Community Service and Pro Bono Projects
Outside of the classroom, the Immigration Law Program provides students with numerous hands-on learning experiences.
Hunton & Williams Pro Bono Partnership
In 2004, the Law School developed a pro bono partnership with the Richmond-based law firm Hunton & Williams. The partnership combines pro bono services of the firm’s attorneys with the assistance of volunteer law students to represent indigent clients in the areas of immigration/asylum and family law. The Pro Bono Partnership reflects the Law School’s and the firm’s commitment to the ideal of access to justice. Related Story
The Migrant Farmworkers Project (MFP)
Run by the student organization the Legal Assistance Society, the MFP works with the Virginia Justice Center for Immigrant and Farmworkers (a program of the Legal Aid Justice Center) to assist an isolated population in great need of legal assistance. The Virginia Justice Center represents immigrant workers and farmworkers throughout the state of Virginia. Although the Center handles mostly employment law cases, it also takes housing and discrimination cases. Student members of the Migrant Farmworkers Project visit migrant farm labor camps and inform workers about their rights. The project also seeks to increase awareness about the substandard treatment and conditions in which immigrant workers live and work in the state of Virginia. Interested students do NOT need to speak Spanish to make a difference in the lives of these marginalized workers. All are welcome.
International Rescue Committee Green Card Project
A regional office of the IRC is located in Charlottesville and each year helps approximately 150 refugees, selected overseas as part of the U.S. refugee admissions program, to resettle here in Central Virginia. Refugees have come from Burma, Colombia, Somalia, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia, Iran, Iraq, and many other countries. After one year in the United States, they are eligible for full permanent resident (green card) status, but must complete a potentially daunting set of forms and records. For nearly a decade, UVA law students have partnered with IRC to assist with this process. Each student is assigned to a family, and the project not only provides a much-needed service but also affords a good opportunity for students to get acquainted with resettled refugees.
Immigrant Jail Outreach Project
In conjuction with the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition, law student volunteers are trained and then accompany CAIR Coalition attorneys to jails housing the hundreds of immigrant detainees in several local jails around Virginia. Following "know-your-rights" presentations, volunteers conduct interviews with the immigrants. Volunteers work with the immigrants to identify key issues that can reveal if they have any legal basis to fight deportation. CAIR follows up and tries to find pro bono counsel for those with legitimate claims to status who lack the resources to fund their own defense.
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