Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project

What Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project does

Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project (GHIRP) is a Texas-based 501(c)(3) non-profit legal services organization founded in 2020 that provides free immigration legal representation to immigrants in the Galveston-Houston metropolitan area. The organization operates five core programmatic lines: the Immigrant Children & Youth (ICY) Program serving unaccompanied minors; the Detained Adult Team representing adults in Houston-area detention facilities; the Survivors of Crime and Human Trafficking Program providing trauma-informed representation; the Community Immigration Program offering general legal services; and the Federal Litigation Program, launched in 2023, handling cases before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. GHIRP also conducts citizenship and naturalization services, Know Your Rights presentations, and walk-in legal clinics across Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend, and Montgomery Counties.

The organization's underlying delivery model is a hybrid of education and legal representation, pairing direct legal advocacy with case management and wraparound social services. GHIRP employs a team of approximately 40 advocates including managing attorneys with JDs from Vanderbilt, Georgetown, South Texas College of Law, and the University of Houston, alongside DOJ-accredited representatives, social services coordinators, paralegals, and a communications specialist. Service infrastructure is supported by standard non-profit SaaS tooling — Constant Contact for email, Neon CRM for events and fundraising, and JotForm for registration — with no proprietary technology platform or AI components. Services are delivered free of charge to clients through office-based consultations, community partner sites, and scheduled monthly clinic cadences.

GHIRP is funded exclusively through donations and grants, with a stated donation tier structure ranging from $50 (information package and consultation) to $1,500 (full deportation defense representation in Immigration Court). Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The organization is governed by an independent board of directors and supported by a network of community partners including YMCA International Services, St. Vincent's House, Justice for All Immigrants, Central Church, Harris & Eliza Kempner Fund, Texas Bar Foundation, and pro-bono support from Vinson & Elkins LLP and Nathan Sommers Jacobs. The organization has no parent company, no venture capital backing, and no equity structure, operating purely as a community-based charitable legal services provider.

Name

Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project

Legal name

Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project

Website

https://ghirp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GHIRP is a Texas 501(c)(3) non-profit providing free immigration legal representation to immigrants across the Galveston-Houston metro area, serving unaccompanied children, detained adults, survivors of crime and trafficking, and general immigrant populations through five specialized legal programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Immigration Legal Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (624110), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services (BPADAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Anti-Fraud & Safety Education (Scams, Notario Fraud, Personal Safety) (EDAAADAK)

Keywords

• Immigration legal services
• Asylum representation
• Deportation defense
• Naturalization legal aid
• Nonprofit legal aid

Headquarters

HQ city

Galveston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: GHIRP is a Texas non-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) status funded primarily through donations and grants. Donation tiers range from $50 (providing a family with legal rights information and consultation) to $1,500 (representing an immigrant facing deportation in Immigration Court).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

GHIRP provides free, comprehensive immigration legal representation and holistic services to immigrants in the Galveston-Houston area. Services are organized into specialized programs covering unaccompanied children, detained adults, survivors of trafficking and crime, community immigration needs, and federal litigation, delivered through direct attorney representation, walk-in consultations, and community-based outreach.

Product overview

GHIRP is a nonprofit legal services organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of immigration legal services organized into specialized programs. The core offerings include the Immigrant Children & Youth (ICY) Program, Detained Adult Team, Survivors of Crime and Human Trafficking Program, Community Immigration Program, and Federal Litigation Program. These programs are complemented by specific services such as Know Your Rights Presentations, Citizenship and Naturalization Services, Asylum Representation, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, DACA, Temporary Protected Status, and U/T Visas. GHIRP provides services to immigrants across the Galveston-Houston area, focusing on vulnerable populations including unaccompanied minors, detained adults, survivors of crimes and trafficking, and individuals seeking citizenship or protection from deportation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Immigrant Children & Youth (ICY) Program
• Detained Adult Team
• Survivors of Crime and Human Trafficking Program
• Community Immigration Program
• Federal Litigation Program
• Citizenship and Naturalization Services
• Asylum Representation
• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)
• DACA Services
• Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
• U and T Visas / VAWA

Quantifiable outcome

• Immigrants with an attorney are up to five times more likely to be successful in their immigration cases than those without an attorney.

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• YMCA International ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGHIRP lists YMCA International Services as a key partner. Prior to founding GHIRP, the Executive Director served as Director of Immigration Legal Services at the YMCA. The organizations share a mission of serving immigrants in the Houston area.
• St. Vincent's House and CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Vincent's House and Clinic in Galveston hosts GHIRP's monthly Know Your Rights presentations and walk-in clinics for the Galveston immigrant community. GHIRP partners with St. Vincent's to provide free immigration services at their location.
• Justice for All Immigrants (JFAI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJustice for All Immigrants is listed as one of GHIRP's key community partners, supporting the organization's mission to serve immigrants in the Galveston-Houston area.
• Hope (SVH)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHope (SVH) is listed as a community partner of GHIRP, contributing to the organization's network of support for immigrant communities.
• Central ChurchsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentral Church is listed as a GHIRP community partner, supporting the organization's mission and outreach to immigrant communities in the Houston area.
• Vinson & Elkins LLPsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerVinson & Elkins LLP, a major Houston-based law firm, is listed as a partner supporting GHIRP's mission, likely through pro bono legal support, funding, or in-kind legal services.
• Nathan Sommers JacobssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNathan Sommers Jacobs is listed as a community partner of GHIRP, contributing to the organization's network of support for immigrant communities in the Houston area.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network): National Catholic immigration legal services network supporting affiliated agencies; serves as a capacity-building and accreditation umbrella relevant to GHIRP's DOJ-accredited representative model.
• HIAS: International Jewish nonprofit providing refugee resettlement and legal services globally; broader scope than GHIRP but overlapping mission around refugee and asylum legal representation.

Direct peers

• RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services): Texas-based nonprofit providing free immigration legal services across the state; closest geographic and programmatic peer to GHIRP, serving similar immigrant populations across multiple Texas counties.
• Tahirih Justice Center: National nonprofit providing holistic legal services and social support to immigrant survivors of gender-based violence; directly comparable to GHIRP's Survivors of Crime and Human Trafficking Program.
• Justice for Our Neighbors: Network of faith-based immigration legal aid clinics providing free representation nationwide; comparable mission, donor-funded model, and service mix to GHIRP.
• The Advocates for Human Rights: International nonprofit providing pro bono legal services and advocacy for immigrants and refugees; comparable holistic legal-plus-social-services model to GHIRP.
• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston (Cabrini Center): Local nonprofit immigration legal services provider that several GHIRP alumni previously worked at; operates in the same Houston-area geography with overlapping asylum and family-based immigration services.
• Kids in Need of Defense (KIND): National nonprofit providing legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children in the U.S. KIND overlaps directly with GHIRP's Immigrant Children & Youth Program in scope and beneficiary profile.
• YMCA International Services: Houston-area YMCA branch running the Immigration Legal Services program where GHIRP's Executive Director previously worked; a current community partner and direct competitor in the same geography.

Regional players

• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project: Regional nonprofit providing free immigration legal services in the Pacific Northwest; comparable service mix and nonprofit legal aid model, but operating in a distinct geography from GHIRP.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ghirp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ghirp

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project