Advanced Immigrants' Rights Clinic

Enrollment requires satisfactory completion of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic and permission of the instructor.
Students will be evaluated on the basis of their attendance, preparation, active participation at all sessions, and the quality of their casework.

The Advanced Immigrants’ Rights Clinic will enable students to integrate their practical skills with increasing sophistication in the field, as students continue their casework at a more advanced level. I anticipate hearings in state courts related to guardianship proceedings in connection with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status claims, as well as opportunities for advocacy before the Asylum Office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and in Immigration Court. There is also a possibility that the clinic will handle appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals and/or the Third Circuit. I will prepare the students thoroughly so that they are prepared to take the lead in each of these proceedings.

Readings will include theoretical and practical materials on immigrants’ rights, SIJS and guardianship case law, asylum case law, and related materials. Written student work product will include briefs, motions, petitions, and affidavits. The casework will require students to travel regularly to meet their clients and to appear in family courts, the Asylum Office, and Immigration Court. Students will continue to collaborate with experts in other fields, including medical and mental health experts and country conditions experts.