Ex. Immigrant Youth Advocacy

This externship provides students with the opportunity to learn about immigration law and practice through the representation of immigrant youth, a population relentlessly targeted as an enforcement priority. Unaccompanied minors, youth under the age of 18 apprehended at the U.S. border without caregivers, are on a path to deportation by immigration court unless they assert a defense to their removal. This seminar explores the fundamentals of immigration law through the lens of immigrant youth representation. The seminar explores the ethical challenges posed by immigrant youth representation, the effects of trauma on children, youth asylum, and how the INA fails to incorporate the best interests of the child for the children before it. We consider the extent to which youth migration has heavily influenced the U.S. government's ever-changing immigration policies. The fieldwork consists of virtual placement with a Legal Aid Society youth immigration attorney. Together a student and attorney will provide direct representation to young Legal Aid clients. Students will appear virtually in federal and state courts, interview clients, assess immigration relief, and work on all aspects of clients' cases. The fieldwork and the seminar aim to develop critical, analytical and lawyering skills useful in any setting.