FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2026
CONTACT
Lilly Gonzalez, media@nipnlg.org
Making it easier for immigrants and their loved ones to file habeas petitions
NEW YORK, NY—Today the National Immigration Project, Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), and Human Rights First launched DetentionHelp.org, a free online tool that helps people held in immigration detention petition for their release without the support of a lawyer. Specifically, detainees can use the tool to file a habeas petition, a formal legal request asking a federal judge to release you from detention. For most of the over 590,000 people in ICE custody right now, a habeas petition is the only possible path to try to get out of detention.
“All three of our organizations interact daily with people who are directly affected by the current detention crisis and their loved ones. The origins of this tool lie in the community, and that’s exactly who it’s meant to serve,” said Caitlin Bellis, Director of Advocacy at the National Immigration Project. “Not everyone in detention has the resources to ask for their freedom. This tool could be a lifeline for someone who has been told for months that there is nothing they can do to get out of detention.”
Here’s how it works: Anyone can visit www.DetentionHelp.Org to assist someone being detained. The tool prompts the user to tell their story in their own words, assisting them with identifying the legal arguments that help their case. The end product is a completed habeas petition with filled-in court forms (including one that allows people to file without paying fees and a motion to appoint a free lawyer, for those who choose those options) and step-by-step instructions for filing. Family members and advocates can use this tool to assist someone who is detained, completing the process together, and then obtaining the completed packet for them to file.
Over the last year, there has been a marked increase in detentions of immigrants across the United States. People who would once have been released on bond, or never detained at all, are now held for months in facilities hundreds of miles from home. According to ProPublica’s habeas tracker, more than 73,000 habeas petitions have been filed on behalf of people in immigration detention since January 2025. And many people are winning their petitions for release if they can get to court.
But the tens of thousands of people who have filed habeas petitions are a fraction of the people ICE is cruelly and unlawfully detaining. Most people in immigration detention have no lawyer. Legal service providers who support immigrants and people seeking safety are stretched past capacity. The DetentionHelp tool was built to help fill that gap.
"ASAP members told us to make responding to detention a top priority, and this tool is our answer to them,” said Swapna Reddy, Co-Executive Director at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP). “Every day, immigrants do difficult things for themselves and the people they love — they attend hearings, they make calls, they navigate systems that are complex on purpose. What they haven't had is a simpler way into federal court. DetentionHelp gives them one. No one's liberty should depend on whether they can find a lawyer."
"It is deeply unjust that an overwhelming majority of immigrants and people seeking safety, including children, do not have an access to an attorney to navigate a complex, protracted, immigration system, and to exercise their fundamental rights,” said Perris Richter, Senior Director, Innovation Lab at Human Rights First. “When people are trapped in detention, legal representation is critical - but even more difficult to access, especially when contesting their detention through habeas corpus petitions. In the face of mounting injustice and horrific conditions in immigration detention, we need to think about innovative new models of support. DetentionHelp is leveraging technology to fight for the freedom of our immigrant neighbors and community members, by making it accessible for people to file habeas corpus petitions without dedicated legal representation."
DetentionHelp is free, available in English and Spanish, and works on a mobile device as well as a computer. It is designed for people currently in immigration detention and for family members and advocates supporting them. The tool does not provide legal advice and is not a substitute for a lawyer. DetentionHelp is not affiliated with any government agency. Information about privacy and how data is handled is available at detentionhelp.org/en/privacy.
A sample of the packet the tool produces is available at app.detentionhelp.org/#example.
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The National Immigration Project is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who believe that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow the National Immigration Project on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, and Threads at @NIPNLG.
The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) is a membership organization of asylum seekers with over 700,000 members from 175 countries. ASAP is a legal tech nonprofit and provides legal and community support to our members who are navigating a complex immigration system. We believe that asylum seekers can make change by standing together, and we work alongside our members to build a more welcoming United States. Learn more about ASAP’s work at asaptogether.org.
Since 1978, Human Rights First has championed freedom and dignity for all, at home and abroad. Our near half-century of impact includes securing landmark protections for refugees, building bipartisan guardrails against torture, forging new frameworks to hold global human rights abusers accountable, and uplifting human rights defenders worldwide. Grounded in legal rigor and with a bias towards innovation, we build broad-based coalitions and equip them with new tools to ensure that justice and democracy prevail.