“They Rallied Up the Families; We Brought the Lawyers”

On November 13, 2014, as part of the New York City Immigration Advocacy Initiative’s (NYCIAI) final clinic for the year, over sixty participants in the Children’s Aid Society’s programs received free immigration consultations from experienced practitioners.

Since its inception in 2007, NYCIAI, a collaboration between the City Bar Justice Center’s Immigrant Outreach Project, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP, has conducted several dozen such clinics.  NYCIAI partners with community-based organizations throughout New York City to conduct clinics where practitioners advise members of New York City’s underserved immigrant communities.

The City Bar’s Immigrant Outreach Project, led by the new Fragomen Fellow Danny Alicea, and twenty four practitioners rushed uptown after work to volunteer at the clinic.  “Coming into this role, I inherited the longstanding tradition of facilitating clinics with great organizations like the Children’s Aid Society. They rallied up the families; we brought the lawyers,” said Alicea.  The Children’s Aid Society transformed a large junior high school lunch room into office-like private work stations, innovatively using folded cafeteria tables as dividers.  With great finesse, they mobilized clients to attend the clinic—an overwhelming task, considering it was also the night of city-wide public school parent-teacher conferences.

The twenty four volunteer attorneys ranged from recently admitted attorneys to practitioners with more than ten years of experience. Among them were Martine Cuomo, a partner at Fragomen, and Matthey Bray, AILA’s pro bono committee chair.  Volunteers advised primarily on family-based immigration issues, but because so many expert practitioners were in attendance, we were able to provide roadmaps to individuals with all kinds of immigration issues, ranging from U-visa eligibility, asylum, naturalization, and complicated waiver inquiries.  “I was amazed at the variety of issues.  I really enjoyed the challenge and being able to help so many clients,” said Cuomo.

The City Bar Justice Center, Fragomen, and AILA will continue their community outreach activities through the NYCIAI collaboration.  The planning stages for the NYCIAI’s 2015 series of clinics has already begun.