As immigration laws continue to change, undocumented immigrants seek help to gain legal status. This can sometimes result in them being scammed by folks trying to take advantage of the situation.
- Barry Univ. creates immigration legal clinic for low-incomes folks
- University's law students work the pro-bono cases
- For more information, contact (321) 206-5600
It’s one of the reasons Barry University School of Law created an immigration legal clinic to offer legal assistance to low income families.
"They had identified there was a real need here in Central Florida for pro bono representation for immigrants,” explained Katie Rodriguez, Director of the immigration legal clinic.
Students at Barry University are the ones who work the cases.
“So the law students in the clinic can actually do anything that a licensed attorney would do while they’re in the clinic under my supervision,” Rodriguez said. “There are federal regulations that allow them to appear both before United States citizenship and immigration services, any component of the homeland security, and before the executive office for immigration review.”
For students selected to participate in the clinic, it’s a great hands-on opportunity.
"It's been awesome getting to go to court, getting to go to ICE, getting to experience these things we wouldn't be able to outside the clinic,” said Stephen Burt, a law student at Barry University.
Because they’re a non-profit legal clinic, they cannot take every immigration case, but they’ve worked on many.
In order to qualify for pro-bono legal help, the family’s income must be 125 percent below federal wage. For more information, call (321) 206-5600.