Immigration Justice Clinic traveled to Dilley Texas to volunteer with the CARA Pro Bono Project

Over spring break, six law school students, along with Professors Vanessa Merton, Tom McDonnell and Vikki Rogers, and Miguel Sanchez-Robles from Pace Law’s Immigration Justice Clinic, traveled to Dilley, Texas to volunteer with the CARA Pro Bono Project and provide volunteer representation to women seeking asylum in the United States.

Dilley, the site of the largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, holds people awaiting disposition of their immigration or refugee claims.  Our students and faculty worked on the ground to assist these women and their families, people who have travelled to the U.S. to escape persecution, torture and other life-threating situations. Over the course of one week, the group handled 170 intakes, prepared 148 women for interviews, and had nearly 150 meetings with their new clients. Due to their extraordinary efforts, more than 90 women and their families were released from detention.

The students’ work in Dilley represents some of the best of Pace Law School. Their work demonstrates what it truly means to be a lawyer - helping to tell a client’s story, to advocate for their rights and to counsel them through legal procedures and processes.  Their efforts will continue to have an extraordinary impact on the hundreds of women and families that they helped.