Legal Representation with a Heart

The Immigrant Justice Center at UW Law School offers free legal services for immigrants and abundant learning opportunities for students who dream of careers in immigration law. Founded in 2012, it’s one of 15 clinics that give UW law students hands-on experience with real people, helping them understand the roles and responsibilities of a practicing attorney.

Director Erin Barbato ’02 currently has her hands full, given recent changes to immigration policy. As battles play out in Congress and the courts, the center is trying to provide trustworthy information and representation to people caught up in detention, deportation, and family separation.

Politics aside, Barbato and her students come to know their clients as human beings who deserve due process. She gets emotional when discussing their struggles, and she does her best to assure them that “they’re not alone in this world.”

What are some of the services you provide for the immigrant community?

Before the Immigrant Justice Center started, there were no nonprofits providing legal services to the immigrants held at Wisconsin’s Dodge County Detention Center. We offer pro bono services for people in deportation or removal proceedings. Most of the cases we take are for people applying for asylum because they can’t return to their home country for fear of persecution.

We also have programs for unaccompanied children and survivors of international human trafficking as well as broader audiences who want to understand the rights of immigrants and community members. The goal is to provide as much trusted legal information as possible and to provide representation when we have the capacity to do so.

What’s unique about the Immigrant Justice Center?

We’re the only immigration legal clinic in a state that’s considered a legal desert for immigration attorneys and resources. So we provide critical opportunities for students to learn how to practice immigration law while also serving the community in Wisconsin. We offer information to people who otherwise would be all alone and face deportation without any legal representation. That makes a huge difference, because if someone who’s detained is represented by an attorney, they’re three times more likely to receive protection from deportation.

What kinds of law students are attracted to the Immigrant Justice Center?

Every year, we have more than a hundred students who apply for our 10 spots. So there’s a huge desire to learn how to practice immigration law. Many want a career that has a direct impact on human lives. They’re all highly intelligent, engaged, compassionate students, which is a dream come true for me. Every year, I see them making a true difference and learning about the power of their law degree. Graduates are extremely competitive in the field because of the level of experience they receive while they’re in the clinic.

How have recent changes to immigration policy affected the center’s work?

We’re seeing changes on an almost daily basis, and we’re constantly trying to figure out how new policies are affecting our representation. We’ve seen clients deported without due process. We have a few clients who received asylum from Afghanistan, and they should be eligible to apply for their green cards at this point. But they’re in limbo.

How have the students responded?

It’s been hard for students to see what our clients are facing. They’re people we learn to care for. We know their stories, and to see them face even more struggles is really difficult. But the students are grateful for the opportunity to support the people we serve. All we can do is continue to provide ethical and caring representation. We find a lot of meaning in that.

What is a fair way to deport people when that’s necessary?

We have ways to ensure due process in deportation proceedings, but right now, many people are being deported without the opportunity to present their case in front of an immigration judge and have a fair and full trial. I believe we need universal representation so everyone facing deportation would have an immigration law attorney with them. And this is especially true for children who are forced to represent themselves in front of an immigration judge while fighting a government-trained attorney.

In your view, what should U.S. immigration policy look like?

I don’t have an answer to what it should look like, because these decisions need to be made by our country. Congress has to consider our priorities and make any changes to the laws. But I do think we should all work together to find a way to treat people with humanity and to recognize that we are stronger with humane processes and policies.