Audrey Allen, a Conshohocken immigration attorney, is fighting – often pro bono – to help immigrant families with gravely ill American-citizen children stay together, writes Jeff Gammage for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Currently, she represents a dozen families that have found themselves in fraught medical and legal situations. She is now leading the charge on the local level in the national struggle to fully and fairly restore deferred action.

This small humanitarian program that helps people in extreme situations with a temporary exemption has been under fire from the current administration.

Many deferred-action cases nationwide involve children who have leukemia, cystic fibrosis, or any other life-threatening illnesses.

Allen started working on deferred-action cases after she was introduced to the Legal Clinic  for the Disabled.

The organization provides free and quality legal aid to area residents with low income. It started a medical-legal partnership for which Allen volunteered.

Now, pro bono cases are usually referred to her straight from St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

“The law is a really powerful tool,” said 41-year-old Allan. “And I see myself as someone who is helping vulnerable people.”

Read more about Audrey Allen at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.