Center News

On April 17, a delegation from the University of Minnesota Law School’s James H. Binger Center for New Americans traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) National Day of Action, joining immigration attorneys and advocates from across the country in meetings with members of Congress and their staff.

Minnesota Law's James H. Binger Center for New Americans received the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association (MHBA) Access to Justice Award at MHBA's annual gala on March 27.

On March 4 the Human Rights Center, Binger Center for New Americans, and Advocates for Human Rights held a special briefing in Geneva, Switzerland to provide UN member states, UN agencies, and international civil society with expert analysis of the scope and federal immigration operations in Minnesota.

A delegation from the University of Minnesota Law School’s Human Rights Center and James H. Binger Center for New Americans is in Geneva, Switzerland, from March 2–6 to participate in the 61^st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The James H. Binger Center for New Americans provided legal training to over 1000 attorneys, law students and community members through its Fall Immigration Forum and Continuing Legal Education events. Students and faculty in three of the Binger Center’s immigration clinics contributed to training for lawyers on habeas corpus, recent legislation, current litigation and the latest updates in asylum law. 

The James H. Binger Center for New Americans held its annual Fall Immigration Forum on Friday, November 7. The forum explored the themes of being, becoming, and belonging for immigrant communities within the American experiment. More than 200 people registered to attend the Fall Forum in person and online.

The Binger Center for New Americans is proud to release its 2024-25 Annual Report.  The report focuses on their collaborative work alongside students, clients and partners from July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025.  The report is built around their 2024-28 strategic plan and highlights the Center’s strides in their key strategies. The work of the Binger Center has never been more vital. Their steadfast partners continue to bridge the gaps left by federal cuts, while their collaborations to train and empower lawyers and community advocates have deepened in impact.

As an undergraduate at Whitman College in Washington, Meg Keiser ’25 minored in Spanish and then interned at an immigration law firm her senior year. From that moment on, she knew she wanted to work in the field. While looking at options for law school, the Minnesota native was drawn to Minnesota Law due primarily to the James H. Binger Center for New Americans.

The University of Minnesota Law School is pleased to announce that Ana Pottratz Acosta will join Minnesota Law as a visiting professor during the 2025-26 academic year. She will lead the Immigration & Human Rights Clinic, part of the Law School's James H. Binger Center for New Americans. 

The Binger Center for New Americans held its annual Fall Immigration Forum on Friday, October 11.  The daylong event included more than 100 attendees and featured 20 panelists who explored the rights of immigrants to thrive within the U.S. economy. Legal and policy scholars discussed how the immigration system often extracts wealth from immigrant communities rather than creating opportunities for them to build it.