King Hall HALO Students Help Detained Immigrant Families in San Antonio

Students in the UC Davis School of Law Humanitarian Aid Legal Organization (HALO) traveled to San Antonio, Texas during spring break to provide support and assistance for immigrant women and children detained in the Karnes County Residential Center. Fourteen King Hall students worked with the immigration assistance group Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) to observe court hearings, investigate allegations of abuse, and provide other services.

Founded in 2006, HALO is a student organization that assists and raises awareness of underserved communities.  Each year, HALO raises funds for a spring break legal aid trip, in which UC Davis law students travel to provide aid to underserved groups in different parts of the country. Past trips have been to New Orleans, Biloxi, East St. Louis, and other cities.

Participating in the 2015 trip to San Antonio were Dean Bubar '16, Max Calehuff '17, Laura Flores '15, Erin Gunter '17, Connor Karen '17, Jamie Knauer '17, Hope Kwiatkowski '17, Adam McIntyre '17, John Miller '17, Katie Rogers '17, Kelsey Santamaria '17, Holly Snead '17, Sarah Woolston '17, and Antonia Wong '16.

HALO Students 

Students worked with RAICES in various capacities to serve detainees at the Karnes facility, many of whom came to the United States to escape violence and persecution countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In many cases, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has continued to detain women and their children even after they have been found to have credible claims for asylum, contrary to longstanding policy. The practice prompted an alleged hunger strike by women at the facility, a protest which has been denied by ICE. 

All of the HALO students did some "court watching," Katie Rogers said, attending hearings in which immigration officials sought to determine if the women had a credible fear of violence or persecution if returned to their home countries.  "Very often, the detainees don't speak English, so if it turns out later that their ‘credible fear' finding was negative, it can be hard to determine what went wrong," said Rogers.  "So RAICES sends court watchers to attend and take notes so that if questions come up later they will have a better idea of what happened."

Among the various services provided, HALO students worked with RAICES to file Freedom of Information Act requests to government agencies investigating detainees' complaints regarding the Karnes facility and accompanied RAICES representatives as they met with detainees who were granted bail, providing necessities and explaining the legal proceedings they would soon experience.

Rogers said that meeting the detainees helped to "put a human face" on immigration issues and policies. "Every woman or child that I came across was so grateful for every small thing, whether it was playing with a little boy or helping change a diaper, or even just sitting and talking.  They were so grateful to have some interaction with somebody who was treating them like a human being," she said.

Sarah Woolston said that the experience taught her valuable lessons she will bring to her legal practice in the years to come. "I think working with a nonprofit, you see how vital pro bono attorneys are," she said. "It's great to have organizers and activists, but you really need to have lawyers involved.  When you can help them solve their legal problems, it's incredibly impactful."

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