Boston College Law School gives its students a wide range of classes to take that are taught by some of the best scholars in the field. Yet, while learning about the law in a classroom is crucial to becoming a successful attorney, nothing prepares you for day-to-day practice more than getting hands-on experience before graduating. That’s where BC Law’s clinics come in.

Law students in their second and third years of study can apply for coveted spots in any of the school’s fifteen clinics. No matter what someone’s legal interest is, there’s a clinic for them! To help students better understand the opportunities available to them, the BC Law Impact Blog is highlighting each of these clinics this semester. Here is our interview with the director of the Immigration Clinic, Mary Holper.

Tell us about your clinic!

In the Immigration Clinic, students represent clients who are either physically separated from their families and communities through immigration detention, and/or risking further separation through deportation. Students advocate for their clients’ release from detention by preparing and arguing bond motions in immigration court; for some clients, students must also prepare and argue habeas corpus petitions in federal district court. Additionally, students defend clients against deportation by preparing and arguing defenses to deportation, such as asylum and other humanitarian protection, as well as waivers of deportation for long-term residents and legal status based on family ties.

What kind of work do students do in the Immigration Clinic?

Students meet with clients and conduct a significant amount of research and writing by synthesizing statutes, regulations, case law, agency memoranda, and human rights reports. Students also determine case strategy and engage in case planning. Finally, many students have the opportunity to conduct oral advocacy, either in a trial-type setting in immigration court (in which students conduct direct examination of fact witnesses and expert witnesses), or in oral arguments on motions and petitions, either in immigration court or federal court.

Does the Immigration Clinic have any exciting success stories to share?

During the fall of 2023, Ben Zimetbaum and Justin Zamora successfully argued to an immigration judge that their client’s conviction was not a crime involving moral turpitude, which rendered their client eligible for bond — and then convinced the judge that he merited a bond! These victories are such an uphill battle, so it was a great win. It was also incredibly inspiring to see the client reunited with his young daughter upon his release from ICE detention.

During the spring of 2023, Nancy Kyei and Erick Sevla also successfully argued in an immigration trial that their client should receive protection from deportation to Brazil under the Convention Against Torture. It was so inspiring to be able to secure this protection, as well as release from immigration detention, for a client who would have likely faced torture in Brazil.

What do you love most about directing the Immigration Clinic?

I love the clients, the fascinating legal issues that their cases present, and the manner in which my students — many of whom have been personally touched by our immigration system — bring so much empathy and passion to the work.

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Tess Halpern is a third-year student and president of the Impact blog. Contact her at halperte@bc.edu.