The Hispanic National Bar Association has formed a new task force to help refugees and immigrants as President Donald Trump moves forward with efforts to limit immigration to the U.S.

The Immigrant Legal Defense Task Force will be charged with collecting and distributing information on current resources available to non-citizens living in the U.S. and developing new initiatives to assist in their legal defense.

The announcement comes after Trump promised to step up enforcement actions against illegal immigrants in the U.S.—including building a U.S.-Mexican border wall—and temporarily banned refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries.

"These executive orders are wholly inconsistent with the HNBA's legislative priorities, which have repeatedly called for comprehensive and compassionate immigration reform through the legislative process, and could potentially be construed as an unconstitutional use of executive power," HNBA National President Pedro Torres-Díaz said.

"In addition, as an organization of lawyers, it is troubling that these orders were signed without consultation with the agencies in charge of implementing them," he added.

The task force will focus on three goals:

• Develop a national directory of nonprofit organizations and law firms available to provide pro bono immigration services.
• Develop a nationwide directory of lawyers available to provide pro bono and/or low cost legal immigration services.
• Establish an Immigrant Legal Defense Fund to help defray the costs of defense.

HNBA plans to collaborate and partner with other bar associations in its efforts.

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