Western State College of Law Immigration Clinic

The Immigration Clinic at Western State is closed, but our mission to create social justice lawyers lives on! A huge congratulations to all who passed the bar! And our love goes out to all who took the exam, because pass this time or not, we have seen what you can do and have faith in you!

Thanks to Orange County Bar Association President Deirdre Kelly for highlighting the WSCL Immigration Clinic in this month’s Orange County Lawyer!

We at the Immigration Clinic are extremely grateful to the following attorneys and organizations that graciously agreed to provide pro bono representation to Clinic clients during this time of transition at Western State College of Law! Thank you for your expertise and generosity! Maria Vittoria, Law Office of Angela McGill (pictured) Leah Jones, Law Offices of Roxana Muro (pictured w/Clinic Director Jennifer Koh) Eric Dominguez, Hirson & Partners, LLP (pictured)... Prof. Andrew Knapp Prof. Sabrina Rivera Monica Glicken, Public Law Center - Immigration Unit Cynthia Felix, Immigrant Defenders Law Center Immigration Clinic at USC Gould School of Law See more

Prof. Jennifer Koh, Western State College of Law Immigration Clinic Director and Founder, will be recognized today by the City of Irvine City Hall for her leadership with the Western State College of Law Immigration Clinic. Please join us today at 4:30PM to recognize Prof. Koh for her mentorship and great work she has done over the years! See you all there today!

Western State College of Law Immigration Clinic Director, Prof. Jennifer Lee Koh, is featured in this article by Imm-Print (an online publication of Freedom for Immigrants) for her work with the Orange County Justice Fund as parts of a series on Women on the Frontlines of Immigration: https://imm-print.com/borderlines-women-on-the-front-lines/

We had our last seminar/ case rounds this week, and reflected on the value of perseverance and resilience. Keep an eye on these students as they continue in their legal careers!

Congratulations to the 2018-19 Ninth Circuit teamStephanie Barrera, Demis Camacho and David Lawlorwhose case was presented for oral arguments before the Court of Appeals on Wednesday! Demis and David provided outstanding oral arguments before the 3-judge panel. Professor Andrew Knapp has supervised them all year on a case involving claims under the Violence Against Women Act, Convention Against Torture, asylum law and complex jurisdictional issues. Thank you to the attorneys who mooted the team in preparation for the arguments: Professors Daniel Sharp, Sabrina Rivera and Jennifer Koh, and immigration attorneys Sabrina Damast, Juan Laguna, Maria Vittoria (clinic alum!) and Leah Jones (also a clinic alum!). The entire oral argument can be viewed here: https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/view_video.php

Congratulations to Jim Mikhail and Elizabeth Siruno, whose dedication and hard work in the Clinic resulted in a grant of asylum to their client this week! Their client has now been freed from detention and will soon be reunited with family members on the East Coast after surviving tremendous persecution. Jim and Elizabeth also provided zealous advocacy to an asylum seeker who has been detained for over 15 months in a bond matter earlier this semester, in a case that is now on appeal at the Board of Immigration Appeals. Thank you Liz and Jim for your fearless lawyering!

We at the Western State College of Law Immigration Clinic are so proud of Stephanie Barrera, who was selected as a Law School Student of the year by the National Jurist magazine!

The Western State College of Law Immigration Clinic sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement in federal district court this week! Thank you to our lawyers at the ACLU of Southern California and Milbank LLP, our co-plaintiffs Immigrant Defenders Law Center, Public Counsel and Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project and the many community organizations who have called for the Union Pacific Railroad Police to end its collaboration with ICE! Our work on this issue began with Spring 20...Continue reading

Our students Jessica Olivares and Jenny Corona share some of their thoughts on the immigration clinic and immigration system after successfully negotiating a bond for the release of their client from detention today! Congratulations!

The smiles on our students’ faces and their exuberant joy after their client's grant of asylum are just priceless! Congratulations to Giovanni Falcon and Catherine Ramos on your hard work and fearless advocacy! We can’t wait to see our client released tonight!

Congratulations to Brittany Perez and Marina Awed, who represented their client in an asylum hearing in immigration court today! Their client fled his country after being harmed and threatened for organizing peaceful protests. He has spent the last several months detained at an immigration jail in Orange County, but will be released tonight! Here’s their reaction after leaving the courtroom.