Nearly all students enrolled in the Clinic represent clients seeking asylum for persecution they suffered abroad, or have been victims of trafficking. The work includes conducting several interviews with the client, assisting the client with filing an application, preparing an in-depth brief and declaration, and representing the client at his or her administrative hearing or before Immigration Court.
Clinic students have also worked on a variety of cases under the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allow non-citizens to bring tort claims for violation of the law of nations in U.S. federal courts. The Clinic filed two cases on behalf of Adel Hamad and Mammar Ameur, both former Guantanamo Bay detainees, bringing suits for prolonged arbitrary detention, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and targeting of a civilian during time of war, all in violation of the law of nations and the U.S. Constitution.
Clinic students also engage in human rights fact-finding and reporting. Most recently, the Clinic prepared "Human Trafficking and Native Peoples in Oregon," a human rights report that summarizes the vulnerability of Native Peoples to human trafficking and makes recommendations to help government officials better fulfill their legal obligations. The report was in follow-up to a year-long fact-finding and analysis for a 2010 report measuring Oregon's response to human trafficking against its obligations under federal and international law, "Modern Slavery in Our Midst: A Human Rights Report on Ending Human Trafficking in Oregon." The Clinic also has prepared shadow reports for various United Nations proceedings.
The Immigration Clinic strives to ensure each student will have opportunities to interview and represent clients, engage in factual and legal research in the area of international law, engage in in-depth legal analysis and writing, and learn to work collaboratively in a team setting. Students also are coached to be "reflective" in their choices and in their practice, a habit all successful lawyers engage in throughout their careers and one the Clinic hopes to instill in future lawyers.
For more information on all of our Clinical Law Program offerings, view our main page.
Immigrant Justice Scholars (IJS) Program
As the only law school with an immigration clinic in the state of Oregon, Willamette Law is committed to training the next generation of immigration lawyers. The Immigrant Justice Scholars (IJS) program offers partial tuition scholarships to students committed to immigration law and public interest work. Completing the program creates a path to a paid post-graduate attorney fellowship in Portland, with the option to obtain Oregon licensure without taking the bar exam. Please include a brief explanation of your interest in immigration law in your personal statement. Proficiency in written and oral Spanish is required, or the ability to achieve proficiency by law school graduation. Finalists will be interviewed remotely by the program director.