Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic

In the Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic, you advocate on behalf of immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers while developing practical lawyering skills in a complex and rapidly changing area of law. Since 1996, the Clinic has connected DePaul Law students with direct client work and collaboration with immigrant-serving nonprofits, immigration practitioners and Clinic alumni who are leaders in the field. 

The Clinic is part of Illinois’ wider immigrant advocacy community and partners with nonprofits serving immigrants across the state to improve access to legal information and representation for low-income immigrants and refugees. Students learn U.S. immigration and asylum law while building experience in client interviewing and counseling, legal research and drafting, factual investigation and oral advocacy. 

What You’ll Do

  • Represent or assist clients in matters involving asylum, humanitarian relief, family reunification, naturalization and deportation defense
  • Interview and counsel clients, conduct factual investigations and draft legal documents and client materials
  • Develop legal research, writing and oral advocacy skills
  • Represent victims of crime and domestic violence seeking immigration benefits before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. consulates abroad
  • Support immigrant-serving nonprofits by leading trainings, developing resources and giving presentations on immigration law topics
  • Provide assistance to immigrants held in detention
  • Engage with immigration practitioners, DHS officials, immigration judges and congressional offices
  • Receive training on trauma-informed lawyering and work with health care professionals, medical experts and academics to support client representation 

Clinic Sections 

  • Asylum & Immigration Legal Clinic I: An introductory section for students seeking experience in this field of practice.
  • Asylum & Immigration Legal Clinic II: An advanced section for students with demonstrated experience in the field, including previous clinic enrollment. Students in the advanced section work on progressively complex matters and continue representing clients. Course Information 

Instructors

  • Sioban Albiol
    Faculty, Full Time
    Director, Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic; Professor of Legal Practice
  • Audra Santucci
    Staff, Full Time
    Staff Attorney, Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic

Course Information

  • Instruction: A combination of lecture, in-class discussion, skills instruction and direct client work. The classroom component meets for two hours a week for 14 weeks and provides an understanding of the basics of immigration and asylum law. The classroom component also provides instruction on advocacy skills and substantive immigration law to equip students to represent immigrants before the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review and other federal agencies.
  • Credit hours: 4
  • Number of students: Up to 8 per semester
  • 711 License: Not required
  • Prerequisites: None
Clinic Eligibility & Registration

Support the Clinic

The Clinic’s work in building capacity for immigration legal services in collaboration with community-based organizations is supported by The Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, The Polk Bros. Foundation, the Illinois Funders Collaborative, The Julian Grace Foundation and the Chicago Bar Foundation. Walking with the Poor provides support for the Clinic’s direct representation work. 

Donor support helps the Clinic expand legal services for clients while strengthening the clinical learning experience for our students.

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