Embedded Files
Our Class Sessions will be Synchronous (live) and held on Zoom. We will begin promptly at 9:30 AM EST.
Please access the Zoom link through our course blackboard site.
Class 1: August 28, 2020: Overview and Introduction
Class 1: August 28, 2020: Overview and Introduction
To complete before our first class session on Friday, August 28th, 2020, which will begin at 9:30 AM EST (access via course blackboard site).
Read this article on changes to asylum law under the Trump Administration: https://www.vox.com/2020/6/12/21288063/trump-immigration-asylum-border-regulation
Skim this extraordinary report by Sarah Pierce and Jessica Bolter of the Migration Policy Institute on the over 400 executive actions and policy changes on immigration that the Trump Administration has made as of July, 2020. Please also bookmark this report for future reference, as we will refer to it throughout the semester. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/us-immigration-system-changes-trump-presidency
By Wednesday, August 26th, I will have forwarded you and your clinic partner a memorandum about your client's case. Please review this memorandum and be prepared to introduce your client to your clinic classmates during our course, as well as to begin to identify some of the questions you will ask your clients during your first meetings to get to know them and fill in missing pieces of their cases.
During this first class, we will work to build our clinic community. To that extent, I would like you to introduce yourselves to your classmates (and to me!). There are many different ways in which you can do this, and I look forward to your creative ideas. Examples include a short video, a powerpoint-style slide (see below), a typed paragraph or two, and likely many more. Please have your introduction idea ready for class on Friday morning. We'll take turns sharing these with each other.
Just an example.
Just an example.
I look forward to yours!
I look forward to yours!
Class 2, September 4:
Class 2, September 4:
Introduction to Asylum Law
Introduction to Asylum Law
We will delve into the study of asylum law in the United States. We will explore the three-step process of articulating asylum claims through discussing how our clients can meet the statutory definition of a “refugee;” are not barred from asylum; and merit a grant of asylum in the adjudicator’s discretion. We will focus on the essential concepts of credibility and corroboration, as well as the “nexus” element of asylum law. We will focus on the myriad changes to asylum protections under the Trump Administration and address those changes directly impacting our clinic clients.
Readings:
AILA’s Asylum Primer, Chapter 2, pgs. 45-207; review Appendices 2A and 2B
Review: A Timeline of the Trump Administration’s Efforts to End Asylum, The National Immigrant Justice Center, January 2020, available at https://immigrantjustice.org/sites/default/files/uploaded-files/no-content-type/2020-01/01-24-2020-asylumtimeline%20-%20final.pdf
Your-Case-is-in-Your-Hand-English.pdfYour-Case-is-in-Your-Hand-Spanish.pdf
Class 3, September 11:
Class 3, September 11:
Interviewing I: Working with Survivors of Trauma Remotely
Interviewing I: Working with Survivors of Trauma Remotely
Guest Speakers: Jessica Gorelick, LCSW, Psychotherapist in private practice and who also works with the Purple Health Foundation, and Samantha Norris, LMSW, Social Worker at Safe Passage Project. Through exercises and in-class discussion, Ms. Gorelick and Ms. Norris will join me in exploring topics of cultural awareness, working with survivors of trauma, and interviewing skills for lawyers representing vulnerable individuals, especially in this world of remote communication.
Readings:
Lawyers, Clients & Narrative: Chapter 5, Interviewing and Listening.
Alan S. Keller, MD, Interviewing Survivors of Torture and Human Rights Abuses; [on Blackboard]
Sana Lou, A Guide to Better Client Interviews, Interpreter Releases No. 89-7 July 1989; [on Blackboard]
Interviewing, excerpted from Legal Services Practice Manual: Skills, 2010. [on Blackboard]
Professor Dina F. Haynes, Best Practices When Working with Traumatized Clients When Preparing for Asylum Interviews; [on Blackboard]
Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, Best Practices for Providing Legal Aid and Working Remotely, https://asylumadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2020.05.29-ASAP-Best-Practices-for-Providing-Legal-Aid-and-Working-Remotely-1.pdf
Class 4, September 18:
Class 4, September 18:
On-the-Ground in Mexico &
Seeking Protection at the Border
On-the-Ground in Mexico &
Seeking Protection at the Border
Guest Speaker: Rebecca N. Eichler, Esq., Chair, Legal Committee, Caminamos Juntos, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
During the first part of the class, we will discuss policies impacting access to the U.S. humanitarian protection system for asylum-seekers transiting through Mexico. These “remote controls” effectively extend the reach of the United States “border” throughout the world. We will discuss Expedited Removal under INA § 235, as well as the Remain in Mexico Policy (a.k.a. the “Migrant Protection Protocols”). In addition, we will address agreements from summer 2019 impacting the asylum adjudication system for persons seeking protection at the border their current status due to pending litigation.
