’S MISSION
Together we can extend the safety, liberty, and hope America has given us to those who desperately need it. Your support makes a great difference as we continue the fight.
Give Now