Immigration Law Clinic Wins Impressive Victory

UC Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic students, working under the supervision of Clinic Director Amagda Pérez and in cooperation with attorneys from the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF), the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), and the Law Offices of Schoenleber & Waltermire, have succeeded in obtaining a U visa for a client facing deportation, effectively providing the legal basis for him to remain in the United States with his wife and three U.S. citizen children.

The client was placed in removal proceedings following a workplace raid by immigration authorities in Arcata, California. Aidin Castillo '11, Theo Cuison '11, and Marina Mankaryous '12 explored the available legal strategies, and discovered that the client had been subject to criminal threats as a result of his assistance to a criminal investigation, making him eligible for a U visa, which provides status to noncitizens who assist authorities in investigating crimes. Matt Weisner '13 worked zealously to certify the client's U visa application with the law enforcement agency. On October 9, the Clinic received notification that the client had been granted a U visa, and Clinic students Johnny Colon '13 and Anita Mukherji '14 are now working on a motion to terminate removal proceedings.

Pérez said that thanks were due to immigration attorney Johnny Walker, who served as a judge in a mock immigration hearing conducted by the Clinic and helped identify the U visa as a possible strategy, CRLAF attorney Shannon Going '10, who wrote the brief in support of the U visa application, and ILRC attorneys Sally Kinoshita '98, Angie Junck, and Kathy Brady, who provided expert declarations in support of the U visa application.