The Political Asylum Project of Austin/Proyecto de Asilo Político de Austin (PAPA) started in 1988 as a volunteer organization, and remained largely staffed by students, lawyers, and community volunteers for about a decade. The original mission was to promote the human rights of refugees and immigrants in Central Texas through legal representation, public education, and advocacy. A 1989 grant from the National Sanctuary Defense Fund to PAPA via the Friends Meeting of Austin enabled PAPA to hire its first employee and director for fifteen years, Nidia Salamanca. The second grant, from the Texas Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) in 1990, enabled PAPA to hire its second employee (and first paid lawyer), Cynthia Leigh. In 2008 the organization voted to change its name to "American Gateways."
Resource: American Gateways (formerly PAPA) web site at www.americangateways.org
Legal documents, correspondence, financial records, minutes, rosters, newsletters, and newspaper clippings, 1987-2002 (7 linear inches), reflect the founding and activities of the Political Asylum Project of Austin (PAPA). The first series, Administrative, is arranged chronologically, and illustrates the growth of the organization over its first 15 years. This series includes incorporation records from the Immigration Resource Center. Other organizational materials include the legal documents of PAPA's founding, items from the Board of Directors, and office files. The second series, Publications, includes copies of PAPA's newsletter,
Immigration Resource Center
Creation
Board of Immigration Appeals
Board of Directors
Office Files
Unrestricted.
Standard copyright restrictions apply.
Cite as: Political Asylum Project of Austin Records, Benson Latin American Collection, the University of Texas at Austin.
The PAPA Records are classified under the following