Edgar Chocoy Initiative

In Fall 2019, ISAAC launched the Edgar Chocoy Initiative within our Accompaniment Fund to support Larimer County unaccompanied minors who qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status due to abuse or neglect.

With increasing numbers of Central American asylum seekers in Larimer County, legal assistance for unaccompanied youth is one concrete form of assistance the community can offer that can literally be lifesaving. The fund is named for Edgar, a Guatemalan youth represented by Colorado Attorney Kim Medina, who was murdered in Guatemala City after losing his asylum case. Since the beginning of this program, we have assisted almost 200 youth with their legal cases, and some of them we have had the pleasure of watching apply for and gain legal permanent residency.

Although the work of the Chocoy Initiative is now wrapped into our larger legal assistance program, we continue our work with migrant youth in Edgar’s name, honoring his story and the life he did not get live out.

To learn more about Edgar Chocoy and unaccompanied youth, visit the landing page for De Novo, a brilliant and devastating play based on Edgar’s story, created by Houses on The Moon Theater Company in New York City. If your community is working to support a lot of unaccompanied migrant minors, consider hosting a performance in your area to raise awareness.