IMMIGRATION CLINIC
This is the first and only dedicated in-house immigration clinic in the state of Georgia.
Georgia State Law’s new Immigration Clinic opened in January 2020 to help address the need for lawyers with experience in immigration matters across the state.
The Immigration Clinic focuses on removal defense. Students provide representation for low-income non-citizens appearing in immigration court, including individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Hours of legal services provided by students for Spring 2020
Dollar value of legal services provided
Hours assisting unrepresented asylum seekers in preparing their applications through the innovation Law Lab Defend Asylum pro se workshops
Client Information
Cases for the Immigration Clinic are referred by our community partners. The Immigration Clinic generally provides removal defense for individuals in removal proceedings in the Atlanta and Stewart Immigration Courts. Case types may include asylum and related forms of relief, cancellation of removal, and bond.
More information about community partners to be announced.
The Immigration Clinic is a six credit-hour graded experiential course, where second- and third-year law students learn both in the classroom and through working on real cases for non-citizens in removal proceedings. Immigration Clinic students will:
- Work directly with real clients under the Georgia Student Practice Rule and the rules of the Executive Office for Immigration Review;
- Learn practical lawyering skills that are transferable to any legal environment, including how to interview, counsel, work with interpreters, develop case theory, draft effective affidavits, conduct fact investigation, collaborate with experts and other service providers, and work with survivors of trauma in a client-centered model;
- Learn to conduct legal research, draft memoranda, motions, and briefs, compile and prepare evidentiary submissions, present arguments and elicit testimony in Immigration Court, and raise and respond to objections to build and protect the record;
- Learn to navigate the complex system of statutes, regulations, international treaty obligations, and executive actions governing the practice of immigration law;
- Understand the network of agencies, institutions, and legal systems, including civil immigration detention, encountered by non-citizens in the United States;
- Engage in project work with community partners to assist the greater immigrant community in Georgia.
Immigration Clinic I
Immigration Clinic II
Application
Requirements
Additional Requirements
Work in the clinic may require some travel to meet with clients off campus, including in detention centers in remote locations. Efforts will be made to pair students without transportation with students with transportation. Clinic students must attend a mandatory day-long orientation session and sign the Immigration Clinic Intern Agreement. Students will be notified of the date of orientation upon registration.
Students Learn
- Client interviewing and working with interpreters
- Counseling
- Legal research and writing
- Fact investigation
- Case management
- Oral advocacy
Faculty & Staff
CONTACT
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 4037
Atlanta, GA 30302-4037
Physical Address
85 Park Place NE
Atlanta, GA 30303