The Advocates For Human Rights

What The Advocates For Human Rights does

The Advocates for Human Rights is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization founded in 1983 that delivers direct legal representation, human rights advocacy, training, and educational programming, primarily to immigrants, asylum seekers, immigration detainees, unaccompanied children, and trafficking victims in the Upper Midwest. Its core service portfolio includes legal representation, the MN Habeas Project, the Immigration Legal Services Hub, and an Afghan Legal Clinic, supported by an Immigrant Client Line and a Minneapolis office at 330 Second Avenue South. The organization's most differentiated capability is the Immigration Court Observation Project (ICOP), launched in 2017, in which trained volunteers have documented over 30,000 hearings at Fort Snelling Immigration Court to surface due process violations; it also operates the MN Truth Council documenting the impact of federal immigration enforcement (Operation Metro Surge) and has secured federal litigation outcomes including a preliminary injunction on ICE attorney access for detainees.

Beyond direct services, the organization pursues international human rights work through consultative status with UN mechanisms, the co-development of the Minnesota Protocol on Extra-Legal Executions (adopted by the UN in 1991), and partnerships including a 25+ year collaboration with Educate the Children to run the Sankhu-Palubari Community School in Nepal, which currently serves 375 students. It publishes training manuals (e.g., Discover Human Rights, Human Rights Tools for a Changing World), runs a continuing legal education program, produces the Advocast podcast, and convenes events such as the Human Rights Awards Dinner and Witness for Justice storytelling series. Revenue is generated entirely through donations, grants, and volunteer-supported pro bono legal work — no fees are charged to clients — and the organization holds a 2024 Candid Platinum Transparency Seal and a Charity Navigator rating. Leadership transitioned in October 2025 with the appointment of Michele Garnett McKenzie, a 26-year veteran of the organization, as Executive Director.

Name

The Advocates For Human Rights

Legal name

The Advocates for Human Rights

Website

https://theadvocatesforhumanrights.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Advocates for Human Rights is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit founded in 1983 that provides direct legal representation to immigrants and detainees in the Upper Midwest, runs volunteer-based human rights monitoring and impact litigation, and operates education and training programs domestically and in Nepal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Legal Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC), Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAG)

Keywords

• Immigration legal services
• Human rights advocacy
• Asylum legal representation
• Court monitoring programs
• Civil society training

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization is a nonprofit that relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and supporters. The website prominently features donation capabilities and donor privacy policies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Advocates for Human Rights provides pro bono legal representation to immigrants (asylum seekers, detainees, unaccompanied children, trafficking victims) in the U.S. Upper Midwest, alongside human rights advocacy programs, court monitoring (Immigration Court Observation Project), training and publications for human rights defenders, and an international education program (Sankhu-Palubari Community School in Nepal). Services are delivered free of charge to clients and funded by donations, grants, and volunteer support.

Product overview

The Advocates for Human Rights is a nonprofit human rights organization offering direct legal representation services for immigrants (asylum seekers, detainees, unaccompanied children, trafficking victims), advocacy programs (MN Truth Council, Immigration Court Observation Project, Operation Metro Surge), educational resources (publications, training manuals, CLE programs), and the Sankhu-Palubari Community School in Nepal. The organization operates primarily as a service provider and advocacy group rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Legal Representation Services
• MN Habeas Project A project providing habeas corpus legal assistance to individuals detained by immigration authorities in Minnesota.
• Immigration Legal Services Hub A centralized resource initiative connecting immigrants with legal services across Minnesota.
• Immigration Court Observation Project (ICOP) Court monitoring initiative that trains volunteers to document immigration court hearings at Fort Snelling Immigration Court, identifying systemic due process violations and human rights concerns.
• MN Truth Council A truth-seeking initiative documenting the human cost of federal agents deployed in Minnesota communities, particularly during Operation Metro Surge.
• Sankhu-Palubari Community School (Nepal School Project) A partnership school in Nepal providing free education to over 375 students in pre-K through 10th grade since 1999, serving as an alternative to child labor for vulnerable children.
• Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Programs On-demand and live CLE programs covering immigration law, asylum, human trafficking, death penalty, and other human rights topics for legal professionals.
• Human Rights Tools for a Changing World (Training Manual) A step-by-step guide to human rights fact-finding, documentation, and advocacy, including UN advocacy training, targeted at human rights defenders.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Educate the Children (Nepal)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Nepali administrative partner for the Sankhu-Palubari Community School (SPCS), established in 1999 to provide free education to vulnerable children in rural Kathmandu Valley. The partnership has educated over 1,000 children with approximately 7% Dalit and 55% Indigenous students.
• Hines Immigration LawcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-plaintiff in federal lawsuit challenging the fast-tracking of Somali asylum cases, working together to challenge what they characterize as targeted measures designed to strip due process rights.
• WAVE NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE) Network on women's rights advocacy, including joint work in North Macedonia and Cyprus documented in 2024.
• Acacia Center for JusticeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-host of Witness for Justice storytelling event with The Advocates for Human Rights, hosted at Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.
• Cedar Cultural CenterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVenue partner for Witness for Justice storytelling event at 416 Cedar Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55454.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP): Nonprofit providing direct legal representation, litigation, and advocacy for refugees and displaced persons — comparable as a legal-advocacy nonprofit specializing in asylum and refugee rights.
• RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services): Texas-based nonprofit providing affordable immigration legal services, advocacy, and bond representation across the detention continuum — comparable as a direct-immigration legal services nonprofit.
• Tahirih Justice Center: National nonprofit providing legal services, advocacy, and public education for immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence — closely mirrors the Asylum and trafficking victim work.
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): National civil liberties and civil rights legal-advocacy organization that litigates constitutional cases and operates state affiliates, mirroring the same nonprofit legal-advocacy model applied to immigrant and human rights issues.
• National Immigrant Law Center (NILC): National nonprofit focused exclusively on immigration law and policy advocacy, court action, and training for immigrant-serving organizations — overlapping closely with Advocates' immigration litigation and CLE work.

Broad incumbents

• Amnesty International USA: US arm of a global human rights movement that conducts research, advocacy, and campaigning across civil, political, and economic rights — comparable as a broader human-rights advocacy incumbent with similar advocacy focus.
• Human Rights Watch: Global human rights research and advocacy organization operating across regions and rights categories at significantly larger scale; comparable as a broad human-rights advocacy incumbent.

Emerging players

• Lambda Legal: National LGBT civil rights legal-advocacy organization. Overlaps with the LGBTIQ+ Rights and immigration (asylum) priorities of the subject company.
• Advocates for Children of New York: Nonprofit providing legal advocacy and social services for children in New York, comparable to the subject's unaccompanied children and education (Nepal school) programming.

Regional players

• Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project: Arizona-based nonprofit providing free legal services to immigrants in detention, a geographic peer to the subject's Upper Midwest detention representation work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/the_advocates
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ADVforHumanRights
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheAdvocatesForHumanRights
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-advocates-for-human-rights
• Instagraminstagram.com/theadvocatesforhumanrights

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Advocates For Human Rights