Practicum - 2 hours. This practicum will focus on student's investigation, research, interviewing and client counseling skills. The course is an outgrowth of the UC Davis Humanizing Deportation Project, an interdisciplinary storytelling project that has catalogued over 200 stories of deported individuals throughout Mexico. Students will review the stories in the archive, research possible forms of immigration relief for deported individuals, and identify possible candidates for legal screening. After an in-depth training, students will travel to Tijuana, Mexico to provide legal consultations to either deported individuals or transit migrants to identify whether any of them have any possibility of returning or entering the U.S. Travel and lodging for students will be subsidized through the Humanizing Deportation Project and the UC Davis Public Impact Research Initiative. Funding restrictions require capping enrollment at four. Up to 8 students may enroll if more funding, including self-funding by students, becomes available.
Students who participate in the practicum will be asked to meet once a month on Wednesdays from noon to 2pm on the following dates to prepare for the trip to the border substantively and logistically: January 19; February 9, and March 9. Travel to Tijuana will tentatively occur over two days (Friday and Saturday or Saturday to Sunday) either toward the end of Spring Break (Week of March 21) or toward the end of the following week (Week of March 28). Following, the trip to Tijuana, we will convene again once a month from noon to 2pm on Wednesdays on the following dates to debrief and complete any research or pending tasks based on our visit to the border: April 6 and April 20. Please consider your availability carefully before signing up. If dates change, you will be notified immediately. Students will be asked to produce a legal memorandum with an assessment of the legal claims, if any, of the clients they meet and a brief reflection essay about the experience as they relate to lawyering and immigration law and policy.
Final Assessment: Other
Prerequisite: Application
Grading Mode: Letter Grading
Graduation Requirements: Counts towards Professional Skills Requirement.