Our Crowdfunding Groups
THANK YOU!
Thanks to your incredibly generous donation, fifteen law students traveled to Tijuana, Mexico over winter break to volunteer with Al Otro Lado’s Border Rights Project (see photo attached). Professor Uzoamaka Nzelibe, Professor Carolyn Frazier, clinical fellow Amy Martin, and CFJC legal assistant Laura Buttitta organized and led the trip.
Our goal was to support Al Otro Lado’s mission to provide know-your-rights information to asylum-seeking migrants near the San Ysidro Port of Entry. During our five full days in Tijuana, students provided know-your-rights information in Spanish and English to dozens of migrants about what to expect once they enter the United States. Student also supported Al Otro Lado’s work in other important ways, such as document preparation for upcoming immigration court hearings, court observation, entertaining children so that parents could meet with attorneys, data entry, and assisting with preparing and serving food to families visiting the office for legal help.
Each day, we met with migrants at Al Otro Lado’s office near the border, where the organization conducts a daily legal clinic for migrants waiting in Mexico for their asylum cases to be heard in the U.S. immigration court. We also participated in observing El Chaparral Plaza, where migrants congregate each morning waiting for their number to be called from “La Lista,” – a long list of asylum-seekers waiting weeks or months to first request asylum from U.S. border officials.
Our group witnessed extremely difficult conditions and heard countless tragic stories of families fleeing their homes to embark on the long and dangerous journey to the border. Many of these families are now forced to remain in Mexico for months or even years waiting for their immigration case to be heard in the U.S. immigration court. Their stories will stay with us for a long time.
On February 24, we had the opportunity to share our experience during a panel discussion with students and faculty. The need for volunteers of all language abilities and skill levels is great and we would be glad to be a resource for anyone interested in volunteering at the border.
Thank you again for your generous support.
Jake Ferruzzi
Reilly Frye
Manuela Piza Caballero
Brigid Carmichael
Jeremy Levine-Drizin
Anthony Salzetta
Grace Kim
Nellie Mitchell
Alejandra Ortiz Dias
Natalie Barnaby
Isabelle Ferrarini Bueno
Gloria Cange
Nick Bringardner
Corinna Goodman
Caroline McHugh
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Send 15 Northwestern Law Student Volunteers to Provide Legal Aid To Migrants at the U.S./Mexico Border
During winter recess, fifteen students will travel to Tijuana, Mexico to assist migrants waiting to request asylum in the United States. Students will volunteer with Al Otro Lado's Border Rights Project. Al Otro Lado is a bi-national, direct legal services organization serving indigent migrants, refugees, and deportees in Tijuana, Mexico. Students will join other volunteer lawyers and law students working to ensure that asylum seekers’ rights are protected under both domestic and international law.
Our students will spend the majority of their time conducting know-your-rights presentations and legal intakes at Al Otro Lado’s office in Tijuana. Students will also work with asylum seekers stranded in Tijuana subject to the Administration's “Remain in Mexico” policy. These activities will help migrant families assert their rights as they move through the asylum process. Additionally, students will conduct human rights fact-finding interviews and research regarding abuses being perpetrated against migrants by both government and private actors.
Clinical Associate Professors Uzoamaka Nzelibe and Carolyn Frazier, as well as Immigration Law Fellow Amy Martin, will supervise student volunteers. Laura Buttitta, a bilingual legal assistant with the Children and Family Justice Center, will also join the delegation as an interpreter.
We need your help! Please consider contributing to support our students' important work in Tijuana.
Every contribution is greatly appreciated by our students, Al Otro Lado, and the clients in need!
