Students will have the opportunity to work alongside attorneys and other BIG members to provide free direct legal services to immigrants and contribute to critical research and advocacy to end immigration detention.
There are several projects available to students this year.
First, students can work with the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice to prepare release requests for incarcerated clients who are at risk of being transferred to ICE detention centers after being released from federal prison.
Second, students may also work with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California to support the organization’s California Immigration Detention Database. Students will work individually to enter data from grievances filed by immigrants detained in ICE facilities into ACLU NorCal’s database used to document patterns of abuse and responses from facility staff.
Third, students may support Las Americas’s efforts in conducting intake interviews and preparing asylum seekers for credible fear interviews.
Lastly, students may support the National Lawyers Guild’s Immigration Court Observation Program (ICOP) to observe and monitor immigration court proceedings in the Bay Area, helping to safeguard the rights of immigrants appearing in court.
BIG is also a community for law students to learn about the U.S. immigration system, the movement for immigrant rights, and career opportunities in immigration law. Supervising attorneys and BIG co-leaders will provide training, resources, and mentorship to members interested in immigration law and working with immigrant communities. In addition to the current projects, there may be future opportunities to participate in other projects independently or collaboratively as well as fundraising events, trainings, and lectures put on by BIG.
Supervision: Students in BIG provide legal services under the supervision of attorneys at California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, the ACLU of Northern California, National Lawyers Guild SF, and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Group.
Time Commitment: Time commitment will vary between 15-30 hours a semester depending on which projects students choose to participate in. However, members should expect to attend at least one hour-long project-specific training session in the fall semester, one two-hour collective SLP training session in the fall semester, and a few project meetings per semester. If members express a desire to work together or to socialize with members of other projects, BIG co-leaders can organize optional work sessions/meetings as well. BIG co-leaders will also host optional weekly office hours for students to ask questions and work together. We can ensure 25 hours before the end of the school year for students that will apply for the Edley Grant.
For more information, please contact the student leaders at berkeleyimmigrationgroup@berkeley.edu.