Notre Dame Law students assist with asylum applications and eviction sealings at spring clinics
Earlier this spring, Notre Dame Law School hosted two legal clinics in the South Bend community. At Notre Dame’s Innovation Park, law students and undergraduate translators collaborated with the National Immigrant Justice Center to help asylum applicants. Across town at the Portage School of Leaders, students from Notre Dame Law School’s Eviction Clinic held a walk-in clinic for eviction sealings.
Pro Se Asylum Clinic
Notre Dame Law School’s chapter of the National Lawyers Guild partnered with the National Immigrant Justice Center to host a Pro Se Asylum Clinic. The student-organized clinic assisted participants with the beginning stages of asylum applications, providing individuals who have a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country the right to remain in the United States. If granted, asylum also provides individuals with a path to citizenship.
NIJC senior attorney Jess Hunter-Bowman and Brittany Herschberger, an accredited representative from the organization, supervised and guided the students as they worked with asylum seekers.
The day included a morning training session that prepared students for helping clinic participants. High volunteer involvement allowed each asylum applicant to be paired with a law student and interpreter or bilingual law student.
“There is a significant need for immigration-related legal services in our community,” said rising third-year student Nicole Theriot, noting that access to language-services and the complexity of the I-589 asylum application form pose significant hurdles for individuals seeking asylum in the United States.
This was the first time Notre Dame Law School collaborated with NIJC to host a pro se asylum clinic.
Ten attendees were able to complete their asylum applications, which NIJC assisted with filing in the Chicago Immigration Court or with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Submitting this form is the first step in the time-sensitive process of applying for asylum in the U.S. All clinic participants received the services free of charge.
Eviction Sealing Clinic
Notre Dame Law School students also held a walk-in clinic that day for eviction sealings. Student interns from Notre Dame Law’s Eviction Clinic met at the Portage School of Leaders to offer free services for individuals to seal qualified evictions from public record. The clinic was a collaborative partnership between Notre Dame Law School, The Volunteer Lawyer Network, Inc., Boys and Girls Club of St. Joseph County, and the Portage School of Leaders.
Under Indiana law, evictions meeting certain criteria may be sealed from public records. This process limits housing discrimination and allows tenants who have been unfairly evicted to have better access to safe and affordable housing.
The eviction sealing clinic is just one sector of the work Notre Dame Law students, under the direction of David Pruitt, director of the Clinical Law Center, accomplish in the Eviction Clinic. Students involved in the semester-long clinic routinely help clients with eviction sealings.
Recent graduate Alexander Ivanovic ‘24 J.D. helped multiple clients with eviction sealings during his time at ND Law. His work through the Eviction Clinic allowed him to build relationships with clients, develop case theories, represent clients in court, and negotiate settlement agreements with opposing counsel. As one of the nine student volunteers for the eviction sealing clinic, Ivanovic also shared the value that eviction sealings play in combating cycles of eviction.
“For certain people, having a past eviction on their record has the potential to render them homeless. This service that the Eviction Clinic provides helps our clients avoid homelessness and allows them to get back on their feet,” Ivanovic said.
Recent graduate Kalie Darcy ‘24 J.D. noted the importance of getting involved in out-of-the-classroom clinical work as a law student. “Participating in the clinic has allowed me to gain experience working closely with clients and further develop my advocacy and counseling skills,” Darcy said. “Stepping out of the classroom and dealing with real world problems allows students to fully appreciate the importance of what we are learning in law school.”
In addition, this past semester, students gained exposure to the legislative side of eviction policy issues when they had the opportunity to meet with State Senator Liz Brown. Senator Brown chairs the Judiciary Committee for Indiana. She spoke to students about the legislative process, the competing interests addressed when considering legislation, and the importance of building coalitions. Andrew Shaffer ‘24 J.D. a recent graduate and former clinic intern, spoke about how important it was for students to learn about the practical considerations behind passing legislation. "I think people, especially students, often think that if a policy is important or meaningful it will be easy to pass legislation to affect change. Senator Brown helped us to see that there are competing viewpoints for everything that comes before her committee and realistic legislation incorporates those competing viewpoints," said Shaffer.
Over the course of the semester and after meeting with walk-in clients at the sealing clinic, the Eviction Clinic sealed 43 cases.
The Eviction Clinic students were able to directly help clients with sealing eviction cases, while considering their larger role in how to go about making meaningful change at the legislative level, “said David Pruitt. “Eviction records can lock in tenants in a cycle of substandard housing and poverty. Our students did what they could this semester to improve their clients lives now and in the future. I am proud of the work they did this semester.”