Washington College of Law Alternative
Spring Break 2015 Fresno helps unaccompanied minors in applying for Special
Immigrant Justice Status (SIJS) in California:
A retell of our travels
Sunday, March 8, 2015
By Emmanuel Catalan
At 9:30 am on March 8, 2015, I awoke with
Jeanna and Nirali knocking on my door telling Tyler and I that we had to get up
and prepare to go on the road from San Francisco to Fresno. Forty-five minutes
later, after I showered and packed up, the entire group: Jackie, Jeanna,
Nirali, Tyler, Whitley, and I checked out of our hotel. Subsequently, we went
to eat lunch to start the day. It wasn’t anything special. It was simply
something for us to be ready for the journey we had awaiting us that day.
Thereafter, we went to target to buy a ton of water bottles to keep us hydrated
throughout the day. Given that we planned on hiking, a deprivation of water was
not in our best interest. Funny fact, as Jackie was trying to get in the car,
Whitley drove away with the door open unaware that Jackie was not in the car.
She was ready to leave one of the members of the group. It took almost all of
us to stop the mad woman “Whitley” from leaving Jackie. Just like that, on to Sequoia
National Park we go.
When we finally arrived at Sequoia National Park,
I was completely astonished by the contrast of San Francisco and Washington
D.C. The warmth of San Francisco, at
least in Sequoia National Park was a completely different atmosphere than the
chilling snow in Washington D.C. The brilliance of the sun evaporated any
chills I had left from the cold weather of Washington, D.C. The beautiful green trees of life surrounded
the mountainous park as we drove around Sequoia Park. At some point, we got out
of the car and took pictures. We saw this huge rock in front of us. “Ah, what a
beautiful sight”, I thought. I posed like Hercules as Tyler took the picture.
Another one of the pictures I posed for I was right on the edge of the rock.
The feeling was so sublime. Although I knew I was so close to the edge, I
stayed there because the feeling excited me. I felt like I was on cloud nine.
By 7:30 pm, the sun began to set at which we
decided it was time to go to Fresno. It was quite the drive back home. It took
an hour and a half to leave the National Park. What was once bright, then
turned dark. By then, all I could then think about was the day awaiting me the
next day. Honestly, I was anxious. I could barely understand a word of English
and I knew I had to work with clients whose Native language was Spanish.
However, I was also excited because I was going to work on immigration law. An
issue I am vaguely familiar with because of my political science background,
yet completely unaware of how these issues affect the lives of everyday people.
As soon as I got home, all I could do was go to sleep and wait for the next
day.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Whitley Granberry
Team
Fresno (the AUWCL-ASB students) received a warm welcome as they started work at
the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF). CRLAF is non-profit organization that
provides legal services and policy advocacy for California’s rural poor. Team Fresno learned about CRLAF’s work in impact
litigation, community education and outreach, legislative and administrative
advocacy, and public policy related to immigration. The team met CRLAF’s wonderful attorneys and
familiarized themselves with the cases that they would work on for the
week.
CRLAF
spent the day training Team Fresno, and familiarizing them with the law
surrounding unaccompanied minors, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA), and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). The students received a rewarding crash
course on Fresno and California’s Valley, as well as the immigration issues
facing many of the area’s migrant workers.
Team
Fresno also attended another training at the Economic Opportunity Commission where
they met representatives from community organizations, representing farmers,
schools, and other minority interest groups to learn about California’s
Assembly Bill 60. AB60 gives all
California residents the right to apply for driver’s licenses, regardless of
documentation status. The team
participated in an interactive section and dialogued with active community
members, and leaders, about issues that they were facing, and how to address
those issues. #ASB2015Fresno #WeFly #TeamFresno
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
By Jeanna Lee
American University Washington
College of Law has again promoted its values of public interest and diversity
through its Alternative Spring Break program. In an attempt to expand its
outreach and its mission to assist low-income populations, six students volunteered
their spring break to perform pro bono legal services through a non-profit
organization called California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF).
During the week of spring break,
these students performed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewals
and client intakes. While learning about the California state court procedures
and immigration law, students created sample Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)
application packets that consist of declarations, country condition reports,
and Memorandum of Points and Authorities. The packets will be distributed to licensed
attorneys who agree to participate in a new pro bono program that matches
attorneys to SIJS qualified minors. To learn more about CRLAF, visit their
website (www.crlaf.org) or their Facebook
page (https://www.facebook.com/crlaf).
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
By Jacqueline Youm
Today was an excellent day! Two of the three teams
(including Jeanna & Whitley; Tyler & Nirali; and
Emmanuel & me), Tyler, Nirali, Emmanuel, and I had the opportunity to meet
our clients and to interview them in order to create an affidavit for their cases.
We had created our own strategies and were able to get a lot of relevant and
important information to supplement their affidavits and make them as
compelling as possible.
Emmanuel and I had decided to play cards with our client at first, so that
he could get comfortable with us before we started to investigate into his
life. He did not give us a hard time at all. Even though Emmanuel spoke very
little Spanish, our client was happy to let Emmanuel ask him some questions in
Spanish and he was very patient with him. It was surprising that he opened up
so much and so quickly to us. It was an emotional, challenging, strenuous, and
even illuminating experience for some.
It did come with some of its challenges
as my partner could not speak Spanish and I had to translate for both my
partner and our client. Writing his affidavit and making it compelling
enough to convey the atrocities and the horrendous situation he was in when he
was in his country was difficult, but we were able to do it somewhat
justice. This will be an experience that we will not forget anytime
soon.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
By Nirali Shah
Throughout this whole Alternative Spring Break trip, the
staff at CRLAF has helped us experience the Fresno culture. From the beginning,
they informed us about the cultural and political landscape of the area.
Throughout our trip, they have recommended food and activities that are unique
to the Fresno area.
Yesterday, a man in a bicycle drove through the neighborhood
where CRLAF is located. They rushed us outside and got us snacks. Our first
snack was elotes con chile, corn covered in mayonnaise, cotija (Mexican crumbly
cheese), and chile.
Our second snack was chicharrones,
fried pork rinds, with chile sauce. CRLAF has fed us until we couldn’t move. The
staff has been incredibly hospitable to us in every way possible. They have
been welcoming, patient, helpful, considerate, and very fun to be around. I
could not have asked for better people to work with.
Friday, March 13, 2015
By Tyler Bodi
Today was our last day working
with the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. It was a great privilege to work with an
enthusiastic and passionate team of professionals and we were sad the trip was
only a week. We completed our memos just
before noon. We took photos with the
whole group just before rushing off to our last event this afternoon.
The afternoon event was a
training session for interested practicing attorneys. The first lecture was essentially a
recapitulation of SIJS facts and procedure from a slideshow we had referenced
throughout the week. The second lecture
covered family court procedure for determining when a child might meet the
legal definition of “abused” in SIJS cases.
The final portion of the afternoon event was a panel with questions by
the attendees. Afterwards, to show our
overwhelming appreciation for the CLRAF team, we personally covered a lavish
dinner at a Teppanyaki Steakhouse (a Japanese grill where a chef performs the
dinner preparations directly in front of seated guests).
The trip was perfect: we gained
valuable experience, networked, and felt like we made a real difference. Our work aided, not just the children we
interviewed this week, but also, many children that will receive assistance
because of the novel template research we left behind. The trip surpassed our greatest expectations
and we would highly recommend working with the Fresno branch of CRLAF again.
