About Us

olaraza-founders

(Bakersfield, CA 1978)

The organization was founded in 1974 at U.C. Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco by a group of Chicano Law Students, including Porterville’s Roberto and Teresa de la Rosa.

O.L.A. Raza’s Mission: is to provide legal information, education and services to Immigrants, disadvantaged students and poor communities.

During the first decade of service, O.L.A. Raza increased the number of Public Interest Law Attorneys by assisting thousands of Law School applicants in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and Colorado gain admission to law schools by preparing them for the Law School Admission Test and by providing them with a Summer Legal Studies Institute. O.L.A. Raza Law Graduates participated in its Bar Exam Preparation and New Attorney Placement Project.

In 1978, O.L.A. Raza launched its Community Preventive Legal Education Program as a grantee of the Legal Services Corporation, Washington, D.C. It has provided consultant services for LSC programs in California, New Mexico, Colorado, Georgia, and New York.

In response to the need for reliable information, O.L.A. Raza began broadcasting immigration information under its Legal Services Corporation grant in 1978. Today, its weekly radio program Foro Sin Fronteras on Radio Campesina is broadcast by satellite to large audiences in California, Arizona, Sonora, Mexico and the State of Washington.

   

Who we are

Roberto M. de la Rosa, JD Executive Director
Christopher L. Haberman Supervising Attorney
R. Ignacio de la Rosa Chief Financial and Operations Officer

Javier Gonzalez Board Member
Claudia Melendez Board Member
Victor Almazan Board Member
Carmelo San Mames Board Member
Consuelo Alba Board Member

Our Projects

O.L.A. Raza’s Immigrants Rights Centers in Bakersfield, Porterville, Visalia, Tulare and Delano have assisted tens of thousands of families attain the American dream of becoming eligible for United States citizenship. The organization has established a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Project and Children’s Defense and Education Project, a Migrant/Rural Leadership Project and a Social Justice Institute that operate from Porterville.

About Us

The organization was founded in 1974 at U.C. Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco by a group of Chicano Law Students, including Porterville's Roberto and Teresa de la Rosa. Learn More