At 10:30 AM EST, we will be joined by Rebecca N. Eichler, formerly a Washington, D.C.-based immigration lawyer and now a full-time resident of Mexico. Since her move to Mexico three years ago, she has also led the legal response to the caravan that passed through Central Mexico in 2018; joined the Board of two local migration-focused nonprofits (Caminamos Juntos, which provides services to Mexicans deported from the United States, and the Latin American Relief Fund, which assists migrants and refugees traveling through Mexico); and has traveled both to Tijuana and to Matamoros to participate in legal clinics for migrants stuck on the Mexican side of the border. Ms. Eichler will talk to us about conditions on-the-ground in Mexico for asylum-seekers and those who have been deported from the United States and returned to Mexico.
Readings/Viewings:
Read: Empire of Borders by Todd Miller, Introduction and Chapter 1 (on Blackboard)
Read: Refuge Beyond Reach by David Scott FitzGerald, Chapters 4 and 5 (on Blackboard)
Review: TRAC Tool on Access to Attorneys for those Required to Remain in Mexico, available at: https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/568/
Review: TRAC Tool on Remain in Mexico (MPP) Deportation Proceedings, available at: https://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/mpp/
Read/Interact: J. Kao and D. Lu, How Trump’s Policies Are Leaving Thousands of Asylum Seekers Waiting in Mexico, The New York Times, Aug. 18, 2019, available https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/18/us/mexico-immigration-asylum.html
Watch: PBS videos explaining the challenges that asylum-seekers face as they transit through Central America and Mexico, with particular focus on the Darien Gap.
Review: Key Statutes and Regulations:
o INA § 235; 8 U.S.C. § 1225 (expedited removal)
o INA § 212(a); 8 U.S.C. §1182(a) (grounds of inadmissibility)
o INA § 237; 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (regular removal)
o INA § 242; 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (judicial review)
Watch: "Where Can We Live in Peace?" (53 mins) by Judy Jackson concerning asylum-seekers and migrants transiting through Mexico https://vimeo.com/418977974
OPTIONAL: Watch: "Walk With Us," (27 mins), a film by Judy Jackson that highlights the work of Pastor Ignacio Martinez-Ramirez within the context of his work with asylum-seekers in Mexico. https://www.judyfilms.com/filmography?pgid=jul8lmpn-f11fc399-9ad6-4b6d-a8eb-f0e1ae891247
Class 5, September 25:
Class 5, September 25:
How to Build a Better Affidavit- Literary Techniques
for Legal Writing
How to Build a Better Affidavit- Literary Techniques
for Legal Writing
Guest Speaker: Geoff Kagan Trenchard, attorney and creative fiction writer.
While it carries a unique legal significance, an affidavit is still just a story. To be effective, it has to engage its reader. And while they carry a unique legal authority, a judge or asylum officer is just a person. Their opinion of a story is affected by the same literary techniques used in every other story they have experienced.
This workshop focuses on tangible techniques for making every sentence of your affidavits do as much work as possible for your case. We look at structural issues of affidavits as well, and how to make sure you are showcasing the most important information. Finally, Geoff will discuss editing techniques that will help streamline any piece of writing, legal or otherwise. This training uses LGBTQ asylum affidavits as an example, but the techniques are applicable to any case.
Readings:
Lawyers, Clients & Narrative: Chapters 1 and 2
AILA’s Asylum Primer, Appendices 6H and 6J.
Professor Lynn Marcus, Tips for Drafting Declarations [on Blackboard]
Professor Stacy Caplow, Putting the “I” in Wr*t*ng: Drafting an A/Effective Personal Statement to Tell a Winning Refugee Story, Brooklyn Law School Legal Studies Paper No. 94 (2008). [on Blackboard]
Class 6, October 2:
Class 6, October 2:
Case Rounds and Addressing Immigrant Services Fraud
Case Rounds and Addressing Immigrant Services Fraud
Case rounds are an opportunity to respond to the legal, ethical, or policy issues that arise in your client work. You may focus on a single topic area or focus on different issues. During the second part of this class, we will discuss immigrant services fraud, including schemes in which unscrupulous persons (“notarios” and also lawyers) prey on immigrants, sometimes leading to significant issues with the victim’s immigration case, including deportation.
Assignment: In preparation for case rounds, please prepare a short, written memorandum describing an issue or problem that has developed in your case work. You will not turn in this memo, but will use it as a guide as we discuss issues impacting our clients’ lives, cases, and our lawyering.
Readings/Viewings:
Read: Lawyers, Clients & Narrative: Review Chapters 1 and 2; Read Chapters 3: Critical Reflection.
