LAW 905TUT - The U.S.-Mexico Border Clinic

The U.S.-Mexico Border Clinic is an experiential course in which students will complete two weeks of intensive study in immigration law and practice followed by one week in the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas (January 20-26). Students can expect to be on the front lines of current events, such as the Central American refugee crisis and the Trump Administration?s crackdown on asylum-seekers, including the long-term detention of women, families, and children. During the two-week intensive course, students will meet three hours per day and will learn the principles of asylum and refugee law, study recent changes in U.S. refugee policy, and practice important lawyering skills such as client interviewing and counseling, oral advocacy, and legal drafting. During the week in Texas, students will represent asylum-seekers in their initial interviews with immigration officers as well as bond hearings and asylum trials in immigration court. Upon return, students will be expected to draft a short policy brief on one of the recent policy changes that they learned about and observed firsthand in Texas. Student will be expected to cover some travel costs and should expect to participate in fundraising efforts to raise the remainder of the costs.

Credits: 1-6