Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic

Visit the HIRC website or blog

Student Work  |  Clinical and Course Information  |  Faculty and Staff  |  Contact

 Student Work

For over twenty-five years, the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic (HIRC), in partnership with Greater Boston Legal Services, has focused on direct representation of individuals applying for U.S. asylum and related protections, as well as representation of individuals who have survived domestic violence and other crimes and/or who seek avoidance of forced removal in immigration proceedings pursuant to various forms of relief (i.e., VAWA, U-visas, Cancellation of Removal, Temporary Protected Status, etc.).  HIRC is also involved in appellate and policy advocacy at the local, national, and international levels.  Recently, HIRC expanded into the dynamic field of crimmigration, an increasingly important and complex area of law concerning the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.  HIRC students may enroll in one of two different clinical options:  Refugee and Asylum Advocacy or Crimmigration: The Intersection of Criminal Law and Immigration.

1. Refugee and Asylum Advocacy
   HIRC students in the Refugee and Asylum Advocacy clinical take the lead in representing clients from all over the world who are seeking protection from being returned to human rights abuses in their country of origin, as well as those who are seeking protection from exile after years of living in the United States.  About forty-five students are placed each year with HIRC for clinical credit.  Students typically work between ten and twenty hours per week. Students are either placed at Harvard or at its partner clinic, Greater Boston Legal Services, Boston’s oldest legal services organization.  Students must also enroll in the co-requisite Immigration and Refugee Advocacy Seminar.
2. Crimmigration: The Intersection of Criminal Law and Immigration Law
   HIRC students pursuing crimmigration clinical work will be divided into teams and complete at least one crimmigration-related project such as drafting an amicus appellate brief, responding to immigration detainee letters, or drafting policy memoranda for public defender offices throughout the United States.  Eight students will be placed at Harvard and work approximately 5 hours a week for clinical credit.  Students must also enroll in the co-requisite Crimmigration Clinical Seminar:  The Intersection of Criminal Law and Immigration Law.

The Refugee and Asylum Advocacy clinical placement will be by lottery through the regular registration system.  The crimmigration placement will be by application only.  To apply for the crimmigration placement, please email Phil Torrey, ptorrey@law.harvard.edu, a resume and short statement of interest.  

Clinical and Course Information

For registration information, see the 2013-2014 clinical curriculum.

Faculty and Staff

Deborah Anker (Clinical Director and Clinical Professor of Law)
John Willshire-Carrera (Clinical Instructor)
Nancy Kelly (Clinical Instructor)
Sabi Ardalan (Clinical Instructor and Lecturer on Law)
Emily Leung (Albert M. Sacks Clinical & Advocacy Fellow)
Phil Torrey (Clinical Instructor, Supervising Attorney)
Bonnie Rubrecht (Administrative Director)

Contact

6 Everett Street, Suite 3103 (WCC)
617-384-8165
hirc@law.harvard.edu
Visit the HIRC website or blog