Events

Immigration Law Training

Mennonite Central Committee, in collaboration with Ayodele Gansallo, Senior Staff Attorney at HIAS PA, and Judith Bernstein-Baker, retired Executive Director of HIAS PA, the co-authors of Understanding Immigration Law and Practice, is excited to offer a new 40 hour advanced immigration law training program focused on representing asylum seekers, both affirmatively and defensively in immigration removal proceedings.

This intensive five-day (40 hour) training is designed for accredited (DOJ) representatives from BIA recognized organizations, immigration case workers, paralegals and attorneys who are already practicing in the field and want to expand their knowledge to include this specialized and fast-paced area of law.

Days 1 and 2 will provide an intensive overview of the substantive law on asylum, analyzing the regulatory framework and caselaw , including the procedures for “arriving aliens,” defensive applicants and affirmative applications.

Day 3 will transition to preparing motions, such as bond motions, along with developing an asylum application, including preparing affidavits, country conditions research and identifying other evidence that might be needed to support an asylum claim.

Day 4 will focus on immigration court procedures, with Day 5 devoted to an asylum mock trial hearing using the materials prepared earlier in the week.

At the end, constructive criticism will be offered to help each participant improve their oral advocacy skills. This will be an intense week that will require all participants to engage in nightly preparation of assignments for the next day’s programs. Participants will work in pairs or groups and so the contribution of each person is essential to maximize learning opportunities. The training is designed to provide hands on practice for those seeking to move from partial to full accreditation to practice before the agencies of the Department of Homeland Security (USCIS, ICE and CBP), U.S. immigration judges, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) of the U.S. Department of Justice. Previous participation in the 40 hour ILRC basic immigration law training or similar trainings is a pre-requisite.