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Land of
the Free ?
Although people seeking asylum in the United States have the right to counsel at their own expense, it’s rare for someone of illegal status to be represented by a lawyer when appearing before an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals, said Lauren Webb, a 2005 UM law graduate who helped secure the two men’s freedom. “The opportunity to exercise this so-called right turns on the applicant’s socio-economic status,” Webb said. “Generally, aliens only enjoy the fruits of this right if they have the means to pay attorneys’ fees.” That’s why the law school’s Civil Legal Clinic offers pro bono legal aid to those who can’t afford legal representation. Marc Harrold, a visiting professor with an interest in immigration law, brought the Board of Immigration Appeals component to the clinic. “It is a wonderful addition to our clinical offerings, providing students with an opportunity that differs from our regular offerings in both content and practice skills,” said professor Debbie Bell, who runs the legal clinic. “Marc Harrold has done an outstanding job of developing and designing this clinic.” Considering the changes in both the law and the general climate in matters before the immigration appeals board, “the students benefited from the gravity and reality of working on behalf of indigent, incarcerated clients,” Harrold said. “When we signed and submitted the briefs, I know they were thinking the same thing I was: ‘Have we done all we can?’” Harrold learned about the cases through CLINIC, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., which helped him screen the cases to ensure they were valid and contained significant legal issues. The Board of Immigration Appeals sits in Falls Church, Va. It rarely hears oral arguments, so students “appeared” before the board on behalf of their clients via written appellate briefs. “On a personal level, working with the clinic has, by far, been the most valuable experience I have had in law school,” said third-year student Mark Gardner. “I would recommend it to any law student, regardless of what area of law he or she planned to work in.” John K John K slept in a Salvation Army shelter July 11, 2005, and was ecstatic. At 6 p.m. that day, John, a Liberian asylum seeker whose full name is being withheld to protect his identity, had been released from immigration detention in Houston, Texas. It was his first night of freedom in his new homeland. John’s story begins in Liberia, a country still reeling from a brutal 14-year civil war that ended in 2004. The war created more than 500,000 refugees, of which John was one.  He sought asylum after arriving in this country as a stowaway in January 2004. An immigration judge approved his petition for asylum, but John remained in detention for more than a year as the Department of Homeland Security appealed the immigration judge’s ruling. DHS argued that John’s inability to provide identifying documents cast doubt on his claims of persecution in Liberia. Then law students Webb and Jeremy Pope (05) filed a brief on John’s behalf to the immigration appeals board. In July 2005, the board ruled in his favor and affirmed the immigration judge’s ruling granting John asylum. In upholding the judge’s ruling, the board wrote: “The immigration judge also found that, while conditions in Liberia have changed since the applicant’s departure, those conditions have not changed so substantially that the applicant no longer has a fear of returning.”
Cyrus A citizen of the Caribbean island of Grenada, Cyrus became a permanent U.S. resident in 1998. The Department of Homeland Security began deportation proceedings for Cyrus because he was convicted in 2003 of second-degree felony assault in New York. A Pennsylvania immigration judge disagreed with DHS, saying that Cyrus’s crime was “not a crime involving moral turpitude” nor was it an “aggravated felony.” The judge ended deportation proceedings, but Cyrus’s detention was extended as DHS appealed the judge’s ruling. In an attempt to stop his deportation, Gardner and third-year student LaToya Redd filed a brief on Cyrus’s behalf, and the board affirmed the immigration judge’s ruling. Unsatisfied with the board’s decision, DHS filed a motion to reconsider, which meant students had to file a second brief in response to the motion. The board again ruled in Cyrus’s favor and restored his status as a permanent resident. “The DHS has not met its burden of proving the respondent’s deportability by clear and convincing evidence, and the immigration judge committed no reversible error in terminating the proceedings,” the board wrote. Students’ role critical in victories The students prepared well-researched briefs for their clients, who otherwise would have appeared without counsel before the nation’s highest immigration appeals court, said CLINIC’s Molly McKenna. “In addition, they have acted as advocates for their clients, helping to secure their release from detention and providing them with other important information about our nation’s complicated immigration system,” McKenna said. The students received academic credit and grades for their work, but they say the true reward was the opportunity to represent real clients. “My participation in the clinic resulted in exposure to a field familiar to few attorneys in Mississippi,” Redd said. “The brief-writing process sharpened my legal research and writing skills. The combination of being on a tight deadline and knowing that someone’s freedom actually depended on our work made for an exhilarating and rewarding experience.” Gardner hopes the experience gave clients faith in the U.S. legal system. “Having the opportunity to work for an actual client reminded me that the result of our efforts may be the most significant event in that person’s life,” he said. |
When immigrants come to America’s shores, some quickly learn that the path to freedom is blocked by gates—prison gates. But thanks to the work of a group of UM law students two immigrants are free to pursue the lives they were seeking when they journeyed to their new homeland.