News

Since opening its doors in January 2020, the Duke Law Immigrant Rights Clinic has eliminated the threat of deportation for 16 clients by either reversing a removal order or halting deportation proceedings.

A total of 46 student-attorneys in the clinic have worked on the cases, which often take years to see through. For the clients, successful resolution means they can live in the United States without fear of being returned to countries where they would be separated from their families and face danger.

“Our clinic focuses on deportation defense because the stakes are the highest, the rate of representation is the lowest, and the cases are the hardest,” said Clinical Professor Kate Evans, the clinic’s director.

“I am incredibly proud of the work our students and faculty have done to overcome the threat of permanent separation from family and community for so many clients.”

Following are some client stories from the clinic’s first four years.

Two sisters and their families get relief from fear of deportation

Last fall, two of the Immigrant Rights Clinic’s first clients finally had their cases terminated in Charlotte Immigration Court. The clients are sisters, each with four children.

In October, the Department of Homeland Security agreed with the clinic’s argument that one of the women should not be subjected to removal proceedings because she had been the victim of a racially-motivated assault at gunpoint and had cooperated with local police in trying to locate and charge the perpetrators. Further, the clinic argued, three of the woman’s children had been granted asylum after fleeing abuse by their father.

“Our client was so grateful for the work we had done to get her case out of court and into the asylum office,” said Megan Myers ’24, who was preparing the case for trial in immigration court with Emily Cohen ’24 when they heard the news.

“Although it may take some time for her to receive a decision, I am happy that our client can safely remain in the United States with her children without fear of deportation while her separate application for protection as a victim of crime is decided.”

Added Cohen, “The work Megan and I were able to do for our client in getting her case dismissed from immigration court, where her odds of being granted security to stay in this country were low, and getting her case refiled in the affirmative asylum office, where her odds of being granted asylum here are much, much higher, was truly my most rewarding experience of law school.

“We were able to complete this process and convey to our client that she would have the ability to stay in the country several more years, which for a woman with four children, including a newborn baby, was life-changing. Hearing her tell us how much she appreciated our work and that she was crying tears of joy was something I will never forget.”

Other Duke Law students who worked on the case were Alexander Bednar JD/LLM ’21, Melissa Bueno ’23, Elle Cotzomi ’22, Andrew Frank ’21, Danielle French ’21, Meg Gilligan ’23, Madeline Hundley JD/LLM ’22, Alejandra Mena ’22, Sam Moore ’21, Andres Paciuc ’21, Natalie Pate ’21, and Luca Tomasi ’21.

The family celebrated a second successful outcome on December 21, 2023, when Ellie Neilson JD/LLM ’24 and Riley Flewelling JD/LLM ’24 learned that the woman’s sister, who is the mother of infant triplets and a kindergartener, had also had her case dismissed.  

“It was an emotional moment when we were able to call our client, tell her that her case in immigration court was dismissed, and explain what that meant for her future here in the United States,” said Neilson, who was preparing the client’s court filing with Flewelling when they heard the news.

“After all that she’s been through, it was such a relief to hear that she is no longer facing deportation, and I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to contribute and help secure this outcome for her.”

Bueno, Gilligan, Pate, Lucas Fernandez-Rocha ’20, Valery Oliva LLM ’22, and Vicki Ye JD/LLM ’21 also worked on preserving the family’s ability to remain in the U.S.

Another one of the clinic’s clients from 2020 won relief from deportation as well. Esther Lu ’23, Christine Mullen Ray ’21, and Rebecca Reeves ’23 succeeded in getting a client’s case removed from immigration court so that she and her three U.S. citizen daughters no longer have the stress of permanent separation hanging over them. The long-time Durham resident currently is awaiting a decision on her application for protection as a victim of a violent crime.

Removal orders reversed

Separately, Theresa Babendreier JD/LLM ’22, Analese Bridges JD/LLM ’24, Shirley Garrett ’24, Grey Howard ’23, Hundley, Alison Munford ’24, and Alexys Ogorek ’23 reversed their clients’ removal orders, restoring their ability to remain in the United States indefinitely.

The clinic has also represented two clients at the U.S. Courts of Appeals and successfully reversed both of their removal orders.

In one case, Ye, Mullen Ray, and Luis Basurto Villanueva ’22 helped reverse the client’s order before the Fourth Circuit.

In the other case, students secured the client’s release from detention, coordinated amicus and merits briefs at the Ninth Circuit, vacated the underlying convictions in state court, and gathered evidence to support his long-term permanent status in the U.S. Students and alumni whose work contributed to the outcome are Pate, Jennalee Beazley ’22, Ann Bennett ’24, Grace Embrey ’24, Andrew Lindsay ’21, Robin Liu JD/LLM ’22, Mario Moreno ’21, Aliyah Salame ’22, and Courtney Schrater ’24. The client now has a pathway to remain with his U.S. citizen wife who is battling ovarian cancer, his three U.S. citizen children, and his aging parents whom he supports.

Unaccompanied youths receive protections

Finally, two young men who came to the U.S. without caregivers had their removal proceedings ended as the result of work by Emma Allison ’23, Adam Beyer ’23, Maggie Lederer ’23, and Laurine Verwiel JD/LLM ’23. That allowed them to pursue asylum protections and protection for vulnerable immigrant youth outside of immigration court. The client of Lederer and Verwiel, also assisted by Pate, is now a lawful permanent resident.

“In immigration court, noncitizens lacking the resources to secure a lawyer must represent themselves, often at their own peril. Studies have shown that immigrants without counsel are five times less likely to succeed,” said Immigrant Rights Clinic Supervising Attorney Shane Ellison.

“It is in this space of profound need that our clinic students have entered to serve. I could not be more pleased by their success and the positive impact it has had on our clients’ lives.”