Center for New Americans Students and Staff Lead Winter Service Trips

During the first week of January, students and staff from the Center for New Americans participated in two trips designed to serve vulnerable immigrant populations: a CNA-sponsored trip to Dilley, Texas, and a trip to Tacoma, Wash., sponsored by the Asylum Law Project student group.

In Dilley, a team of two supervisors and three students worked with the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project to provide legal assistance to women and children detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Texas Family Residential Center. The detention center holds up to 2,400 women and children seeking safety from gang and gender-based violence in Central America.

The team consisted of CNA teaching fellow Julia Decker (’14), adjunct professor Rebecca Scholtz, Natacha Garcia (’17), James Perez (’18), and Timothy Sanders (’18). Team members conducted group information sessions, provided one-on-one interview preparation, and prepared written declarations. Decker expressed pride in the students’ work, commenting, “The students demonstrated poise, patience, and dedication in a high-stakes, high-pressure environment.”

In Tacoma, CNA teaching fellow Regina Jefferies supervised a group of four 1L members of the Asylum Law Project who were volunteering with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. The students were Alex Lane, Kayla Hoel, Kirk Johnson, and Jacob Weindling. “Collaborating with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project was an excellent opportunity for students to gain direct practice experience in a real-world setting that made a significant impact on the individuals served,” said Jefferies. Over the course of the week, students completed eight projects on behalf of asylum seekers, which included preparing written declarations and conducting country condition research.