We are proud to announce that Elizabeth Jordan, Director of the Immigration Detention Accountability Project at Disability Law United, is the 2021 recipient of the Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award. The memorial award is granted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association in recognition of outstanding service in advancing the cause of human rights.
Helton was a refugee rights lawyer, activist, and scholar prior to his tragic death in the 2003 bombing of the United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad. He directed peace and conflict studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Forced Migration Project at the Open Society Institute, and the Refugee Project at the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. Through scholarly and teaching work, he mentored and energized an upcoming generation of immigration and refugee rights advocates.
Liz joined Disability Law United in 2017 as our first-ever Disability Law United Fellow, proposing work that would become the Immigration Detention Accountability Project (IDAP). In the last four years, Liz has led IDAP through major class-action lawsuits, individual representation, technical assistance, and legal education at the intersection of immigration and disability justice. Liz is a fierce and compassionate advocate, using trauma-informed and cross-cultural methods to meet people where they are and fight for a more just future for immigrants in the United States.