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When Kate Evans came to Duke Law School as inaugural director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic in 2019, its mission was straightforward: to offer robust and sophisticated support for immigrants and refugees, and to train students in the skills to provide it.    

But Evans’ ambitions for the clinic have always been more wide-ranging and nuanced.   

“When we’re doing this right our students can transform people’s lives beyond imagination,” Evans said.  

Five years after the clinic’s launch, its impact includes:

• Representing 32 clients in immigration court, resulting in 20 cases being terminated    
• Reversing removal orders for five people and winning asylum for five others — ensuring that those clients, often fleeing danger and violence in their home countries, can continue to pursue new lives in relative safety  
• Creating more than 400 pro bono volunteer opportunities for Duke Law students in partnership with 20 different state and national immigration legal service providers 
• Assisting more than 100 asylum-seekers without attorneys file their applications  
• Filing more than 100 DACA renewal applications  
• Assisting 25 workers facing labor violations to secure deferred action  
• Providing immigration consultations and other representation to more than 50 people in immigration detention 
• Filing 15 amicus briefs in impact litigation cases  
• Creating a toolkit for Afghan asylum seekers that is used by two dozen other law clinics and nonprofits.  

“Over the last five years, the Immigrant Rights Clinic has left an indelible mark on the lives of so many in the immigration advocacy community,” said Shane Ellison, the clinic’s supervising attorney.  

“Hundreds of students and pro bono volunteers have marshalled their considerable talents to successfully represent asylum-seekers fleeing persecution, noncitizens facing deportation, immigrants languishing in detention, and undocumented North Carolinians in need of protection and security.” 

As the clinic celebrates its fifth anniversary, Evans is looking toward a future she hopes will have even greater impact.   

Multiplying the clinic’s reach   

Since clinic bandwidth is limited, Evans tries to maximize resources. In selecting cases and projects, Evans looks for opportunities to maximize impact through developing model briefing and evidentiary submissions, publishing resources for immigrants and attorneys to navigate immigration court, or taking on appellate cases.

Evans and Ellison are launching a resource library so that the work of clinic students reaches well beyond their individual clients and is readily available to assist other immigration legal service providers in representing their clients.  

Triangle area immigration attorney Lynn Calder has seen the impact of the clinic. “In only a few years, the Duke Immigrant Rights Clinic has established itself as an invaluable resource and partner for the benefit of underserved immigrants,” Calder explained. “The clinic regularly provides technical assistance, shares litigation and other legal resources, and advice about working in our local immigration court. The outreach provided by this clinic to the immigrant and immigration law community is a tribute to Duke.”  

Evans relies on the student-led Duke Immigrant Refugee Project (DIRP) to address some of the more straightforward aspects of this acute need. In the fall of 2024 alone, 49 DIRP members completed 336 pro bono hours helping clients file asylum claims, renew deferred action status, apply for work authorization, represent people in detention, and seek other forms of protection.

Over the past five years, DIRP has grown from a program that facilitated a couple dozen volunteer opportunities to the largest pro bono project at the law school with approximately 100 different legal service opportunities every year.   

Celsey Fannin, an attorney representing unaccompanied minors with Church World Service in Durham (CWS), says it has been “super important” to have Duke Law volunteers helping with cases.   

“There are always many more unaccompanied children that need help than we can help alone,” Fannin said. “These cases involve many steps in state and federal court, and it’s terrific to be able to send the law students in to take over certain steps. Also, the Duke volunteers are wonderfully prepared and eager to learn. They give us new ideas and they have a contagious passion for the mission.”  

Responding proactively to changing legislation  

Evans knows that understanding the details and implications of any new state law or local regulation is paramount to guiding clients through it successfully.   

“Prevention is better than reaction,” Evans said. “We have to try to prevent unauthorized detention and to recognize when legal service providers can intervene.”    

The clinic keeps on top of new and pending legislation and works with community organizers and local criminal defense attorneys to understand the law’s limitations and devise strategic responses. The group tries to maximize outreach and education to immigrants who may be at risk of unauthorized detention.     

