Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice

HISTORY. Founded in 2020, the Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice (SCIJ) is a youth-led organization fighting for the safety of immigrants by training and mobilizing college students to organize for local change and to provide pro bono representation to asylum seekers. Grounded in youth immigrant organizing’s rich history, SCIJ honors this legacy by equipping young people with the skills to create change, providing them with leadership opportunities, and supporting their ongoing development. With movement between land criminalized and marginalized people far too often unable to find a place they can safely call home, SCIJ is responding by building power within the immigrant justice ecosystem and developing a network to advocate for transformative change.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Through collaborative partnerships SCIJ developed with Worcester State University (WSU) and Brown University, SCIJ has trained 49 students, most of whom are immigrants or first-generation Americans, women or gender-diverse people, and/or people of color. SCIJ’s trained students have: 

• Provided pro bono representation to 50 asylum seekers;
• Connected 79 immigrants with social services such as housing and food assistance;
• Successfully advocated for fare-free public transportation in Worcester;
• Won campaigns in MA and RI to ensure driver’s licenses are available to people regardless of immigration status; and
• Received the New England Innovation Award. 

Building on its first two successful years, SCIJ has expanded to UMass Boston (UMB) and will be training a cohort of students there starting September 2022, a major milestone in SCIJ’s growth.

“The real impact of SCIJ's work is on the lives of people who share similar life experiences to me. SCIJ helped me recognize my true values and re-orient my focus toward efforts that truly help people.” - Amir Tamaddon, SCIJ Student

PROGRAMS. SCIJ’s three-pronged approach﹘train, mobilize, organize﹘aims to push back against the imbalance of justice in the courts and organize for long-term change through community power building. SCIJ’s focus on collaboration by partnering with colleges, pairings students with attorneys, and working with sister organizations builds on this same goal by developing a network that can meet immediate needs while also leveraging collective power for systemic change.

Through SCIJ’s intensive, semester-long training program, students gain a deep knowledge of community organizing and immigration law. Students learn about immigration law, how to complete an asylum application, effective strategies for working with clients, principles of community organizing, how to develop leadership in others, and how to create and launch a campaign. As a result, SCIJ’s training program prepares students to organize locally and to provide legal support to immigrants.

On the legal side, students are paired with SCIJ’s partner immigration attorneys from other nonprofits and private firms and work with them on pro bono asylum cases, similar to a paralegal. Students work on all aspects of a case, including meeting with clients, collecting evidence, and drafting legal documents. SCIJ supports students through case rounds, workshops, and individual check-ins. As a result, SCIJ is able to ensure representation for asylum seekers and expand the capacity of immigration legal service providers. 

“SCIJ advocates did an incredible job of independently meeting with the client each week… This allowed me to work on other aspects of the case, and we were able to accomplish more in a shorter amount of time. I highly recommend SCIJ.” - Alissa Weinberger, Esq. (MetroWest Legal Services)

On the organizing side, students are paired with local grassroots organizations where students take on leadership roles within campaigns impacting the immigrant community. Working with SCIJ’s grassroots partners, students engage in facilitating political education and leadership development workshops, designing and carrying out actions, and crafting campaign strategy. As students work on campaigns, SCIJ provides ongoing leadership development through 1-on-1 check-ins, workshops, and roundtable discussions to facilitate students’ sharing of resources with one another. As a result, SCIJ is able to expand the capacity of grassroots organizations, thereby strengthening our collective power.