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UCD's immigration law expertise sought

Students at a North Carolina law school see a growing demand for legal aid
By Emily Bazar -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 12, 2005

Faced with its state's booming immigrant population, a North Carolina law school is calling on UC Davis' respected Immigration Law Clinic for training and advice.

North Carolina is among the states, concentrated in the Midwest and Southeast, that have witnessed the most rapid growth in immigrant populations since the mid-1990s.

A large chunk of North Carolina's new immigrant population is there illegally, lured by jobs in construction, hotels, restaurants and cucumber fields and on hog farms.

But training for immigration lawyers hasn't kept up with demand.

As a result, some students and faculty at North Carolina Central University in Durham want to create their own immigration law clinic.

They have asked the program at the University of California, Davis, to share its 24 years of expertise in defending immigrants facing deportation, arguing political asylum cases and providing other services.

"You wouldn't think you would need an immigration clinic here," said NCCU law student Tin Nguyen, 25, who is spearheading the effort.

"Most people who live in California think all immigrants settle there or in New York," he said. "Now the current trend is to go to North Carolina."

Nguyen, the son of Vietnamese refugees, took an immigration law course from James Smith, director of the UC Davis clinic, last summer in Mexico.

In March, he and his classmates invited Smith to the campus to talk about Davis' clinic and programs.

Students and faculty at the Davis clinic, one of the first of its kind in the country, provide free legal representation to some immigrants facing deportation and applying for asylum. They also dispense immigration advice to criminal defense attorneys and sponsor naturalization workshops.

Nguyen will spend fall semester in Davis to learn more about the clinic and immigration law, Smith said, and an attorney with the Davis clinic may travel to North Carolina to provide training for naturalization workshops.

"There's a need for this specialized service (there) that private attorneys are not equipped to handle," Smith said last week, on his way to a deportation hearing in San Francisco with two law students. "Law clinics have proven to be at least some help for these needs. More importantly, you train law students to become good immigration lawyers."

Pamela Glean, interim director of clinical programs at NCCU, said Smith's presentation was well received by faculty.

The concept fits with the law school's public service mission and NCCU's status as a historically black college, she said.

"One of the things that inspired me was that Professor Smith said he felt that immigration law is the new civil rights area," she said. "We have graduated law students who have a strong public-service interest."

A final decision on whether to move forward with the clinic probably will be made in the fall, she said. If approved and there's enough funding, it could be up and running by January.

A March study by the Pew Hispanic Center found that about two-thirds of the country's roughly 10 million illegal immigrants are concentrated in eight states, including California and North Carolina.

Though California claims the largest share of the undocumented population - 24 percent - its share has fallen over time as immigrants have opted to settle in other states such as North Carolina.

Jeffrey Passel, author of the report, said about half of North Carolina's foreign-born population is undocumented and the vast majority is from Mexico.

"They move to these places because there are jobs to be had," Passel said.

Some North Carolina residents are convinced the surge in the immigrant population is hurting their state.

Ron Woodard, director of N.C. LISTEN, a statewide group against illegal immigration, said the influx has stressed North Carolina's education, public health and criminal justice systems.

"We've got so many people who are immigrants it just overwhelms our ability to find the funding to provide resources to people who really need them," Woodard said.

He said he hopes the immigration law clinic at NCCU - if established - isn't used "as a way to help illegal immigrants beat the system."

Ivan Parra, lead organizer of the North Carolina Latino Coalition, said the community needs a clinic.

"The economy of North Carolina depends on the work of immigrants," he said.


About the writer:
The Bee's Emily Bazar can be reached at 916-321-1016