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Movement Lawyering has been described as "work in deep collaboration with social movements" that attempts to harness the power of working people and organized communities to help bring about transformational change. A former attorney working at the US/Mexico border using a movement lawyering approach will describe her experiences. We will also discuss the benefits, challenges, and importance of this type of work, now more than ever, in both the immigration context and beyond.
Chelsea Sachau (UC College of Law San Francisco, 2020) was the former Managing Attorney of the Border Action Team at the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. From 2020 - 2024, Chelsea and the Border Action Team provided critical legal education and empowerment, direct representation, and strategic advocacy to asylum-seekers displaced at the Arizona/Sonora border. During that time, Chelsea confronted border policies like the Remain in Mexico program, Title 42, asylum bans, and other limitations on access to asylum. Chelsea first came to the Florence Project as a border legal intern in the summer of 2018, during the Zero Tolerance policy of family separation. Chelsea is currently an associate attorney at Harrison & Pai, PLLC based in Bellingham, Washington, where she continues to focus on immigration representation. Chelsea was first inspired to be an immigration attorney based on the experiences of her grandmother (a Holocaust survivor) and her mother-in-law (a Maya former asylee) as she sought to provide similar opportunities for others fleeing persecution. Most of all, Chelsea is inspired every day by her clients and their resiliency in the face of what feels like insurmountable obstacles to seeking protection.
Please contact Jesus Barraza Garcia with any questions.