Center News

Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic Partners with the American Immigration Council to Draft and Publish a New Practice Advisory

Minnesota Law’s Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic (FILC) — part of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans— has partnered with the American Immigration Council to publish a new practice advisory to assist practitioners in advocating for noncitizen clients before the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) and the U.S. Courts of Appeals, particularly in cases in which the government contends that a criminal conviction renders the client removable from the United States.

Mollie Clark Ahsan '24, Seiko Shastri '21, and Coryn Johnson ’24

Minnesota Law Clinics Head to the U.S. Supreme Court in Important Immigration Case

Two University of Minnesota Law School clinics—the Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic (FILC) and the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic (CRA Clinic)—have joined together with the Houston-based law firms Gonzalez Olivieri LLC and Waterhouse, Dominguez & Strom PLLC to represent a noncitizen before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Clinics’ client, Mr.

The U.S. Supreme Court Building

James H. Binger Center for New Americans Prevails in Landmark Habeas Corpus Case

After years of work, the Binger Center for New Americans has achieved key objectives to protect the rights of noncitizens subject to immigration custody. The Binger Center’s work—spearheaded by the Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic (FILC), the Detainee Rights Clinic (DRC), and some of the Center’s nonprofit and law firm partners—has focused on noncitizens with criminal histories who are spending years in mandatory civil immigration detention in Minnesota with little opportunity to meaningfully challenge their custody.

The federal immigration law clinic team in one of Mondale Halls court rooms

Detainee Rights Clinic Client Wins Asylum Case One of the Detainee Rights Clinic’s Very First Clients Has Been Granted Asylum

Students in the Detainee Rights Clinic (DRC) recently scored a major victory for a client formerly from El Salvador who has been seeking asylum for nearly a decade.

The clinic began representing the person in 2014, one of its first clients. Clinic leaders secured the person’s release from detention to stay deportation. Over the next few years, students worked with faculty to win an appeal at the Board of Immigration that opened a pathway for asylum.

Detainee Rights Clinic students Nicole Carter '24, Haley Wallace '23, and Anna Schlendl '24

Professor Linus Chan Appointed the James H. Binger Clinical Professor of Law

Professor Linus Chan has been appointed the James H. Binger Clinical Professor of Law.  The Board of Regents also recently approved his promotion to the rank of clinical professor of law.  His clinical work focuses on removal defense for those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He is widely recognized for his work on behalf of his clients and for his work with students. From 2021 to 2023, he was the Law School's Vaughan G.

Linus Chan

James H. Binger Center Hosts Annual Asylum Conference

On November 18, faculty and staff of Minnesota Law and The Advocates co-sponsored the Fall 2022 Asylum Conference.  Over 200 attorneys, paralegals and community members learned how to improve client collaboration and build a case record to withstand appeal.  Participants built skills to address systemic and implicit bias when representing trauma survivors, including critical interviewing skills and techniques to effectively work with interpreters.  Appellate lawyers discussed common errors seen in records on appeal and ways court practitioners can reserve key issues for appeal.  The confere

Sarah Brenes, Executive Director, Binger Center for New Americans

Minnesota Law Students Help Honduran Trans Woman Win Asylum

Students participating in MinnesotaLaw's Immigration and Human Rights Clinic helped their client Rachell, a 27-year-old trans woman from Honduras, get asylum in the United States. Rachell, who escaped from physical and sexual abuse and the threat of gang violence in her native country, now has a permanent home here.

Srishtee Dear, 3L, Hannah McDonald, 3L, Prof. Steve Meili, Rachell (the clinic's client), Eura Chang '22, and Alena Carl '22