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Hello, Students! Welcome to Immigration Law. I am looking forward to the semester and to introducing you to the wild world of immigration law this fall.
In preparation for our online semester together, please complete this survey before 6 PM EST on Tuesday, August 25th, 2020.
Next, 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 to please prepare ahead of our first class on Tuesday, August 25th.
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.
About Me
About Me
Video: Get to Know Me
I'm a Chicagoan and now a New Yorker for the past 12 years. I'm also an alumna of NYLS. I have been teaching immigration law since 2014. Prior to teaching, I was an immigration lawyer at non-profit organizations in NYC. I direct the Asylum Clinic at NYLS, and work with students to help clients seeking asylum or other forms of humanitarian protection in the United States. I am passionate about making immigration law accessible to people and building systemic change.
My research interests include global migration, statelessness, human rights, and empowerment for women and girls facing poverty and gender-based violence.
I was recently awarded a Fulbright Grant (U.S. Scholar) and will be based in Guadalajara, Mexico, beginning in 2021. I will be researching long-term solutions for asylum seekers who hail from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East but become stranded in Mexico due to U.S. immigration restrictions. These “extra-continental asylum-seekers” constitute a growing vulnerable population whose needs are often overlooked.
For more about me, please visit my website.
Our Course:
Our Course:
The course is designed to introduce you to U.S. immigration law. Though problem-based learning, you will be put you into a variety of roles that attorneys actually perform in practicing immigration law. There are roles for both private counsel and government attorneys. There are problems that require you to provide guidance to a corporate or government client and those that will ask you to advise individuals or multiple parties. Beyond strengthening your skills in legal analysis, the natural outcomes of this type of problem method teaching should also give you insights into professional ethics, demands of the practice, and key communication and interviewing skills that will be essential in immigration law practice and beyond. As we are living in the time of dramatic changes, we will critically examine the U.S. immigration system and identify areas in need of immediate review and transformation.
The course is designed to introduce you to U.S. immigration law. Though problem-based learning, you will be put you into a variety of roles that attorneys actually perform in practicing immigration law. There are roles for both private counsel and government attorneys. There are problems that require you to provide guidance to a corporate or government client and those that will ask you to advise individuals or multiple parties. Beyond strengthening your skills in legal analysis, the natural outcomes of this type of problem method teaching should also give you insights into professional ethics, demands of the practice, and key communication and interviewing skills that will be essential in immigration law practice and beyond. As we are living in the time of dramatic changes, we will critically examine the U.S. immigration system and identify areas in need of immediate review and transformation.
Online Immigration Law will be a combination of synchronous (live) sessions and asynchronous (pre-recorded) sessions. All will be detailed in the syllabus (both in a downloadable PDF and here online, whichever you prefer to use).
Online Immigration Law will be a combination of synchronous (live) sessions and asynchronous (pre-recorded) sessions. All will be detailed in the syllabus (both in a downloadable PDF and here online, whichever you prefer to use).
Our course is comprised of modules focusing on different aspects of immigration law. We will continue to touch on many of the themes from these modules throughout the semester:
Our course is comprised of modules focusing on different aspects of immigration law. We will continue to touch on many of the themes from these modules throughout the semester:
- The Early Days- a snapshot U.S. Immigration History
- The Border/Dividing Lines
- Detention
- Visas and Admission (both non-immigrant and immigrant visas)
- Removal Proceedings
- Asylum and Relief from Removal
- Citizenship
Throughout this course, you will have multiple opportunities for individualized feedback. Our synchronous (live) classes will focus on discussion, problem presentation, and addressing common areas of confusion.
Throughout this course, you will have multiple opportunities for individualized feedback. Our synchronous (live) classes will focus on discussion, problem presentation, and addressing common areas of confusion.
We will have guest speakers at our synchronous (live) classes, who are practicing immigration attorneys and NYLS alumni, to supplement our learning and understanding of immigration practice and current issues.
We will have guest speakers at our synchronous (live) classes, who are practicing immigration attorneys and NYLS alumni, to supplement our learning and understanding of immigration practice and current issues.
Shelly the Turtle explores Immigration Law. Slowly.
rEQUIRED AND rECOMMENDED TEXTS:
rEQUIRED AND rECOMMENDED TEXTS:
The required textbook for our course is: IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY LAW: PROBLEMS AND STRATEGIES (2nd Edition, 2020). by Lenni B. Benson, Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, and Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia. This text is available in electronic or hardcover version. Please ensure that you are using this new second edition.
Recommended: Purchase a statutory supplement, or familiarize yourself with reading/reviewing statutes online.
Below is a recommended version of the statutory and regulatory supplement. If you do not purchase a supplement, I recommend that you regularly download and annotate the statutes and regulations cited in the text and that we will discuss closely.
Aleinikoff, Martin, Motomura, Fullerton, Stumpf and Gulasekaram's Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States: Selected Statutes, Regulations and Forms, 2020. This text is available in electronic or hardcover versions.
For an online version of the Immigration and Nationality Act, visit here
For an online version for 8 Code of Federal Regulations, visit here
Other required readings will be posted to the course Blackboard site
Contact Plan
Contact Plan
Email address: claire.thomas@nyls.edu (I will respond within 24 hours)
Communication Plan (Includes information about office hours)
Twitter: @clairerthomas
Website: clairerthomas.com
Note to All Students
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.
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