MISSION STATEMENT

This law student organization is the first and only law student group in the country affiliated with American Immigration Lawyers Association, the national professional bar association for attorneys specializing in general immigration law or its many subspecialty practice areas. It was started in 2009 by Christina Fialho (Class of 2012) through the help of Randall Caudle and the AILA, Santa Clara Valley Chapter.  It was established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, and enhance the professional and academic development of its members.

This student organization exists to educate the student body about the ways in which U.S. immigration law and policy serve the national interest by reuniting American families, protecting refugees, and providing U.S. employers with the specialized skills they need to remain globally competitive. Furthermore, it seeks to create a supportive space for students to discuss and debate immigration issues, while also challenging members to create a more just and humane world by engaging with immigrant communities.

This student organization encourages law students to join AILA as student members and participate in AILA events! Please read our Constitution for more details.

OFFICERS (2011-2012)

President: Kelly O'Donnell, kelly.sculaw@gmail.com

Vice-President: Marc Wiesner, marcwiesner@gmail.com

Secretary/Mentorship Coordinator: Open 

LL.M. Coordinator: Open

Faculty Advisor: Professor Lynette Parker

Law Student Liaison - Santa Clara Valley AILA Chapter - Ritu Goswamy

Former Officers

2010-2011: Christina Fialho, Jim Lauth, Cathleen Chuang, Naoko Kumada

2009-2010: Christina Fialho, Eileen Chou, Karen Wynholds, Nina Gurikar, Aroma Sharma, John (JP) Rose

UPCOMING EVENTS

Immigration Attorney's Mentor Program

Interested in having an Immigration Attorney as a Mentor? This program provides Attorney's recruited by the local AILA chapter to mentor interested law students.

Asian American "Voices Community Dialogue"

Interested in learning about Asian American Immigration? Silicon Valley's Asian American Voices will show a short film on Asian American Voices and facilitate dialogue for SCU Law students interested in exploring the immigrant experience and discuss how they can help immigrant newcomers—of all backgrounds—adapt and integrate into our community.

Detention Dialogues

Interested in visiting immigrants in detention? Detention Dialogues was started in 2010 in response to the growth nationally in immigration detention and the need locally to link persons in immigration detention with the tools and resources that will facilitate justice for them, their families, and our community. Detention Dialogues operates an ICE-approved, volunteer-run immigration detention visitation program at the West County Detention Facility.  Detention Dialogues also visits immigrants detained at Yuba County Jail and Sacramento County Jail. To join, contact Christina at CFialho@detentiondialogues.org.

PAST EVENTS

Spring 2011:

*Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren spoke at Santa Clara University on March 24th about immigration reform!

*AILA-SCU supported Detention Dialogues first training of its volunteers!  SCU Law students will begin volunteering in immigration detention facilities in Northern California through Detention Dialogues.

*AILA-SCU Law co-sponsored an immigration conference, featuring guest speakers Bill Ong Ing (left), Founder of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and Anoop Prasad, Staff Attorney at the Asian Law Caucus, among others.

Fall 2010:

* Immigration Clinic Training with Asian Law Alliance

*Networking with AILA Attorneys: An Evening of Networking!

*Ambassador Luis CdeBaca: Speech on the United States Effort to Combat Human Trafficking

2010 AILA HOLIDAY PARTY

Spring 2010:

*U.S. Immigration Detention from a Constitutional Perspective featuring:

  Daniel Shanfield: Click here and download video from 3-15. 

  Alison Parker, Director, U.S. Program, Human Rights Watch

  Raha Jorjani: Click here and download video from 4/6.

*Panel on Practicing Immigration Law (Sponsored by LCS and Center for Social Justice)

*Citizenship Day

*Symposium on Forced Migration and Refugees (Sponsored by the American Red Cross)

Fall 2009:

*Panel on Immigration Reform (co-sponsored by La Raza)

*Film Showing with Liberty in North Korea(co-sponsored by Center for Global Law & Policy)

AWARDS

Pro Bono Recognition Award, Santa Clara University (2009-2010)

AILA - SANTA CLARA LAW: IN THE NEWS

Santa Clara University School of Law Founds AILA Student Group

VOICE - An Immigration Dialogue, June 2010

Law Student Member Activities: Speaker Series at Santa Clara Law

AILA Law Student E-News, Volume 3, Issue 2, Page 3