Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic

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USF School of Law / Professional Skills / Law Clinics / Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic

The Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic represents unaccompanied immigrant children and families who are in removal proceedings in San Francisco. The majority of clients are seeking asylum and come from Central America and Mexico.

Under the supervision of the director and supervising attorney, students represent clients in various phases of immigration proceedings, beginning with the preparation of declarations and supporting evidence. Some students also help minors in state probate and family law courts seek guardianships to qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Through their work, students learn how to be ethical and successful immigration attorneys in a nonprofit setting.

The clinic has over 300 active cases. It also employs two attorneys, two paralegals, a legal fellow, and a social services coordinator. The clinic works with people who have escaped extreme violence and trauma, and clients' bravery and strength inspires clinic employees and students alike. In addition to case work, students have the opportunity to participate in clinic-organized events, such as Know Your Rights presentations in the Central Valley, and trips to immigration detention facilities and the border.

Partners

The clinic partners with Catholic Charities of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin County, and is funded by the City and County of San Francisco and the California Department of Social Services. The clinic also works closely with the Bar Association of San Francisco and Centro Legal De La Raza in Oakland.

Our Stories

Faculty


Bill O Hing

Program Director, Full-Time Faculty
(415) 422-4475

Throughout his career, Professor Bill Ong Hing pursued social justice through a combination of community work, litigation, and scholarship. He is the author of numerous academic and practice–oriented publications on immigration policy and race relations, including American Presidents, Deportation and Human Rights Violations (Cambridge Univ. Press 2019); Ethical Borders—NAFTA, Globalization, and Mexican Migration (Temple University Press, 2010), Deporting Our Souls–Morality, Values, and...

Education:

AB, UC Berkeley, JD, University of San Francisco

Expertise:

Asian American Legal History, Immigration Law and Policy, Migration Theory, Public Interest Lawyering, Race, Racism and U.S Law, Racial Justice, Affirmative Action and Diversity, Rules of Evidence, Modern Policing

Jacqueline Brown Scott

Full-Time Faculty
(415) 422-3330

Jacqueline Brown Scott is an immigration attorney with experience solving a wide array of immigration issues pertaining to asylum, deportation defense, and family-based immigration. Jacqueline began her career in immigration law at the San Francisco Immigration Court as an attorney advisor through the Department of Justice Honors Program. There, she wrote hundreds of orders and written decisions for the Immigration Judges. When working at her firm, Law Office of Jacqueline Brown Scott, she...

Education:

JD, University of San Francisco, MA, San Francisco State University, BS, Saint Lawrence University