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Lewis Katz Building, University Park, PA
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  • Immigrant Rights Clinic Photo 2016

Cases and Projects -- Academic Year 2016-2017

Post-Election Community Outreach and Education

The clinic is actively involved in community outreach and providing resources regarding the recent election and subsequent Executive Orders. 

The Trump Immigration Executive Orders: Impact on Arab and Muslim Communities

 Friday, April 14
 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
 Apfelbaum Courtroom, Lewis Katz Building

 

For more information on this clinic project, please visit our Immigration After the Election page.


Collaboration with Muslim Advocates and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

The clinic is in collaboration with Muslim Advocates and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee to collectively address airlines and related airline trade associations regarding immigrant and nonimmigrant rights to board and any other matters relating to implementation of the Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” as the parties mutually agree.  The clinic will conduct legal research and analysis on potential challenges to the Executive Orders and prepare written summaries and memos on the same.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is a civil rights organization committed to defending the rights of people of Arab descent and promoting their rich cultural heritage.  ADC supports the human and civil rights of all people and opposes racism and bigotry in any form.  ADC was founded by former U.S. Senator James Abourezk in 1980 and is today the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the U.S.

Muslim Advocates is a legal advocacy and educational organization that fights for civil rights and justice for Americans of all faiths.  Muslim Advocates collaborates with allies inside and outside of the government to tackle the most urgent issues facing the American Muslim community. Specifically, Muslim Advocates fights discrimination by filing high impact lawsuits against those who wrongfully target American Muslims. Additionally, Muslim Advocates strives to empower the Muslim community by strengthening American Muslim charities and educating people about their legal rights.

Learning Goals:

Legal research and analysis, collaboration, and community outreach. 


Community Outreach and Education on Immigration

The center will collaborate closely with the State College Mayor, Borough of State College, law enforcement, faith based groups and non-profit organizations to provide high quality community outreach and education as well as written products on timely immigration issues. Past topics have included remedies for immigrant survivors; deferred action; local enforcement; and the impact of immigration enforcement on families and communities.  Future topics and events include:

Immigration Issues after Texas | Penn State LawImmigration Issues After U.S. v. Texas: A Community Dialogues, August 31, 2016: Co-sponsored by: Penn State Law’s Center for Immigrants’ Rights; Borough of State CollegePennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship CoalitionCentre County Women’s Resource Center and Penn State University’s School of Labor and Employment Relations.

               

                                      

Immigration Information Session Flyer | Penn State LawInformation Session for the immigration community on rights and remedies after U.S. v. Texas, September 1, 2016: Co-sponsored by: Penn State Law’s Center for Immigrants’ Rights; Borough of State CollegePennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship CoalitionCentre County Women’s Resource CenterPenn State University’s School of Labor and Employment Relations; Movement of Immigrant Leaders in Pennsylvania; and Schneck & Harley Immigration Law Group, LLP.

 

Community Forum with conservative faith, business and law enforcement on immigration reform, November 1, 2016: in collaboration with the National Immigration Forum’s Bibles, Badges and Business campaign

 

 

Learning Goals:

Legal research and analysis, multidimensional lawyering, public speaking, empathy, professional judgment, problem solving, attorney-client relationship building, leadership, collaboration.


Report on Conditions of Immigration Detention in Georgia: On Behalf of Project South

The center will help write and publish a report on current conditions in two immigration detention centers located in Georgia: Stewart Detention Center and the Irwin County Detention Center. Specifically, students will engage in legal research and analysis on immigration detention; edit accounts from detained individuals; survey immigration attorneys in Atlanta; and speak with family members of deported individuals. 

Project South is partnering with Georgia Detention Watch, the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human RightsAlterna, the Detention Watch Network, and the Center to develop this report. The Legal & Advocacy department of Project South connects legal and advocacy work and movement lawyers with grassroots organizations with a focus on immigrants’ rights and defending Muslim communities against state repression. This work is also focused on connecting with and supporting social justice movements in the Global South.

Founded in 1986, Project South has developed thousands of leaders within communities directly affected by racism and economic injustice in order to build social movements to eliminate poverty. For over 30 years, Project South has used popular education techniques as an organizing tool to build a base of skilled leadership that directly challenges racism and poverty at the roots. Project South builds communications capacities among low-income families of color and provides multiple mechanisms to shift public dialogue on local, regional, and national levels.

Learning Goals:

Legal research and analysis, multidimensional lawyering, collaboration, client interviewing, and cross-cultural communication.


Collaboration with the State College Borough

The Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic is continuing its collaboration with local government officials in an effort to inform the community and help shape local policy regarding immigration after the presidential election.

Borough Council Passes Resolution in Collaboration with Clinic

The Borough of State College is officially an inclusive and welcoming place for immigrants and local residents regardless of their immigration status, thanks to a formal resolution that came out of a partnership with the Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic. The resolution—which was unanimously passed by the State College Borough Council on Jan. 9—was written in collaboration with Penn State Law professor and Immigrants’ Rights Clinic director Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia.

Click the image above to view video of the Borough Council passing the resolution (skip to 20:33/Chapter 4).


Pro Bono U-Visa Case- On Behalf of the Law Office of Juliette E. Gomez

The Center will assist M who is seeking a U visa as a victim of crime. The Center will focus on communicating with local law enforcement and government officials to assist with her application.

The U nonimmigrant status (U visa) is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. Congress created the U nonimmigrant visa with the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (including the Battered Immigrant Women’s Protection Act) in October 2000. The legislation was intended to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking of aliens and other crimes, while also protecting victims of crimes. (Source: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-human-trafficking-other-crimes/victims-criminal-activity-u-nonimmigrant-status/victims-criminal-activity-u-nonimmigrant-status)

The Law Office of Juliette E. Gomez is based in Philadelphia, PA and specializes in removal defense and creative solutions for undocumented and transnational families.

Learning Goals:

Legal research and analysis, professional judgment, communication and collaboration.


Third Circuit Blog

In collaboration with the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC), the Center maintains a law blog on precedential and select non-precedential Third Circuit decisions, with a focus on decisions involving legal remedies available to immigrants in removal proceedings or in detention. Occasionally, outside contributors will are solicited to offer specific view points on recent decisions. Additionally, the blog posts resources and relevant news and events for practitioners and advocates.

Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC) is a non-profit legal services organization founded in 1996 in the aftermath of the Golden Venture grounding. The Golden Venture ship beached off the coast of Long Island with nearly three hundred Chinese refugees aboard who were fleeing persecution in the forms of forced sterilization and abortion. Consequent to immigration policies that mandate the detention of some asylum seekers, many Golden Venture refugees were detained at York County Prison in York, Pennsylvania, by the current Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Learning Goals:

Legal writing and analysis.


University of Pittsburgh Immigration Clinic Collaboration

The Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic collaborates with the University of Pittsburgh’s Immigration Law Clinic (“Pitt Law Immigration Clinic”) to facilitate legal support for noncitizens scheduled for removal proceedings in Pittsburgh. In this capacity, students at the Center will screen select individuals and refer them to Pitt Law Immigration Clinic as necessary.

Students will also provide legal research and support for select individuals.  

Pitt Law Immigration Clinic assists individuals who appear pro se Master at Calendar Hearings in Pittsburgh. They also represent individuals requesting asylum, facing removal from the United States and seeking special protection under the Violence Against Women Act. Clients may include refugees, immigrant women and children survivors of domestic violence applying to change their status, persons with criminal convictions who seek relief from removal from the United States, and other immigrant populations.

Learning Goals:

Collaboration, client interviewing, and legal research and analysis.