Immigrant advocate Freilich wins award

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy has given the first David Carliner Public Interest Award to Tim Freilich, the legal director of the Charlottesville-based Immigrant Advocacy Program.

Freilich, whose program is part of the Legal Aid Justice Center, also received a $10,000 cash prize in addition to the award during the society’s annual convention on Saturday.

The award is meant to honor mid-career public interest lawyers who do advocacy work for marginalized people. Freilich has worked with the Immigrant Advocacy Program since 2005.

During this time, he has served as co-counsel on a class action suit on behalf of Hispanic workers brought to American to plant trees under the H-2B work visa program, and helped promote immigrant-friendly policies.

Award namesake David Carliner was an immigration lawyer in Washington, D.C., who sought full political rights for all D.C. residents. He was the founding chairman of the American Civil Liberties Union-National Capital Area and GlobalRights, formerly known as the International Human Rights Law Group. Carliner died in 2007.