11 Oct 2018
On October 10, 2018, 3Ls Paloma Contreras and Nicole Iraola, two of the students in this year's Immigration Clinic, participated in the Attorney Of The Day Program (AOTD Program) at the Omaha Immigration Court. The purpose of the AOTD Program is to match pro bono attorneys with unaccompanied minors who are appearing in Immigration Court removal proceedings and who do not have a lawyer to represent them. AOTD attorneys consult with the unrepresented minors, interview them to determine if they are eligible for any relief from removal, suggest resources where they might obtain counsel, and then accompany them to their hearings before the Court. The AOTD project is a collaborative effort involving the Omaha Immigration Court, the Immigrant Legal Center (ILC), and volunteer attorneys.
This semester, each Immigration Clinic team of two students will participate in the AOTD Program at least once. Students sign up for either a morning or afternoon session. Paloma and Nicole were the first team to participate in the AOTD Program this semester. All other teams will participate at least once before the end of the fall semester.
To prepare for their appearances in the AOTD Program, students received training from ILC staff attorneys, all of whom are Nebraska Law alumni. The attorneys conducting the training were Mindy Rush Chipman, '07, Roxana Cortes Reyes, '16, and Joshua Snowden, '17.
Immigration Clinic students continue to represent individual clients in immigration cases, but are also participating in a number of projects this semester, including community outreach programs, limited scope counseling with clients who have immigration questions, and drafting an amicus brief in an appellate case before the Nebraska Court of Appeals that contains immigration issues. Other projects are planned for the balance of this semester and next semester.