Watch: “Scams Against Immigrants” Federal Trade Commission (3 min 45 sec)
Read: “Avoid Becoming the Victim of Immigration Fraud” Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA)
**Mid-Semester Check-Ins with Professor Thomas***
**Mid-Semester Check-Ins with Professor Thomas***
During this week, you will each schedule 30-minute check-ins with me. This will be a time for us to discuss your goals for your clinical year, reflect on progress towards meeting those goals, identify areas in which you need support, and address other concerns. I will email out a sign-up sheet for times during the week.
After our meeting, please email me a reflection piece assignment as indicated below.
Assignment: Mid-Semester Reflection. Reflect on your experience in the clinic so far with particular attention to your learning goals and your experiences with your clients. Email your reflections to me by 5 PM EST on Monday, October 12th.
N.B. In preparation for this assignment, please review Lawyers, Clients & Narrative: Chapters 3: Critical Reflection.
Class 7, October 9:
Class 7, October 9:
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Lawyering
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Lawyering
Through an Anti-Racist Lens
Through an Anti-Racist Lens
Guest Speaker: Lorilei Williams, Senior Staff Attorney, Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative, Southern Poverty Law Center
Racism and systemic injustices, including historical trauma, experienced by Black persons, Indigenous persons, and persons of color have negative and long-lasting impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of our colleagues & the communities we serve as legal professionals. Ms. Williams will help us to explore these impacts, explain the psychological idea of "resiliency fatigue," and learn on how we can support and promote resiliency.
Readings/Viewings:
Sarah Katz and Deeya Haldar, The Pedagogy of Trauma-Informed Lawyering (April 21, 2016). 22 Clinical L. Rev. 359 (2016) [on Blackboard]
It's Not Burnout, It's Moral Injury, Dr. Zubin Damania on Physician "Burnout”; available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_1PNZdHq6Q
Beyond the Cliff” TED Talk with Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOzDGrcvmus
Class 8, October 16:
Class 8, October 16:
Immigration Detention
Immigration Detention
Guest Speaker: Olivia Kaplan ’19, NYLS Asylum Clinic Alumna and Legal Orientation Provider, Legal Services of New Jersey
Immigration detention is the jailing of persons who are alleged to not be U.S. citizens for civil immigration law violations. Detention of immigrant persons is also a for-profit industry which has exploded in size and profit over the past decade. Ms. Kaplan will speak with us about her work providing legal orientation programs for persons detained in the Elizabeth Detention Facility and Essex County Jail in New Jersey and her advocacy for immigrants who are in the detention system.
Readings/Viewings:
Read: “What’s it Like to be in Immigration Lockup During a Pandemic?” by Ashoka Mukpo, ACLU, August 2020, https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/whats-it-like-to-be-in-immigration-lockup-during-a-pandemic/
Read: “Immigration Detention in the United States by Agency” American Immigration Council, January 2020, https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigration_detention_in_the_united_states_by_agency.pdf
Read: César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, Migrating to Prison: America’s Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants, The New Press (2019), Chapter 4: The Immigration Prison Archipelago, and Chapter 6: The Money [on Blackboard]
Read: Alina Das, No Justice In the Shadows: How America Criminalizes Immigrants, Bold Type Books (2020), Chapter 5: The Cage [on Blackboard]
Watch: Video on U.S. Detention System (To be Posted).
Watch/Read/Explore: “Black Immigrant Lives are Under Attack” by RAICES, https://www.raicestexas.org/2020/07/22/black-immigrant-lives-are-under-attack/
Class 9, October 23:
Class 9, October 23:
Interviewing II: Best Practices
in Interviewing &
Working with Interpreters
Interviewing II: Best Practices
in Interviewing &
Working with Interpreters
Client interviewing is where the lawyer-client relationship begins. During this session, we will continue to strengthen our knowledge of interviewing skills. Through the use of an in-class exercise, we will discuss practical examples to help you learn this essential component of lawyering.
Working through an interpreter brings added complexities to legal services. The experience of working with an interpreter through the many different facets of client’s case may be new to many of you. But since attorneys will often not be fluent in all the languages represented among immigrant clients, access to counsel for a substantial segment of the population depends largely on the availability of competent interpreters and of professionals willing and able to work with them.