“Immigrants don’t always know the rights they have, and it’s important to explain new rules within this context,” Evans said.  

Supporting migrant agricultural communities  

“North Carolina has a long history of relying on migrant agricultural workers to support our state’s farms and meat production,” Evans said. She noted these workers can be easy targets of immigration-related retaliation from exploitive employers.

Evans and the clinic partnered with the NC Justice Center and local farmworker organizations to help migrant workers protect their rights, including a temporary protected immigration status, “deferred action for labor enforcement.” 

Though the future of the program is not certain, Evans hopes the partnerships the clinic built will allow students to continue to help these workers navigate whatever new policies come their way. 

Building a strong immigration coalition  

Evans noted that to be fully engaged in legal and social trends and immigrant needs, she must be “constantly gathering information and coordinating closely” with peers in the immigration community.    

Evans and Shane Ellison, the clinic’s supervising attorney, have already become deeply integrated into the North Carolina immigrant rights network. As Evans and Ellison plan for the future, the clinic has participated in various statewide coordination and strategic planning sessions to ensure the clinic supports the work of others while working to fill critical service gaps.  

“I love working with Kate and Shane,” says Fannin of CWS. “They have such a wealth of knowledge, and it’s been really exciting to brainstorm with them about ways we can help each other.” 

Developing student lawyering skills  

As with Duke Law’s 11 other clinics, students in the Immigrant Rights Clinic learn case structure and time management, communication skills, and how to work in the “open universe” of a real case in which facts and law evolve and students need to partner closely with their clients through the development of their case.  

“Kate and Shane are role models for exerting maximum effort for our clients,” said Hannah Schaafsma '24, recalling the long hours Evans and Ellison spent helping her and a clinic partner prepare a client for an appearance in immigration court.   

“We mooted it many, many times with the client on the stand, like a full trial experience. All of us would sit together and strategize for hours in the evenings and over the weekend. It was the most fun I had in law school, and I learned so much about client representation.” 

Schaafsma is now an Immigrant Justice Corps fellow at Just Neighbors in Washington, D.C. 

The clinic also places a strong emphasis on student welfare and building transferable skills. Students discuss strategies for caring for themselves at the same time they care for their clients. They also learn how to discuss difficult topics, such as physical or mental abuse and discrimination, with sensitivity and tact.  

“Professor Ellison helped me see it’s all about picking the right words and developing a compassionate conversational rhythm,” said Sammy Sawyer ’25. “Working with real people in high-stakes situations was an ideal way to learn client-centered advocacy.”  

Mary Beth Reed ’21, an immigration attorney at Hatch Rockers, says working in the clinic was one of her most positive experiences during law school, giving her a chance to “look outside myself and concentrate on someone else’s wellbeing,” and continues to be a touchstone in her career.   

“I’m so grateful to have an ongoing relationship with Kate and Shane,” she said. “Recently they’ve even given me support by writing amicus briefs in cases that we’re covering. It’s been an honor to go from being a student to being a colleague.”   

The practice of immigration law can be emotionally challenging due to the personal upheaval – and often trauma – many clients have experienced. And it is high-pressure work where rules can and do change frequently, and clients’ lives can be dramatically impacted at any step.   

But for nearly 100 students who have taken the clinic, the work has brought humanity to an issue that is frequently characterized in terms of masses.  

“The clinic experience combined the weight of real cases with the support of a classroom where no question was stupid,” said Dana Han ’25.   

“We weren’t just studying theory anymore — we were tackling language barriers, analyzing real evidence, and collaborating on strategies to help clients find freedom.

"Matt, Kate, and Shane guided us at every turn, and learning from professionals who’ve truly been in the trenches showed me what zealous advocacy looks like.” 

For Avery Allen ’26, the experience has been transformational.   

“Client stories have moved me to tears, fueled me to pursue a law degree, and encouraged me to keep fighting for a better world.”