East Bay Sanctuary Covenant offers sanctuary, solidarity, support, community organizing assistance, advocacy, and legal services to those escaping war, terror, political persecution, intolerance, exploitation, and other expressions of violence. We intentionally provide opportunities for transformational learning that arise from the relationships we fosters among refugees, immigrants, and host communities. We join with others to understand and eliminate the causes of violence and oppression worldwide.
EBSC was formed in 1982, when East Bay congregations united in a covenant to provide sanctuary to Central American asylum seekers. Since that time, EBSC has grown to represent people from all over the world. EBSC is a non-political organization. We only represent immigrants as they navigate the often confusing United States Immigration System. EBSC has successfully represented more than 3,500 asylum seekers.
EBSC is run by a small team of attorneys and paralegals with the support of our board of directors and member organizations. We are extremely grateful to have the financial support of several foundations, individual donors and the state of California. In addition, we depend heavily on our countless volunteers. For more information about volunteering at EBSC, click on "Volunteer" under the "Get Involved" tab on the top menu.