Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project

IRAP provides legal representation to Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, who are seeking resettlement in the United States. The organization is student-driven and matches law students with pro bono supervising attorneys from the law firm Cleary Gottlieb to take on individual cases. Together, students and supervising attorneys interview clients by phone, research relevant legal issues, and prepare clients’ applications for resettlement.

IRAP chapters exist at several law schools across the country, and this project provides an opportunity to be part of that national community of students interested in refugee issues.  For more information about the national organization, please visit their website http://iraqirefugee.us/.

Through participation in this project, students will gain skills in client interaction, interviewing, refugee law, and policy.

Capacity: 8-10 students

Time Commitment: Approximately 5 hours per week

Training: Mid- to late-October

Director:

  • Laura Zampieri, lzampieri [at] jd14.law.harvard.edu

 

HIP Community Training Team

In addition to hosting immigration-focused events at HLS, HIP connects HLS students with opportunities to do immigration work and know your rights-style trainings in the greater Boston area. Last year, HIP students developed and presented a Know Your Rights training on immigrant students’ rights for the Student Immigration Movement’s summit. This year, HIP is working with two local organizations to do voter registration for new citizens and trainings for Dream Act students on how to apply for deferred action. HIP’s training team also develops immigration-related trainings for other student groups at HLS.

This project will allow students to gain familiarity with the immigration process, work in conjunction with local immigration organizations and interact with local immigrant communities.

Capacity: 12-15

Time Commitment: 2-5 hours per community event (1-2 events per semester)

Training: Early October

Director:

  • Eva Bitran, ebitran [at] jd14.law.harvard.edu

Immigration Services

Students in this project will work with current and prior clients of the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic to provide follow-up immigration services, such as applying for derivative refugee/asylee status for family members to come join them in the United States, or to file for adjustment of status.

This project will allows students to interact with clients, gain familiarity with the immigration process, and learn how to fill out and file immigration forms.

Capacity: Up to 20 students

Time Commitment: A single case may be completed in as little as 6-8 hours

Training: Mid- to late-October

Directors:

  • Catherine Cooper, ccooper [at] jd14.law.harvard.edu
  • Tanya Fridland, tfridland [at] jd14.law.harvard.edu


Bond Hearing Representation

Students in this project represent ICE detainees in their bond hearings before the Boston Immigration Court.  Bond hearings are separate and discrete proceedings that are not directly associated with a client’s underlying immigration case.  Under attorney supervision, students will have the opportunity to appear in court and present an oral argument to an immigration judge.  Students will also participate in detention facility visits and help with client intake.

In the first semester, student’s primary responsibility will be to observe a bond hearing at the Boston Immigration Court. At the end of January, students will participate in bond hearing training, which will include an introduction to interviewing clients, a substantive review of bond eligibility requirements, an introduction into “crimmigration” and the intersection of criminal law and immigration law, and the opportunity to run a mock bond hearing case from beginning to end. In the Spring, students will work in teams of three or four to prepare court filings and represent individual clients at their hearing.

Participation in this project will allow students to gain familiarity with certain ICE detention proceedings and afford them an opportunity to develop client-interaction and oral advocacy skills.

Capacity: 10-15 students

Time Commitment: 10-20 hours per case

Training: January, 2013

Directors:

  • Tanika Vigil, tvigil [at] jd14.law.harvard.edu.
  • Carol Wang, cwang [at] jd13.law.harvard.edu