Immigration Law Clinic Wins Release for Indigent Client
The UC Davis School of Law Immigration Clinic was able to free an indigent client from detention thanks largely to the efforts of Genevieve Roman '10, who both represented the client under the supervision of Professor Raha Jorjani and helped to raise the bond that the client was granted by the Immigration Court.
The client, a transgender individual who identifies as a female, had two minor, non-violent misdemeanor convictions arising from a single recent incident and no other criminal history. Despite this, she pled guilty to the charged offenses, only to find that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would hold that the convictions made her subject to mandatory detention.
Roman met with the client, contacted her defense attorney to start the process of attempting to get one of the convictions dismissed, and scheduled a bond hearing. On July 17, one conviction was successfully dismissed, making it indisputable that the client was now bond eligible, and Roman succeeded in securing a low bond of $2,500. When it immediately became clear that the client's family would not be able to raise the money, Roman began reaching out to friends and colleagues to raise the funds on her behalf. Working with Brook Harris '10, the King Hall students were able to raise the funds needed to post bail on July 31, thanks to several generous donations.
Roman and the Immigration Clinic are hoping to raise an additional $2,500 to be used as an emergency bond fund, and have worked with Erin Dendorfer '10 toward that goal. Professor Jorjani said that the emergency bond fund would serve an important purpose.
"Over and over we see clients who are unable to pay their bonds and secure their release from detention," she said. "We also know that detention itself is a major obstacle for clients in presenting their best defense and securing victories in their cases. As more and more reports confirm the dangers of immigration detention, our hope is that the emergency bond fund, while not a long-term solution, will help a few of our clients who would otherwise be subject to prolonged detention while fighting their cases."
Individuals interested in contributing to the bail fund may contact Roman directly at [email protected].