Readings/Viewings:
Interviewing: Please view the following videos. In one video, immigration law clinic partners interview a teenage asylum-seeker, raising a number of issues relating to initial client interviewing. In a second video, the two immigration clinic partners work with interpreters to interview a monolingual Spanish-speaking client. The videos are available here; https://law.tulane.edu/content/legal-interviewing-and-language-access-film-project
Working with Interpreters:
Angela McCaffrey, Don’t Get Lost in Translation: Teaching Law Students to Work with Language Interpreters, 6 Clinical L. Rev. 347,400 (2000). [On Blackboard]
Working with Interpreters Outside the Courtroom: A Guide for Attorneys, AYUDA, Community Legal Interpreter Bank [on Blackboard]
Sue Bryant, Checklist to Review With Interpreters, [on Blackboard]
Class 10, October 30:
Class 10, October 30:
Cross-Cultural Competency,
Case Theory, and Client-Centered Representation
Cross-Cultural Competency,
Case Theory, and Client-Centered Representation
The goal of our representation in our clinic is client-centered, meaning we must employ a thoughtful lawyering practice, integrating practice, theory, skill, and ethics from a variety of legal areas. We strive to address problems from our clients’ perspectives, to appreciate the diverse nature of these problems, and to have our clients as partners in the resolution of their problems. To that effect, we will address case plans, discuss case theory, and spend some time outlining and drafting our client’s case theories. This will guide our representation to ensure that we are working towards lawyering in line with our client’s goals.
Further, practicing cross-cultural competency enables us to communicate with clients and understand what is communicated to us while recognizing our own cultural situations and those of our clients. It does not meet that we are operating based on stereotypes of different cultures. Instead, as soon-to-be lawyers, we are self-reflective in understanding the role that culture has in our different relationships. We will discuss culture, cross-cultural, and examine what cross-cultural competency looks like in client representation.
Readings:
Lawyers, Clients & Narrative: Chapter 6: Case and Project Theory and Chapter 4: Cross-Cultural Competency;
Elizabeth A. Carpenter-Song, Megan Nordquest Schwallie, and Jeffrey Longhofer, Cultural Competency Re-Examined: Critique and Directions for the Future, Psychiatry Online (Oct. 2007) [on Blackboard]
Arthur Kinoy, Rights on Trial: The Odyssey of a People’s Lawyer, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1983. [Excerpts on Blackboard]
Sue Bryant, The Five Habits: Building Cross-Culture Competence in Lawyers, 8 Clinical L. Rev. 33 (2001-2002) [on Blackboard]
Class 11, November 6:
Class 11, November 6:
Case Rounds & Critically Examining the U.S. Immigration System
Case Rounds & Critically Examining the U.S. Immigration System
During our class meeting today, we will have case rounds. We will share and respond to the legal, ethical, or policy issues that arise in your client work. You may focus on a single topic area or focus on different issues. Throughout our class today, we will take the time critically think and discuss the complexity of our clients’ lived realities, the global structures that lead our clients and so many others to come to the United States in the first place, and the insidiousness of the U.S. legal system that looks upon immigrants with suspicion or pity. Finally, we will address any questions about presentations and decide on an order to present in our last two classes.
Assignment: In preparation for case rounds, please prepare a short, written memorandum describing an issue or problem that has developed in your case work. You will not turn in this memo, but will use it as a guide as we discuss issues impacting our clients’ lives, cases, and our lawyering.
Readings:
Jawziya F. Zaman, Why I Left Immigration Law, Dissent Magazine, July 12, 2017, available at: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/left-immigration-law
Dina Nayeri, The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You, Catapult (2019), Chapter 5: Asylum [on Blackboard]
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, Migrating to Prison: America’s Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants, The New Press (2019), Chapter 5: The Good Immigrant vs. The Bad Immigrant [on Blackboard]
Class 12, November 13: Interviewing Simulation
Class 12, November 13: Interviewing Simulation
Assignment: A memo and instructions will be distributed to you to read and review in advance of your interview simulation.
ResiliencyandSelfCareIdeas Fall 2020.pdfClass 13, November 20:
Class 13, November 20:
Vicarious Trauma & Presentations
Vicarious Trauma & Presentations
Lawyers, investigators, translators, and support staff working closely with victims of human rights abuses are also vulnerable to various forms of secondary trauma, also called vicarious trauma, which can impact our abilities to be effective advocates for our clients in the legal process. During this class, we will work together to understanding what vicarious trauma is and how it affects attorneys and advocates, especially those working in the public interest and with vulnerable clients.
In the second part of class today, we will begin our presentations.
Readings:
Margaret Drew, Healing Ourselves (2012); [on Blackboard]
Excerpts from Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others (2007); [on Blackboard]
Excerpts from “Caring Too Much; Caring Too Little” [on Blackboard]
Lina's Guide to At Home Workouts.pdfVicarious Trauma Resources WordDOC.docx
Class 14, December 4:
Class 14, December 4:
Case Rounds, End-of-Semester Debriefing & Presentations
Case Rounds, End-of-Semester Debriefing & Presentations
During this last class session of the semester, we will begin with presentations. We will then have case rounds and our end-of-semester debriefing.
Assignment: Reflect on your experience in this clinic this semester with particular attention to your learning goals and your experiences with your clients. Please email me your reflections by 5 PM EST on Monday, December 7th.
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