Immigration Law Clinic Wins Nine-Year Legal Battle
Students and alumni of the UC Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic ended a long legal battle last week, securing legal permanent resident status for a client who was nearly deported to Eritrea nine years ago. The successful resolution of the case came thanks to the dedication of the students involved, said Holly S. Cooper, Immigration Law Clinic staff attorney and lecturer.
"Words cannot really describe the hours, the sweat, and tears that the students put into this client's case," Cooper said. "The beauty is that from the beginning, it was the students who compelled the Clinic to take on the case."
Erin Hernandez '08 and Odir Hernandez '08 met the client in immigration detention nearly nine years ago and insisted the Clinic represent her. They stopped the deportation process and filed a motion to reopen her asylum claim. Under the supervision of Professor Carter "Cappy" White, they filed for a bond hearing on a novel theory and won their client's release from custody.
Subsequent years saw students including Elica Vafaie'11, Rachel Ray '11, Kelly Martin '11, Kim Le '11, Joanna Cuevas Ingram '12, Jihan Kahssay '12, Jared Wigginton '13, Nicholas Starkman '13, Kelsey Blegen '13, Mohamad Osman '13, Laura Gavilan '14, Sachin Kalra '14, and Nathan Levey '15 working on the case, representing the client before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and Immigration Court, and petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court.
Most recently, Gavilan, Osman, Kalra, and Levey worked on a complex briefing ordered by the Immigration Court along with the client's adjustment of status application. On March 23, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved her adjustment of status, and the client--now a married mother of three--finally received her green card.
"It's amazing what it took to bring justice to one person," said Cooper. "The Immigration Law Clinic may have truly been the only place where she could have achieved this result."