CLINICAL PROGRAMS : IMMIGRATION CLINIC

Duration: Full-year clinic
Credits: 8 credits (4 credits per semester/letter grade)

Students in the Immigration Clinic will represent non-citizens facing deportation from the United States and seeking to redress misconduct by Immigration Customs and Enforcement (“ICE”) agents performing immigration raids.  Individual representation will include deportation defense before the Immigration Court in the clinic’s on-going cases (political asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, T-visas and Temporary Protected Status) as well as representation of persons seeking release from detention and relief from deportation.  Through individual representation, students will be exposed to all aspects of litigation including fact development (in-depth client interviewing), legal research and writing, witness preparation, oral arguments and direct and cross-examinations in court in a closely supervised setting.  Group representation will be comprised of ongoing preparation for a lawsuit against ICE for a house-to-house raid conducted in August 2007 in which persons with lawful immigration status were arrested and detained by the agency.  Group representation exposes students to litigation skills similar to individual representation as well as collaborations with nationally recognized co-counsel, community organizations and the media. 

Students are required to have taken or be currently enrolled in Immigration Law and Criminal Procedure.  Fluency in relevant languages other than English (particularly Spanish) is preferred.  Students who have already taken Immigration Law and Criminal Procedure or are fluent in a relevant second language will be given preference.  Students will receive a letter grade.  In addition to time allotted for class, students must be available for visits to the Suffolk County Jail one morning per month, day of week to be announced. 

Questions: Contact Ragini Shah at rnshah@suffolk.edu