Hello, Students! Welcome to the Asylum Clinic. I am looking forward to the semester as we navigate the wild world of humanitarian immigration law this fall.

In preparation for our clinic year, please take a few minutes to view my video and learn a little about me. And then explore the rest of this page. There is an assignment posted, so please prepare ahead of our first class on Friday, August 28th. We will begin at 9:30 AM.

I recognize the extra stress that COVID-19 has brought to your lives, and that this is an especially stressful time to be a student. Please see below for our communication plan (how to contact me, etc. )

I'll see you online! You can log onto the course Blackboard site and our Zoom sessions through the NYLS portal.

Students in this course are trained to represent immigrant clients under faculty supervision and argue cases in the New York Immigration Court and before the Newark and New York Asylum Offices on behalf of refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries and seeking safety in the United States. The classroom (seminar) portion of the course will focus on building skills such as interviewing, researching and writing declarations and briefs, fact development, some trial advocacy, as well as working with survivors of torture and trauma, cultural awareness, and engaging with interpreters. Students will learn about the substantive law and procedure of immigration, refugee, and asylum law in the United States and will receive instruction on immigrant access to public benefits. Guest speakers will further strengthen students’ knowledge.

Under faculty supervision, students will interview and counsel clients; conduct fact investigation and discovery; draft pleadings, correspondence, and motions; perform legal research and analysis; collaborate with social work professionals and country conditions experts; engage with interpreters; and appear with clients before the New York Immigration Court and at the Asylum Offices in Lyndhurst, New Jersey or Bethpage, New York. Students will also engage in community outreach through monthly legal immigration screenings at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and other community partners, Know-Your-Rights presentations, and systemic advocacy. Students may also work to develop resources for courts, attorneys, and clients related to immigration law or collateral immigration consequences in other areas. The precise work conducted during the semester will depend on clients who need representation and the posture of these cases.

This semester, our dockets includes clients from Angola, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ghana, and Turkmenistan.

Note to All Students

This online version of the course schedule is posted for your convenience. For details on the assignments and the rest of the course materials, please visit the our course Blackboard site.

In case of any discrepancies between this site and materials on Blackboard, the Blackboard materials control. Blackboard is the official publication; this site is "unpublished" materials.